The Act does not explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity, and the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, supported by the government's legal office, has accepted complaints of discrimination based on gender identity on the ground of sex for many years. However, the decision to interpret the prohibition of discrimination on the ground of sex to cover discrimination based on gender identity is easily reversed.
Although the Act doesn't directly outlaw discrimination based on gender identity, it has been interpreted to encompass such cases due to its more inclusive definition of sex by the New Zealand Human Rights Commission in conjunction with the government's legal office. This stance, however, is reversible at any time.