The Law Commission is reviewing the law relating to hate crime in Aotearoa New Zealand. Hate crime means conduct that:

• is already a criminal offence under New Zealand law; and
• is carried out because of hate or hostility toward a group of people who have a common characteristic (for example, race, colour, nationality, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age or disability).

Aotearoa New Zealand already has hate crime laws. Currently, an offender’s hate motivation is taken into account when they are sentenced. We are looking at whether the law should be changed — for example, to create new hate crime offences.

In March 2024 the Minister of Justice asked the Law Commission to review the law relating to hate crime, with a focus on whether the law should be changed to create new hate crime offences. New hate crime offences were recommended by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attack on Christchurch masjidain on 15 March 2019.

No. The review is only looking at hate crime. Hate speech was previously on the Law Commission’s work programme but was removed by the Minister of Justice in March 2024.

Aotearoa New Zealand does have some hate speech laws in the Human Rights Act 1993, including an offence of inciting racial disharmony. These laws are outside the scope of this review. We are not looking at changing hate speech laws or further criminalising hate speech.

‘Hate speech’ can refer to any speech or expression that shows hate or hostility toward a group of people. Often, it is not an offence under the current law (although there is an offence of inciting racial disharmony in the Human Rights Act 1993).

‘Hate crime’ is conduct that is already a criminal offence (such as assault or property damage) and is motivated by hate or hostility toward a group of people. For example, a person who physically attacks a person because of their race or ethnicity commits a hate crime. The offence of inciting racial disharmony is not a hate crime for the purposes of this review, since it covers conduct that is not otherwise a criminal offence.

This review is looking at whether hate crime is treated seriously enough under the current law. We are not looking at criminalising any other conduct that isn’t already an offence.

Tirohanga whānui ki te kaupapa

Ka arotake Te Aka Matua o te Ture i te ture i Aotearoa Nū Tīreni e hāngai ana ki te hara ngākau kino, e arotahi ana ki te whakataunga me panoni rānei te ture mō ngā hara hou ka ahu mai i te ngākau kino. I roto i tēnei arotake, ko te tikanga o te "hara ngākau kino" ko te mahi kua tohua kētia hei hara taihara e ai ki te ture o Aotearoa Nū Tīreni, otirā, e whakamahia ana nā te ngākau kino, te pukuriri rānei ki tētahi hunga tangata mō ōna āhuatanga motuhake (hei tauira, te momo ā-iwi, tae, mātāwaka, whakapono, taihema, ira, tuakiri ā-ira, aronga hōkaka, pakeke, whaikaha rānei).

I tēnei wa, ka aro atu te ture o Aotearoa Nū Tīreni ki ngā taihara ngākau kino i te wā whakawhiu. Ki te hara tētahi tangata nā te pukuriri ki tētahi hunga tangata kei a rātou he 'āhuatanga ōrite pūmau', hei te wā whakawhiu me whai whakaaro te kōti he tūāhuatanga whakatumatuma tēnei (tirohia wāhanga 9(1)(h) o te Sentencing Act 2002).

Ko tā te pūrongo o Te Kōmihana Uiui a Te Whakaeke Kaiwhakatuma i ngā Whare Kōrana o Ōtautahi i te 15 o Poutūterangi 2019, arā, the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attack on Christchurch masjidain on 15 March 2019, he tūtohu ki te whakature i te hara hou ka puta i te ngākau kino. Ina koa, ka marohi te tūtohu 39 ko ētahi hara hou kua ahu mai i te ngākau kino ka whakamanatia ki:

• te Summary Offences Act 1981 (e hāngai ana ki ngā hara o tēnei wā, arā, te whanonga mōrihariha, reo mōrihariha rānei, te tūkino, te āta whakakino me te whakawehi); me
• te Crimes Act 1961 (ka hāngai ki ngā hara o tēnei wā, arā, te tūkino, te tahu whare, me te āta whakakino).

Te whānuitanga o te arotake

Tae atu te arotake o Te Aka Matua o te Ture ki te whaiwhakaaro, engari e kore e tepea ki te whakaaaro:

• Ka ea rānei e te ture o tēnei wā ki Aotearoa te āta urupare ki te hara ngākau kino (ina koa ko wāhanga 9(1)(h) of the Sentencing Act 2002, e whakaū ana me whai whakaaro ki te ahunga mai o te hara i te pukuriri) ina ka whakawhiu i te tangata hara.
• Me whakaea, kāore rānei ngā take mō te whakamahi i te ture o tēnei wā mā ngā tukanga ture (tukanga whakahaere rānei), hei tauira, te whakature hara ka ahu mai i te ngākau kino.
• Ki te whakaurua ētahi hara ngākau kino:

• • me hāngai ērā ki ēwhea hara o tēnei wā;
  • me kapi ēhea āhuatanga whānui;
  • me pēhea te taunaki i te āhuatanga ngākau kino, pukuriri rānei o ngā hara;
  • he aha ngā mōrahi whiunga e tika ana; me
  • e hiahiatia ana rānei he tāpiritanga ki te Sentencing Act e whai whakaaro atu ai ki ngā hara hou, ā, ka whakaū ai ka tika te whakatau whiunga i ngā tāngata hara e hara ngākau kino ana.

Ina tūtohu ana i te whakahoutanga, ka whai whakaaro Te Aka Matua o te Ture ki te ao Māori, ki te āhuatanga mātāwaka o te pāpori o Aotearoa hoki.

