Civil Unions

The Civil Union Act 2004 came into force on 26 April 2005 and the first ceremonies were celebrated on 29 April 2005. A civil union may be entered into by couples of the same sex or by couples of different sexes. In New Zealand, a civil union may be solemnised either by a civil union celebrant or before a registrar of civil unions. A licence must be obtained from a registrar before a civil union can be solemnised, and notice must be given by one of the parties to a registrar. A couple (same or opposite sex) wishing to enter into a civil union in New Zealand must complete a Notice of Intended Civil Union (BDM360) at least three days before the civil union. The BDM360 (or civil union licence) includes a statutory declaration which must be made in the presence of a Registrar of Civil Unions. The civil union must take place within 3 months of the licence being issued. The details from the BDM360 are transferred to two copies of the form BDM345 (Copy of Particulars of Civil Union). Both copies of the BDM345 are signed by the parties at the ceremony. The BDM345 confirms the details and legal validity of the civil union. Within ten days of the ceremony the celebrant must send one copy back to the Registrar who prepared it, the other copy is given to the couple as a record of their civil union. The BDM345s are marked against the BDM360s then forwarded to Births, Deaths and Marriages (a division of the Department of Internal Affairs) in Wellington where the civil union is registered. There is also the provision for opposite-sex and same-sex couples to transfer an existing marriage to a civil union, or a civil union to a marriage. Civil union data are derived from information provided on the BDM360, BDM345 or BDM 359. Stats NZ receives a monthly electronic file of civil union registrations from Births, Deaths and Marriages. Stats NZ is responsible for processing and publishing marriage and civil union statistics derived from the marriage and civil union registrations. Civil union data are published annually and unless otherwise stated refer to civil unions by date of registration not date of occurrence. In recognition of public interest in the progress of civil unions, there are also quarterly releases of provisional civil union data as a web-only table. The provisional quarterly data are available within 5 weeks of the end of the quarter. If sex is not stated or is indeterminant, sex is imputed, however the original response is retained. en-NZ