The New South Wales Minister for Education and Early Learning is a minister in the

New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

and has responsibilities that includes all schools and institutes of higher education in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Together, the ministers administer the portfolio through the

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study the magnetosphere * Asteroid cluster, a small ...

, in particular the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

TAFE NSW TAFE NSW is an Australian vocational education and training provider. Annually, the network trains over 500,000 students in campus, workplace, online, or distance education methods of education. It was established as an independent statutory bod ...

, and a range of other government agencies. Ultimately, the ministers are responsible to the

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, (definition of "The Legislature") is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the Monarch, the New South Wa ...

Office history

The role of administering the education system in New South Wales began with the passing by the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

of the ''National Education Board Act 1848'', which emulated the '

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

' system of education established in Ireland by Lord Stanley in 1831 through the Stanley letter. The Act established the Board of National Education, a body corporate, with a Chairman of the Board appointed by the board members. The Board was abolished by the colonial government of

Henry Parkes Sir Henry Parkes, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and the longest-serving non-consecutive Premier of New South Wales, premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in ...

in 1866 with the passing of the ''Public Schools Act 1866'' and its functions were replaced by the Council of Education. Originally the bill for the act had included a measure to attach the role of President of the Council of Education ''ex officio'' to the Colonial Secretary. This measure was deleted in committee stage and the role of President was to be elected by the members of the council. This came to be seen by the first president, Parkes, as an indispensable way in which to protect the independence of the fledgling education system in the colony. From 1873, with the independence of the role of President well established, the responsibility for education within the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

was held by the Minister of Justice and Public Instruction. However this situation did not last and the independent council was abolished with the passing of the ''Public Instruction Act 1880'' by

Sir Henry Parkes Sir Henry Parkes, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and the longest-serving non-consecutive premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in the Commonwealth of Australi ...

' third government. The Act dissolved the Council of Education and transferred its responsibilities to a new Minister of Public Instruction, who had the role of establishing for the first time a well-structured system of public education throughout the colony. The Minister administered the portfolio through the Department of Public Instruction, which became the Department of Education in 1915. In 2015 the functions of

were transferred from the education portfolio to the industry, portfolio only to return to the education portfolio in 2019.

Predecessor offices and ministers

Board of National Education/Council of Education

The Chairman or President were not ministers of the crown, although all but John Smith were current or former members of parliament. They were independent of ministerial supervision until the Minister of Justice and Public Instruction was appointed in December 1873.

Ministers of Justice and Public Instruction

List of ministers

The following individuals have been appointed Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning or any previous titles.

Education

Early Learning

Former ministerial titles

Assistant ministers

Occasionally, an Assistant Minister for Education would be appointed to assist the minister and act as a deputy.

References

{{New South Wales Government Departments, state=autocollapse

Ministries established in 1880 1880 establishments in Australia Education ministers of Australia