E kore te arotake e aro atu ki te whakataihara i ērā o ngā mahi kāore i te noho hei hara i raro i te ture o Aotearoa Nū Tīreni. Hei kaupare i te rangirua, e kore te arotake e whai whakaaro ki tūtohu 40 me 41 o te pūrongo o Te Kōmihana Uiui a Te Whakaeke Kaiwhakatuma i ngā Whare Kōrana o Ōtautahi i te 15 o Poutūterangi 2019, e pā ana ki:

• te ture e pā ana ki te kōrero ngākau kino, tae ana ki wāhanga 61 me 131 o te Human Rights Act 1993; me
• te tautuhinga o tēnei tūāhuatanga e kīia ana he 'objectionable' tētahi whakaputanga i roto i wāhanga 3 o te Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993.

Te wātaka me te tukanga

Ka whakarite Te Aka Matua o te Ture ki te whakawhitiwhiti tūmatanui ā te tīmatanga o te tau 2025.

Kei te aro atu Te Aka Matua o te Ture ki te tuku pūrongo me āna tūtohu ki te Minita māna te haepapa mō Te Aka Matua o te Ture i mua, hei waenganui rānei, i te tau 2025.

Mō Te Aka Matua o te Ture

Ko te Te Aka Matua o te Ture he hinonga motuhake o te Karauna e rato ana ki te Kāwanatanga te tohutohu mō te whakahounga ture. Kāore te Kāwanatanga e tohutohu me pēhea ā mātou mahi, ā mātou tūtohu rānei.

Ka whakahaere mātou i te rangahau me te whakapāpātanga, ā ka tuku tūtohu ki te Kāwanatanga hei whakawhanake i te ture. Ka whakaputaina aua tūtohu kei roto i tētahi pūrongo ki te Minister of Justice. Me tuku e te Minita tō mātou pūrongo ki te Pāremata.

Mā te Kāwanatanga e whakatau ka panoni i te ture, kāore rānei, ā, me pēhea te panoni. Ka taea e koe te ako tonu mō ā mātou mahi kei te paetukutuku a Te Aka Matua o te Ture.

Project overview

Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission will review the law in Aotearoa New Zealand relating to hate crime, with a focus on whether the law should be changed to create new hate-motivated offences. For the purpose of this review, “hate crime” means conduct that is already a criminal offence under New Zealand law and, additionally, is carried out because of hatred or hostility toward a group of people who share a common characteristic (such as race, colour, nationality, religion, gender or sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age or disability).

Currently, the law in Aotearoa New Zealand responds to hate crimes at sentencing. If a person commits a crime because of hostility toward a group of people who share an “enduring common characteristic”, the court must consider this as an aggravating factor at sentencing (see section 9(1)(h) of the Sentencing Act 2002).

The Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attack on Christchurch masjidain on 15 March 2019 recommended the creation of new hate-motivated offences. In particular, recommendation 39 proposed that new hate-motivated offences be created in:

• the Summary Offences Act 1981 (corresponding with the existing offences of offensive behaviour or language, assault, wilful damage and intimidation); and
• the Crimes Act 1961 (corresponding with the existing offences of assaults, arson and intentional damage).

Scope of the review

The Law Commission’s review will include, but not be limited to, consideration of:

• Whether the current law in Aotearoa New Zealand adequately responds to hate crime (in particular section 9(1)(h) of the Sentencing Act 2002, which requires hostile motivation to be taken into account when sentencing an offender).
• Whether any concerns about the operation of the current law should be addressed through legislative (or operational) measures, for example, the creation of hate-motivated offences.
• If hate-motivated offences should be created:

• • which existing offences they should correspond to;
  • which common characteristics they should cover;
  • how the hatred or hostility element of the offences should be established;
  • what maximum penalties are appropriate; and
  • whether any amendments to the Sentencing Act are desirable to take account of the new offences and to ensure hate crime offenders are sentenced appropriately.

In making recommendations for reform the Law Commission will take into account te ao Māori and give consideration to the multicultural character of New Zealand society.

The review will not consider criminalising conduct that does not currently amount to an offence under New Zealand law. For the avoidance of doubt, the review will not consider recommendations 40 and 41 of the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attack on Christchurch masjidain on 15 March 2019, which concern:

• the law relating to hate speech, including sections 61 and 131 of the Human Rights Act 1993; and
• the definition of when a publication is “objectionable” in section 3 of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993.

Timing and process

The Law Commission intends to publicly consult in early 2025.

The Law Commission intends to report to the Minister responsible for the Law Commission with its recommendations by mid-2026.

About the Law Commission

The Law Commission is an independent Crown agency that provides law reform advice to the Government. The Government does not direct how we carry out our work or the recommendations we make.

We undertake research and engagement, and then make recommendations to Government to improve the law. These recommendations are published in a report to the Minister of Justice. The Minister must present our report to Parliament.

The Government decides whether and how it will change the law. You can find out more about what we do on the Law Commission website.

Yes. A summary is available on the left-hand side of this page.  

On the left-hand side of this page, you can access the Consultation Paper in PDF and Word formats. The Word version has ‘read aloud’ format enabled. A summary of the consultation paper is available in large print (Word and PDF), New Zealand Sign Language, Easy Read, Braille ready and audio formats. 

On the left-hand side of this page, a summary of the Consultation Paper is available in the following languages: Arabic, Bahasa (Indonesian), Bahasa (Malaysian), Bengali, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Dari, Farsi/Persian, Hindi, Korean, Pashto, Samoan, Somali, Te Reo, Tongan, Turkish and Urdu.

The submissions we receive will help us decide whether to recommend any changes to the law and what any changes should look like.

Later in the review, we will consult with experts to test the workability of any potential changes to the law (including legal professional bodies, academics, Police and other relevant agencies).

We plan to present a final report with our advice to the Minister of Justice in mid-2026. It is up to the Government to decide whether to accept any recommendations we make in our report.