Dark sky movement in New Zealand

The dark-sky movement in New Zealand is a range of projects and initiatives to reduce light pollution, enhance the visibility of the night sky, promote astrotourism and encourage people to become interested in the stars. It includes projects to seek certification of regions of New Zealand that meet DarkSky International standards for the night sky, including the control of artificial light and light pollution. New Zealand's first certified Dark Sky place was the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, accredited in 2012. Several other dark sky places have now been certified, and the movement has an objective of achieving accreditation of New Zealand as a Dark Sky Nation, where the entire country has received certification for its protection of the night sky.

To achieve certification, standards for control of light pollution from artificial light sources will need to be introduced or strengthened across the country. Advocates for the dark sky movement in New Zealand have proposed that there should be national legislation to control light pollution, following similar laws already introduced in France, Great Britain and Slovenia. In 2026, advocates for the dark sky movement in New Zealand raised concerns that changes to national planning laws would prevent local councils from enacting measures to protect the night sky, leading to a critical risk to the accreditation of dark sky places.