Department of Education (New South Wales)

New South Wales Department of Education
	New South Wales Department of Education logo
Government Department overview
Formed	1 July 2015 (Current); 1880; 144 years ago (First incarnation)
Preceding agencies	New South Wales Department of Education and Communities (2011–2015); New South Wales Department of Education and Training (1997–2011);
Jurisdiction	New South Wales
Headquarters	105 Phillip Street, Parramatta, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Ministers responsible	The Hon. Prue Car MP, ; Minister for Education and Early Learning; The Hon. Steve Whan MP, ; Minister for Skills and Training;
Government Department executive	Murat Dizdar, ; Secretary;
Key document	Education Act, 1990 (NSW);
Website	education.nsw.gov.au

The New South Wales Department of Education, a department of the Government of New South Wales, is responsible for the delivery and co-ordination of early childhood, primary school, secondary school, vocational education, adult, migrant and higher education in the state of New South Wales, Australia.

The department was preceded by the Board of National Education and Council of Education, and has been formerly known by a number of names, including Department of Public Instruction, the Department of Education and Training (DET) between December 1997 and April 2011, and the Department of Education and Communities (DEC) between April 2011 and July 2015.

The department's powers are principally drawn from the Education Act, 1990 (NSW).

History

In 1889 the NSW Government took control of the Board of Technical Education, which was then governed by the Technical Education Branch of the Department of Public Instruction. After technical education developed into a state-wide TAFE NSW network of colleges, eventually a separate Department of Technical Education was established in 1949.^[1]

In 1957 a committee was appointed to survey secondary education in New South Wales to survey and report on the provision of full-time education for adolescents. The resulting report was known as the Wyndham Report.^[2]

in 1974, the Australian Capital Territory Schools Authority took over responsibility for nearly 60 government schools that were previously under the control of New South Wales.^[3]

The Department of Education and Training (DET) was created in December 1997, until being renamed in April 2011 as the Department of Education and Communities (DEC) until July 2015.^[4]^[5]

Structure and governance

The department's powers are principally drawn from the Education Act, 1990 (NSW).^[6]

The head of the department is its secretary, as of June 2023^[update] Murat Dizdar.^[7]

The secretary reports to the Minister for Education and Early Learning, currently^[when?] The Hon. Prue Car MP. Ultimately the ministers are responsible to the Parliament of New South Wales.^{[citation needed]}

With a budget of more than A$8 billion,^[when?] and over 2,240 schools with a total enrolment of almost one million students, the department represents roughly one-quarter of the State's total budget each year.^[8]

Departmental leadership

Name	Title	Term start	Term end	Time in office	Notes
William Wills	Secretary of the Board of National Education	12 February 1849	October 1863	14 years, 261 days
William Wilkins	Secretary of the Board of National Education	October 1863	December 1866	21 years, 12 days
	Secretary of the Council of Education	January 1867	30 April 1880
	Under-Secretary of the Department of Public Instruction	1 May 1880	12 November 1884
Edwin Johnson		13 November 1884	10 April 1894	9 years, 148 days
John Maynard		10 April 1894	1 October 1903	9 years, 174 days
Frederick Bridges (acting)		1 October 1903	7 February 1905	1 year, 129 days
Peter Board	Director of Education	8 February 1905	31 December 1922	17 years, 326 days
Stephen Henry Smith		1 January 1923	1 August 1930	7 years, 212 days
G(eorge) Ross Thomas		2 August 1930	21 September 1940	10 years, 50 days
John Gordon McKenzie		22 September 1940	29 November 1952	12 years, 68 days
Sir Harold Wyndham	Director-General of Education	1 December 1952	31 December 1968	16 years, 30 days
David Verco		1 January 1969	3 July 1972	3 years, 184 days
John Buggie		4 July 1972	18 February 1977	4 years, 229 days
Douglas Swan		21 February 1977	8 July 1985	8 years, 137 days
Robert Winder		10 July 1985	29 April 1988	2 years, 294 days
Fenton Sharpe	Director-General of School Education	30 April 1988	12 November 1991	3 years, 196 days
Ken Boston	Director-General of Education and Training Managing Director of TAFE NSW	2 January 1992	12 July 2002	10 years, 191 days
Jan McLelland		22 October 2002	22 January 2004	1 year, 92 days
Andrew Cappie-Wood		22 January 2004	14 April 2007	3 years, 82 days
Michael Coutts-Trotter		14 April 2007	28 March 2011	3 years, 348 days
Michele Bruniges		7 September 2011	3 February 2014	4 years, 207 days
	Director-General of Education and Communities Managing Director of TAFE NSW	3 February 2014	1 July 2015
	Secretary of the Department of Education	1 July 2015	1 April 2016
Mark Scott		1 September 2016	23 April 2021
Georgina Harrisson		24 May 2021 (2021-05-24)	14 April 2023 (2023-04-14)	1 year, 325 days
Murat Dizdar		15 April 2023 (2023-04-15)	incumbent	1 year, 221 days	^[9]

Agencies administered

References

^ "TAFE NSW". Our history. 19 August 2012. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
^ Wyndham, Harold Stanley (1957). "Report of the Committee Appointed to Survey Secondary Education in New South Wales". Parliamentary Paper (New South Wales. Parliament); 1957/49.
^ "Since World War II History of New South Wales government schools". Education NSW. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
^ "Department of Education and Training (1997–2011) Department of Education and Communities (2011–2015)". State Archives and Records Authority of New South Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
^ "Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes—Public Service Agencies) Order (No 2) 2015" (PDF). Legislation NSW. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
^ "NSW Education Act 1990". Parliament of New South Wales. 1990. Retrieved 6 May 2007.
^ Carroll, Lucy (2023-06-08). "How a former garbage collector became the state's new schools boss". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
^ "My Budget". NSW Budget 2018-19 | Latest NSW Budget. NSW government. n.d. "Where the money goes" tab. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
^ "Minns Government public service changes to tackle state's challenges". NSW Government. 14 April 2023.

External links

[tafehist-1] "TAFE NSW". Our history. 19 August 2012. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2024.

[2] Wyndham, Harold Stanley (1957). "Report of the Committee Appointed to Survey Secondary Education in New South Wales". Parliamentary Paper (New South Wales. Parliament); 1957/49.

[3] "Since World War II History of New South Wales government schools". Education NSW. Retrieved 2018-06-12.

[4] "Department of Education and Training (1997–2011) Department of Education and Communities (2011–2015)". State Archives and Records Authority of New South Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2019.

[5] "Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes—Public Service Agencies) Order (No 2) 2015" (PDF). Legislation NSW. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2019.

[6] "NSW Education Act 1990". Parliament of New South Wales. 1990. Retrieved 6 May 2007.

[7] Carroll, Lucy (2023-06-08). "How a former garbage collector became the state's new schools boss". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2023-06-08.

[8] "My Budget". NSW Budget 2018-19 | Latest NSW Budget. NSW government. n.d. "Where the money goes" tab. Retrieved 2019-05-30.

[9] "Minns Government public service changes to tackle state's challenges". NSW Government. 14 April 2023.

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