The Broadcasting Standards Authority has found TVNZ's Sunday programme was justified in using hidden camera footage during a story screened last year about gay conversion therapy.
The BSA found the broadcast breached the privacy of three people, but high public interest justified the use.
Watch Sunday's story here: 'Pray the gay away' – Homosexual conversion therapy happening in NZ
Sunday's executive producer Jane Skinner said the story involved a complex investigation, where there was a delicate balancing act between the right to privacy and the public interest.
"We are delighted that the BSA has validated our journalism, and reinforced the importance of that public interest," she said.
"This investigation overcame a number of hurdles, withstanding the threat of legal injunction prior to broadcast and now overcoming numerous BSA complaints.
"The importance and impact of our story, however, cannot be overlooked. Our coverage prompted petitions calling for gay conversion therapy to be made illegal. More than 20,000 people signed their names to those petitions.
"Now, the prospect of a ban is real, with a private members bill outlawing GCT in the ballot.
"We are proud to have brought this issue to the public’s attention, and we couldn’t have done so without the incredibly brave and moving testimony of the three gay men in our story. It is for them, and others like them, that we hope this investigation makes a real difference. "
The BSA said the show would not have been able to obtain accurate information about the practices highlighted without a covert camera.
“The programme highlighted an issue that might not have otherwise been known to the wider New Zealand public, reporting on an allegedly misleading practice which has been recognised to cause significant harm to vulnerable people. This item contributed to the ongoing public debate about the ethics of gay conversion therapy and whether it should be made illegal," it said in its decision.
“The hidden camera footage provided audiences with an unvarnished view of [the] advice to [the reporter], that his same sex attraction could be changed or suppressed and the process by which he could achieve this… We consider it would have been highly unlikely for the individuals who were approached to speak as candidly and openly to a reporter or media about their views.”
The BSA also dismissed complaints under its fairness and accuracy standards.
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