New Zealand’s new stalking law which comes into force today (Tuesday 26 May 2026), marks a significant shift in how stalking and patterns of coercive behaviour are recognised and responded to under the law.
The legislation creates a standalone criminal offence for stalking, recognising repeated patterns of behaviour designed to intimidate, control, monitor or instil fear in another person. This can include behaviours such as repeated unwanted contact, surveillance, tracking, online harassment, following, interfering with property, or monitoring someone’s movements or communications.
The law is designed to strengthen protections for victims by enabling earlier intervention before behaviour escalates into more serious violence.
Shine is part of the Auckland Coalition for the Safety of Women and Children, which played a key role in advocating for the law change. In June 2025, the Coalition presented a petition with more than 22,500 signatures to Parliament calling for stalking to become a criminal offence in New Zealand.
Following the petition, Minister of Justice Paul Goldsmith committed to introducing legislation before the end of 2025.
The coalition also ran the ‘Aotearoa Free from Stalking’ campaign AotearoaFreeFromStalking where women, their whānau and all of us can happily and confidently go about our lives, caring for each other, free from the distress of stalking
Shine and the Coalition remained actively involved throughout the legislative process, advocating for reforms to strengthen the bill before it became law.
For more on stalking and what to do if you’re being stalked click here.