LGBTQ rights in Oceania

LGBTQ rights in Oceania
Marriage performed   Recognition of marriages performed elsewhere in country (American Samoa)   No recognition of same-sex couples   Constitutional limit on marriage (Palau)   Unenforced ban on same-sex sexual activity
Status	Legal, with an equal age of consent, in 9 out of 15 countries Legal, with an equal age of consent, in 11 out of 12 territories
Gender identity	Legal in 3 out of 15 countries Legal in 7 out of 12 territories
Military	Allowed to serve openly in 2 out of 6 countries having an army Allowed in all 12 territories
Discrimination protections	Protected in 7 out of 15 countries Protected in 8 out of 12 territories
Family rights
Recognition of relationships	Recognized in 2 out of 15 countries Recognized in 8 out of 12 territories
Restrictions	Same-sex marriage constitutionally banned in 1 out of 15 countries
Adoption	Legal in 2 out of 15 countries Legal in 7 out of 12 territories

Oceania is, like other regions, quite diverse in its laws regarding LGBTQ rights. This ranges from significant rights, including same-sex marriage – granted to the LGBTQ community in New Zealand, Australia, Guam, Hawaiʻi, Easter Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia, French Polynesia and the Pitcairn Islands – to remaining criminal penalties for homosexual activity in six countries and one territory. ^[1] Although acceptance is growing across the Pacific, violence and social stigma remain issues for LGBTQ communities. ^[2] This also leads to problems with healthcare, including access to HIV treatment in countries such as Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands where homosexuality is criminalised. ^[3]

The United Kingdom introduced conservative social attitudes and anti-LGBTQ laws throughout the British Empire, including its colonies throughout the Pacific Ocean. ^[4] This legacy persists in anti-LGBTQ laws found in a majority of countries in the subsequent Commonwealth of Nations. Opponents of LGBTQ rights in Oceania have justified their stance by arguing it is supported by tradition and that homosexuality is a "Western vice", although anti-LGBTQ laws themselves are a colonial British legacy. ^[4] Several Pacific countries have ancient traditions predating colonization that reflect a unique local perspective of sexuality and gender, such as the faʻafafine in Samoa, fakaleitī in Tonga, or māhū in Hawaiʻi. ^{[4] [5]}

However, seven other countries and territories currently have unenforced criminal penalties for "buggery". ^[6] These are Kiribati, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu.

Legislation by country or territory

Main article: LGBT rights by country or territory

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Australasia

LGBT rights in:	Same-sex sexual activity	Recognition of same-sex unions	Same-sex marriage	Adoption by same-sex couples	LGBT people allowed to serve openly in military?	Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation	Laws concerning gender identity/expression
Australia (including territories of   Christmas Island, the   Cocos (Keeling) Islands and   Norfolk Island)	Always legal for women. Male legal in some states and territories since 1975, nationwide since 1997. Tasmania was the last state to legalise male homosexuality; Equal age of consent in some states and territories since 1975, nationwide since 2016. + UN decl. sign. [1]	Unregistered cohabitation nationally since 2009; Domestic partnerships in Tasmania (2004), [7] South Australia (2007), [8] Victoria (2008), [9] New South Wales (2010), [10] and Queensland (2012); [11] Civil unions in the Australian Capital Territory (2012) [12]	Legal since 2017 [13]	Legal nationwide since 2018	Gay men and lesbians since 1992 [14] ; Transgender and intersex people since 2010 [15]	Bans all anti-gay discrimination. [16]	Different regulations within each jurisdiction regarding change of sex on a birth certificate. Effective from July 1, 2025 NSW will formally repeal the “surgical requirement” to change sex. [17] [18]
New Zealand	Legal since 1986 + UN decl. sign. [1]	Unregistered cohabitation since 2002; Civil unions since 2005	Legal since 2013 [19]	Legal since 2013 [19]	Since 1993; Includes transgender people [20]	Bans all anti-gay discrimination	Covered under the "sex discrimination" provision of the Human Rights Act 1993 ; Since July 2023, gender self-determination implemented by legislation on a birth certificate. [21] [22]

Melanesia

LGBT rights in:	Same-sex sexual activity	Recognition of same-sex unions	Same-sex marriage	Adoption by same-sex couples	LGBT people allowed to serve openly in military?	Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation	Laws concerning gender identity/expression
Fiji	Legal since 2010 + UN decl. sign. [23] [1]					Bans all anti-gay discrimination [1] Pathologization or attempted treatment of sexual orientation by mental health professionals illegal since 2010
Indonesia	Legal (except in Aceh) [1] [24]					Limited protection following legal process by the authorities. [25]	Transgender people allowed to change legal gender, but only after sex reassignment surgery.
New Caledonia (Special collectivity of France)	Legal (No laws against same-sex sexual activity have ever existed in the collectivity) + UN decl. sign. [1]	Civil solidarity pact since 2009 [26]	Legal since 2013	Legal since 2013	France responsible for defence	Bans all anti-gay discrimination	Under French law
Papua New Guinea	Male illegal Penalty: 3 to 14 years imprisonment (Rarely enforced, legalization proposed). Female always legal [1]
Solomon Islands	Illegal Penalty: Up to 14 years imprisonment (Not enforced, Legalization proposed). [1]				Has no military	[27]
Vanuatu	Legal (No laws against same-sex sexual activity have ever existed since independence [28] ) + UN decl. sign. [1]					Bans some anti-gay discrimination

