SWSA Welcomes NZ Direction Protecting Fair Competition

MEDIA RELEASE

9 July 2026

Save Women’s Sport Australasia (SWSA) welcomes a Ministerial Direction that prioritises fairness for females in sport. The Direction, issued by the Minister for Sport and Recreation to Sport and Recreation New Zealand (Sport NZ) under Section 103 of the Crown Entities Act 2004, came into effect on 1 July 2026.

It directs that Sport NZ:

• Ensures publicly funded sporting bodies support fair competition that is not compromised by rules related to gender; and

• Affirms that matters concerning how transgender people participate in sport, at any level, are best left to individual sports organisations to address.

 “This is a clear and long-overdue victory for female athletes,” said Ro Edge, spokesperson for Save Women’s Sport Australasia. “Sport NZ can no longer use its funding power and influence to push guidelines that allow biological males to compete in female categories. The Direction explicitly prioritises fairness and returns decision-making authority to the sports themselves, where it belongs.”

The Direction is legally binding.

Sport NZ and the bodies it funds must now align their policies and practices with the requirement to protect fair, sex-based competition. “It follows concerns we and others raised about Sport NZ’s previous transgender inclusion guidelines, which had pressured national sporting organisations to adopt policies that compromised fairness and safety for women and girls. “This direction is clear: publicly funded sport must not compromise fairness through gender-related rules. Individual sports are now free - and expected - to make evidence-based decisions that protect the female category.”

“Female athletes have waited years for this clarity,” Edge said. “This Direction sends a strong message across Australasia and internationally that women’s sport is not up for negotiation. We urge all national sporting organisations to review their policies immediately to ensure full compliance with the Government’s stated policy.”

ENDS Media

Background: The full Direction is available on the New Zealand Gazette: https://gazette.govt.nz/notice/id/2026-go3689 

SWSA Welcomes NZ Direction Protecting Fair Competition