Advocates are questioning whether new legislation to make conversion therapy a criminal act goes far enough.
Justice Minister Kris Faafoi introduced the legislation on Friday after a long campaign to ban the practice.
Criminal penalties will extend to up to five years in prison for cases of serious harm caused by the so-called therapy, which encompasses a range of pseudoscientific methods that attempt to change a person's gender or sexual identity.
The practices inflict severe pain and suffering on LGBT people and often results in long-lasting psychological and physical damage, according to human rights experts and medical associations.
Auckland Pride executive director Max Tweedie spoke to Corin Dann.
