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Diversity liaison officers

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.

Give feedback about Police

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

*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)
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)

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:

  1. 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
  2. Then we can see if we can update your details for you, and let you know.
     
  3. 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."