Micronesia

LGBT rights in:	Same-sex sexual activity	Recognition of same-sex unions	Same-sex marriage	Adoption by same-sex couples	LGBT people allowed to serve openly in military?	Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation	Laws concerning gender identity/expression	Lack of a Presence of Anti-LGBT laws
Guam (Unincorporated territory of the United States)	Legal since 1978	Since 2015	Legal since 2015	Legal since 2002	United States responsible for defense [29] [30]	Bans some anti-gay discrimination	Allowed to legally change gender, but requires sex reassignment surgery
Micronesia	Legal + UN decl. sign. [1]				Has no military	Bans all anti-gay discrimination [31]
Kiribati	Male illegal Penalty: 5-14 years imprisonment (Not enforced, Legalization proposed). Female legal [1]				Has no military	Bans some anti-gay discrimination
Marshall Islands	Legal since 2005 + UN decl. sign. [1]				Has no military	Bans all anti-gay discrimination [32]
Nauru	Legal since 2016 [33] [34] + UN decl. sign.				Has no military	Pathologization or attempted treatment of sexual orientation by mental health professionals illegal since 2016
Northern Mariana Islands (Unincorporated territory of the United States)	Legal since 1983	Since 2015	Legal since 2015	Legal since 2015	United States responsible for defense [29] [30]	Bans some anti-gay discrimination [35] [36]	Under the Vital Statistics Act of 2006
Palau	Legal since 2014 + UN decl. sign. [37]		Constitutional ban since 2008		Has no military
United States Minor Outlying Islands (Unincorporated territories of the United States)	Legal		Legal	Legal	United States responsible for defense [29] [30]

Polynesia

LGBT rights in:	Same-sex sexual activity	Recognition of same-sex unions	Same-sex marriage	Adoption by same-sex couples	LGBT people allowed to serve openly in military?	Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation	Laws concerning gender identity/expression
American Samoa (Unincorporated territory of the United States) [38]	Legal since 1980	/ Same-sex marriages recognized but not performed under Respect for Marriage Act since 2022.	/ Same-sex marriages recognized but not performed under Respect for Marriage Act since 2022. [39]		United States responsible for defense [29] [30]		[40]
Cook Islands (Part of the Realm of New Zealand)	Legal since 2023 + UN decl. sign. [1]				New Zealand responsible for defence	Bans some anti-gay discrimination [41]
Easter Island (Special territory of Chile)	Legal since 1999 + UN decl. sign. [1]	Civil unions since 2015 [42]	Since 2022 [43]	Since 2022 [43]	Chile responsible for defence [44] [45]	Bans all anti-gay discrimination [46] Pathologization or attempted treatment of sexual orientation by mental health professionals illegal since 2021	Transgender persons can change their legal gender and name since 1974. No surgeries or judicial order since 2019. [47]
French Polynesia (Overseas collectivity of France)	Legal (No laws against same-sex sexual activity have ever existed in the collectivity) + UN decl. sign. [1]	Since 2013	Legal since 2013	Legal since 2013	France responsible for defence	Bans all anti-gay discrimination	Under French law
Hawaii (Constituent state of the United States)	Since 1972	Since 1997	Since 2013	Since 2012	United States responsible for defence	Bans all anti-gay discrimination
Niue (Part of the Realm of New Zealand)	Male illegal Penalty: 5-10 years imprisonment. (Not enforced, Legalization proposed). [48] Female legal + UN decl. sign. [1]				New Zealand responsible for defence
Pitcairn Islands (Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom)	Legal since 2001 + UN decl. sign. [1]	Since 2015	Legal since 2015 [49]	Legal since 2015 [50]	UK responsible for defence	Constitutional ban on all anti-gay discrimination [51]
Samoa	Male illegal Penalty: 5-7 years imprisonment (Not enforced). Legalization proposed Female always legal + UN decl. sign. [1]				Has no military	Bans some anti-gay discrimination [52] Pathologization or attempted treatment of sexual orientation by mental health professionals illegal since 2007	Samoa has a large transgender or "third-gender" community called the fa'afafine. They are a recognized part of traditional Samoan customs.
Tokelau (Dependent territory of the Realm of New Zealand)	Legal since 2003 [53] + UN decl. sign. [1]				New Zealand responsible for defence
Tonga	Male illegal Penalty: Up to 10 years imprisonment (Not enforced, Legalization proposed). Female always legal [1]
Tuvalu	Male illegal Penalty: Up to 14 years imprisonment (Not enforced). Legalization proposed Female legal + UN decl. sign. [1]		Constitutional ban since 2023		Has no military	Bans some anti-gay discrimination
Wallis and Futuna (Overseas collectivity of France)	Legal (No laws against same-sex sexual activity have ever existed in the collectivity) + UN decl. sign. [1]	Civil solidarity pact since 2009	Legal since 2013	Legal since 2013	France responsible for defence	Bans all anti-gay discrimination	Under French law

See also

• LGBTQ portal
• Oceania portal

• Recognition of same-sex unions in Oceania
• Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey
• LGBTQ rights by country or territory
• LGBTQ rights in Europe
• LGBTQ rights in the Americas
• LGBTQ rights in Asia
• LGBTQ rights in Africa

References

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