The Minister of Justice, subsequently Minister for Justice, was a ministry in the administration of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, established in 1880 in the third ministry of

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

and abolished in 2017. The position supports the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and was sometimes, although not always, held concurrently with that office.

Role and responsibilities

Prior to 1880 the Minister of Justice and Public Instruction was responsible for the administration of the courts, sheriff and coroner, as well as the Council of Education, orphan schools, the

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants. There are five fundamen ...

Australian Museum The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...

and

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. ...

. In 1880 the ministry was split into the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Public Instruction following the passage of the ''Public Instruction Act of 1880'' which required a minister to assume the responsibilities of the former Council of Education. The minister also assumed responsibility for prisons which had previously been the responsibility of the Colonial Secretary, however the Colonial Secretary retained responsibility for police. The Minister for Justice was briefly responsible for Police from 1974 until 1975. In 1978 the minister ceased to be responsible for prisons which became the responsibility of the Minister for Corrective Services. The ministry was held by the Attorney General in the

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hi ...

to sixth Wran ministries and was formally subsumed into the responsibilities of the Attorney General in the seventh Wran ministry in 1984. The portfolio was re-created in 1991, known for three weeks as the Minister for Courts Administration and Corrective Services, before returning to the name Minister for Justice. The ministry was abolished in the First Carr ministry in 1995, with justice returning to be the responsibility of the

, and juvenile justice being the responsibility of a separate minister. It was re-created in the Fourth Carr ministry in 2003 and was abolished in the

Rees ministry The Rees ministry was the 91st ministry of the Government of New South Wales, and was led by the 41st Premier Nathan Rees. The Rees Labor ministry was formed following the resignation of Premier Morris Iemma on 5 September 2008 and the unanimou ...

in 2011. The portfolio was re-created in the

O'Farrell ministry The O'Farrell ministry was the 93rd ministry of the Government of New South Wales, and was led by Barry O'Farrell, the state's 43rd Premier. The Liberal– National coalition ministry was formed following the defeat of the Keneally-led Labor ...

in 2011, combined with the portfolio of police in 2015 and was abolished in the

first Berejiklian ministry First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

in 2017, replaced by the Minister for Counter Terrorism.

List of Ministers for Justice

Former ministerial titles

Justice and Public Instruction

Notes

References

{{Government of New South Wales

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

Justice ministers