8 November 2018

Public consultation on sexual orientation has shown how important it is for every New Zealander to see themselves in official statistics, Stats NZ said today.

“At Stats NZ, our job is to ensure that data reflects society, and we are seeing a strong demand to record and present data on sexual identity,” general manager of products, services, and insights Dean Rutherford said.

Sexual orientation: Findings from public consultation in April 2018, which summarises the results of a public submissions process on the topics of sexual orientation and sexual identity, was released today.

During a three-week consultation period in April 2018, Stats NZ received 924 submissions from across New Zealand.

“We are very pleased with the level of interest. The numbers just go to show how important it is that all New Zealanders can see themselves in the data we collect,” Mr Rutherford said.

The results of the consultation were largely positive, with over 80 percent agreeing with the proposals.

“It’s good to know we are on the right track, but we can see where we need to do more thinking,” Mr Rutherford said.

“Many of the suggestions we received focused on inclusivity, and of course that’s something we know we need to get right.”

The feedback received will guide the development of a sexual orientation framework and a statistical standard for sexual identity. The standard and framework are being developed by an inter-agency group and will be released in February 2019.

Stats NZ is also working on a project to make recommendations on the way information on sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation is collected in all Stats NZ household surveys.

For more information about these statistics:
• Visit Time for all New Zealanders to see themselves in the data

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