Criminal Records (Expungement of Convictions for Historical Homosexual Offences) Act 2018,
ss 2, 15, 16, 23
Some sexual activity between men used to be against the law in New Zealand, along with related things like running a venue used for sex between men. This changed with the Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986, and those things are no longer illegal.
If you were convicted for participating in that kind of sexual activity before the law changed in 1986, there’s now a new law to get rid of those convictions. You can apply to have those convictions ‘expunged’ (this means removed, or wiped). The result is that it’s as if the convictions never happened. However, you can’t get compensation (money) for being convicted under the old law.
If a person who was convicted of one of these offences is now dead, other people can apply for the conviction to be wiped – like their partner or a family member or the executor of their will. If you don’t fit one of those categories, you can ask the Ministry of Justice to let you apply on the dead person’s behalf.