The New South Wales Premier's Department, a department of 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 ...

, is responsible for leading the

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 ...

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, pu ...

to deliver on the Government's commitments and priorities. The department provides administrative support that enables the cabinet to identify, design and implement a coordinated policy, project and reform agenda that boosts the efficiency, productivity and effectiveness across the State. The department consults and work closely with other New South Wales government departments, the Commonwealth Government,

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

, business and the community to ensure responses to community needs are effective. The Department is led by its

Secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

, presently Simon Draper, who reports to the

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

, and in absence, the Deputy Premier. The Premier is assisted in administration of the portfolio by the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, the Minister for the Arts, and the Minister for Youth. On 1 July 2023, the Department of Premier and Cabinet was split into the Premier’s Department and The Cabinet Office, reverting to the way it was before 2007.

Agency activities

The Premier's Department s directly responsible for the administration and implementation of government reform agenda through policy and project support. The department also plays a key coordinating role in disaster management, delivery of infrastructure such as major projects and industry and business development. Premier and Cabinet also manages workforce reforms, employee relations and essential services to support the government of the day, such as ministerial services, parliamentary counsel, cabinet secretariat and policy support. The Department is responsible for investigating various matters as directed by the Premier and the agency Secretary.

Current structural groups and divisions

, the Department of Premier and Cabinet is divided into five groups: the Strategy and Delivery Group; the Transformation Group; the Community Engagement Group; Office of the General Counsel; and the People Group. Each group comprises a number of branches (in the People Group, teams). These groups are responsible for a number of functional areas, agencies and cabinet committees. The five branches of the Community Engagement Group are: Employee Relations; Aboriginal Affairs NSW; Create NSW; Heritage NSW; State Archives Records Authority (SARA); and the Sydney Living Museums. Heritage NSW will be transferred to the Department of Planning and Environment on 1 April 2022.

Premier and Cabinet cluster

NSW Government agencies are broadly organised into eight groups, referred to as clusters. The following agencies are included in the Premier and Cabinet cluster, administered by the Department:

Executive agencies

* Office of the Governor *

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

Australian Museum The Australian Museum, originally known as the Colonial Museum or Sydney Museum. is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney, William Street, Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, New South Wales. It is the oldest natural ...

* Election Funding Authority of New South Wales * Greater Sydney Commission * Heritage Council of New South Wales * Independent Commission Against Corruption * Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal *

Infrastructure NSW Infrastructure NSW is an government agency, agency of the Government of New South Wales that provides independent advice to assist the NSW Government in identifying and prioritising the delivery of critical public infrastructure across the Austra ...

* Library Council of New South Wales *

Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences The Powerhouse Museum, formerly known as the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS), is a collection of 4 museums in Sydney, owned by the Government of New South Wales. Powerhouse is a contemporary museum of applied arts and sciences, explorin ...

* Natural Resources Commission *

New South Wales Electoral Commission The New South Wales Electoral Commission, known as the NSWEC or the NSW Electoral Commission is a statutory agency with responsibility for the administration, organisation, and supervision of elections in New South Wales. It reports to the NS ...

* New South Wales Ombudsman * Office of the Inspector of the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission * Parliamentary Counsel's Office * Public Service Commission * Resilience NSW * Sydney Opera House Trust

Non-executive agencies

* Aboriginal Affairs NSW * Create NSW (incorporating the previous Arts NSW and Screen NSW)

Agency history

In 2006 the New South Wales Government commissioned an inquiry into government administration by Dr Michael Vertigan and Nigel Stokes, entitled ''New South Wales audit of expenditure and assets report'' or more commonly the ''Vertigan Report''. Prior to 2007 separate agencies existed, entitled the Premier's Department of New South Wales and the New South Wales Cabinet Office, the latter established in 1988. Premier Morris Iemma merged the two agencies into the new Department of Premier and Cabinet under the direction of Robyn Kruk after the 2006 resignation of the Director General of the Cabinet Office, Roger Wilkins, and replacing the long-term Director General of Premier's Department, Col Gellatly, who served under Premier Carr. In 2008, following the resignation of Premier Iemma, Nathan Rees replaced Kruk with John Lee, a senior

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

in the New South Wales Department of Transport and brother of Michael Lee, a former

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Federal Minister and

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of the

City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the Local government in Australia, local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament ...

. In June 2009, Rees announced a restructure of the New South Wales Government and the creation of 13 super departments aimed at delivering better government services. The Department of Premier and Cabinet was named as the lead agency; responsible for the implementation of the new plan. Additionally, the Department of Premier and Cabinet became responsible to a number of Ministers. In addition to the Premier, the Ministers for the Central Coast, the Hunter, the Illawarra, Infrastructure, Local Government, Police, Public Sector Reform, Regulatory Reform, Women, and the Assisting the Premier on Veterans’ Affairs, and the Special Minister of State all were responsible for various functions administered by the Department of Premier and Cabinet. Following the December 2009 appointment of Kristina Keneally as Premier, Keneally announced that the restructure plan would continue to be implemented, whilst at the same time replacing Lees with Brendan O'Reilly. Following the NSW coalition's victory at the 2011 state election, Liberal Premier

Barry O'Farrell Barry Robert O'Farrell (born 24 May 1959) is an Australian former politician who was Australia's List of Australian High Commissioners to India, High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan from February 2020 to 30 June 202 ...

replaced O'Reilly with Chris Eccles on 4 April 2011. By August 2011, a revised agency structure was formalised, together with an overlying management structure that led to the creation of offices and divisions covering local government, planning and infrastructure including strategic lands, environment and heritage including environment and climate change, national parks and wildlife, western Sydney, parliamentary counsel, and general counsel. A further restructure took place following the 2015 state election when Premier

Mike Baird Michael Bruce Baird (born 1 April 1968) is an Australian investment banker and former politician who was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, Mini ...

transferred the functions of investment attraction, trade and tourism, and major events from the Trade and Industry to Premier and Cabinet. Minor changes to the portfolio were made following the 2019 state election when the number of clusters were reduced from ten to eight. In April 2023, new Labor Premier

Chris Minns Christopher John Minns (born 17 September 1979) is an Australian politician serving as the 47th and current premier of New South Wales since March 2023. He has been the leader of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) si ...

announced that the Department of Premier and Cabinet would be split back into the Premier's Department and The Cabinet Office on 1 July 2023.

Agency executives

Premier's Department

Premier & Cabinet

Agency inquiries

In 2007, the Director General of the Department referred a matter to

NSW Police The New South Wales Police Force is a law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia, established in 1862. With more than 17,000 police officers, it is the largest police organisation in Australia, policing an area of 801,60 ...

following allegation that Paul Gibson had allegedly assaulted Sandra Nori, a parliamentary colleague of Gibson's with whom he had a relationship. In 2010, the Department coordinated investigations into claims that Ian Macdonald, a disgraced former Minister, had rorted his travel allowances. During 2010, the Auditor General of New South Wales accused the agency of establishing special deals with contracted public servants which resulted in them receiving a form of

golden handshake A golden handshake is a clause in an executive employment contract that provides the executive with a significant severance package in the case that the executive loses their job through firing, restructuring, or even scheduled retirement. Thi ...

. Premier Keneally defended the Department and stated that, ''"nobody in my government has those sorts of arrangements"''.

References

External links

The Premier’s Department
{{New South Wales Government Departments Premier and Cabinet 2007 establishments in Australia Government agencies established in 2007