Is flag burning illegal in New Zealand?
Legal / protected speech
Flag desecration is legal due to constitutional protection of free expression, despite laws against dishonouring the flag.
New Zealand is one of 11 countries classified “Legal / protected speech” for flag desecration — 16% of the 67 with data. (Also searched as flag burning.)
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Flag desecration
- Last checked
- 7 July 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- Samoa
- Criminal offense Wilfully insulting the Samoan flag is punishable by fine or up to six months imprisonment.
- Indonesia
- Criminal offense Destroying or defacing the Indonesian national flag is punishable by up to ten years imprisonment.
- Malaysia
- Criminal offense Flag desecration is illegal in Malaysia under the Penal Code, Sedition Act, and Emblems & Names Act.
- Philippines
- Criminal offense It is illegal to mutilate, deface, or insult the flag with penalties including fines and imprisonment.
- Singapore
- Criminal offense Singapore law criminalizes flag desecration with fines up to S$30,000 or imprisonment.
- Chile
- Criminal offense Flag desecration is illegal in Chile with imprisonment terms of up to 1 year.
Other laws in New Zealand
- Blasphemy Laws
- No blasphemy law
- Holocaust Denial
- No specific law
- Conversion Therapy
- Banned
Every law in New Zealand → · Where is burning the flag illegal? →
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.