Welcome to the Interchurch Bioethics Council

Gene Editing (GE) in Aotearoa New Zealand 2024 and Beyond

Gene editing in Aotearoa New Zealand is currently under review with the Gene Technology Bill in process. The scope of gene technology has advanced considerably in recent years, with a lot of potential opportunities for our country in agriculture, conservation, climate change responses and medical treatments. However, gene technology also poses some potential known and unknown risks, which need to be discussed for the best decisions to be made.

As many people do not have a science background, the ICBC has helped to write a beginner’s guide to Gene Technology (2025) for members of the public who know little about this area of science.

You can read this Gene Technology Beginners Guide here.  

We hope this beginner’s guide will enable readers to then start to understand more in-depth information, including this article written by the ICBC in 2024:

Gene Editing in NZ for 2024 and Beyond – ICBC Article, 2024.

The ICBC made this written submission to the Health Select Committee for the Gene Technology Bill in Feb 2025, ICBC submission to GT Bill 2024 and then this oral submission to the HSC on March 14, 2025.