It will now be easier for people to amend the gender details on their licence, thanks to a policy change by the New Zealand Transport Agency. Trans people applying for a driver’s licence in their sex will no longer have to go through the lengthy and costly process of correcting the gender on their birth certificate first. The statutory declaration requirements will be similar to the new policy that the Department of Internal Affairs made last year for people wishing to change sex gender details on a passport. The simplified process was one of the recommendations of the Human Rights Commission’s 2008 Inquiry. Commissioner Richard Tankersley has welcomed the move, commending the NZTA on their initiative and the proactive manner in which they sought the Commission’s advice. “It is always really satisfying to be able to work collaboratively with government agencies, particularly when it results in a policy change that will make a real difference in many trans and intersex people’s lives,” he says. The NZTA is currently developing a standardised statutory declaration form, which will mean that changing recorded gender will be able to be completed at any Driver Licensing Agent outlets. There will be a delay of about six weeks for this to become fully operational, and for information to be on the NZTA website. In the meantime people wishing to have their gender details amended can contact the NZTA contact centre directly on 0800 822 422.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 13th June 2013 - 10:58am