Diversity Liaison Officers (DLOs) are located throughout New Zealand to provide liaison between Police and those in our community who identify as LGBTQIA+, Takatāpui or MVPFAFF+* (rainbow communities) and their whanau.
We have Police officers and employees who work in a variety of roles who also hold a portfolio as a DLO. If you would like to speak with us, please message us and we will get back to you as soon as possible during work hours.
What we can do
- Help answer your queries, provide advice, or explain processes.
- Link you in with appropriate Police personnel or support groups.
- Respond to invitations to attend Pride events or similar activities.
What we can't do
-
We cannot interfere in the court process, but we may be able to support you through the court process.
Contact a DLO
Start by emailing DLOs@police.govt.nz with your details and what part of Aotearoa you’re in, and we’ll connect you with a local DLO.
Trust and Confidence
What are we doing to improve the Rainbow Communities’ Trust & Confidence in NZ Police?
- Raising Rainbow awareness for Police staff
- Improving services to Rainbow people
- Connecting with Rainbow communities
- Creating a safer organisation for our Rainbow staff
If you would like to know more about how we are doing this, please email us on DLOs@police.govt.nz.
Praise and Complaints
Please contact us if you have a praise or complaint you would like to share with us.
We are always looking for continuous improvement opportunities.
Community Support
Wherever we can we work in partnership with government and rainbow community agencies, most of whom also offer advocacy and support services.
You can connect with some of them:
- Adhikaar Aotearoa - provides support, education, and advocacy for LGBTQIA+ people of colour, particularly South Asian
- Burnett Foundation - provides HIV tests, free counselling, HIV prevention and research in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch
- Body Positive - a peer support organisation providing care and support to all people living with HIV/AIDS in New Zealand
- CARN - The Cross Agency Rainbow Network includes representatives from different agencies across the public service
- Counting Ourselves - an anonymous health survey designed by and for trans and non-binary people living in Aotearoa New Zealand.
- Gender Minorities Aotearoa - a nationwide transgender support organisation, run by and for transgender people
- The Rainbow Support Collective
Connects peer-led LGBTQIA+ organisations who provide service delivery and peer-support services in Aotearoa. - Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura - Outing Violence
Provides resources, information, and support for Takatāpui and Rainbow communities dealing with family, partner, and sexual violence, with links to their research based on people’s lived experiences. - Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Right Commission - Aotearoa New Zealand's National Human Rights Institution
- InsideOUT - works to make Aotearoa a safer place for young people of minority genders and sexualities
- NZPC - a New Zealand wide organisation run by sex workers for sex workers, advocating for their rights, health, and well-being
- OutLine - provides a phone service and other services supporting LGBTI+ including conversion practices survivors
- Rainbow Path NZ - an advocacy and peer support group for the rights of Rainbow refugees and asylum seekers in Aotearoa
- Rainbow Youth - provides information, advocacy, and support for queer & gender diverse (LGBT) young people in Aotearoa
- Takatāpui NZ - a resource hub for Takatāpui and their whānau
Plus, there are countless local rainbow pride groups around Aotearoa - contact us at DLOs@police.govt.nz and we’ll put you in touch!
Resources and Links
- Hate crime - link to information on what to do about hate crime, and our hate crime response, Te Raranga (The Weave)
- Crowded Places - a link information about how we can work together to protect crowded places from attack
- School Community Services - a link to our School Portal
- MPES - Māori, Pasifika, and Ethnic Services - connect via our Local Contacts page
- View / download Information about family violence in rainbow relationships (PDF, 132KB)
- Toolbox for parents with Rainbow children
A violence prevention resource designed to support parents who haven’t connected with the Rainbow world, to help them understand what is happening, and be loving and supportive of their Rainbow children. - Kōrero Mai | Talk to Me
An online resource for parents and caregivers with more information about keeping Takatāpui and Rainbow kids safe. - Sex and Relationships
Resources for safer sex and healthier relationships for transgender people and their partners including signs of an unhealthy relationship dynamic, understanding your options if you are sexually assaulted, and ending an abusive relationship. - Partner Violence Power and Control Wheel for Rainbow Relationships
A tool for identifying and understanding behaviours specific to Aotearoa and specific to Rainbow relationships. - Online Security 101
Simple, practical tips for keeping your private information safe online, and what to do if you are being harassed or doxxed. - The Adhikaar Report - Adhikaar Aotearoa’s first of its kind, community consultation, that sought to understand the unique experiences that LGBT+ South Asians face in Aotearoa
- Counting Ourselves 2018 Survey - the community report on the first comprehensive national research about the health and wellbeing of trans and non-binary people in Aotearoa New Zealand
- Youth ’19 Transgender Young People Report - key findings for transgender and diverse gender secondary school students
Youth ’19 Young People Attracted to Same/Multiple Sexes Report - key findings for same- and multiple-sex attracted secondary school students - What are PRONOUNS and why they are important? How language can create good, supportive, understanding environments for trans and non-binary people
- Te Puka Ārahi i te Reo Tuwhera mō te Ranga Aniwaniwa | Rainbow inclusive language guide - explains how to use inclusive language and the importance of doing so, including a glossary of common rainbow terms - Glossary - Diversity and Inclusion
- Keeping Rainbow communities safe (PDF 195KB) - safety information (to be shared or printed), includes how to keep safe on a night out, using dating apps, at public protests and advice for employers and employees
- Anti-transgender Extremism - practical advice from Gender Minorities Aotearoa on recognising, preventing, and countering anti-transgender extremism, with a focus on keeping community events safe from anti-transgender violence.
*Rainbow communities:
Is an umbrella term for all people whose sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and/or sex characteristics place them outside culturally mainstream categories.
Related information
Police Diversity Liaison Officers (DLOs) in Tairāwhiti raised the Rainbow flag over Gisborne Police Station to mark the start of Pride Month in Aotearoa. (Feb 2023)
- 17 Oct 2023 | Tenth victim identified in gay bashing case as rainbow officers offer support - The Press
- 18 Jun 2023 | Policing with Pride—What’s in a Rainbow Car? - New Thinking
- Jan 2023 issue | Transitioning while working at NZ Police - Express
Name and Gender
Personal information is acquired by Police in many ways and many forms to keep our communities safe - How we manage personal information.
Because everyone’s circumstances are different, options for updating people’s names and genders in the National Intelligence System (NIA) need to be assessed for each case.
For gender affirmation purposes, we have simplified the process, as follows:
- Email your request to dlos@police.govt.nz with scanned copies or photographs of evidence of identity and name/gender change:
- two forms of ID (at least one must be photographic) e.g., new birth certificate, driver licence, passport, AND,
- an Identity Referee's Statement (PDF, 520KB) OR a clear photograph of you holding your photographic ID
- Then we can see if we can update your details for you, and let you know.
- If we are not able to do so, we will discuss the option of putting a note in our system* so we can ensure we use your correct name and gender when interacting with you.
If you have not yet legally changed your name/gender or updated those records with us, please advise any officer you deal with to help them verify your identity. This will avoid any suspicion of fraudulent intent and may also be an opportunity to update your information.
While Police also use data collected by other agencies, we can only change data in our own system. Here are some links to help you change your birth certificate, passport, driver licence, or information held by the Ministry of Justice.
*This can be used where a person’s gender identity or gender presentation differs from their name or sex recorded in NIA, with their consent, where this may be relevant to their future interactions with Police. It simply advises the officer as to the correct name and pronouns to use, in this format: "DOE, John is gender diverse and is known as DOE, Joan. They use the pronouns SHE/HER."