New South Wales Department of Premier and Cabinet
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The New South Wales Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC), a
department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of the New South Wales Government, is responsible for leading the New South Wales public sector to deliver on the Government's commitments and priorities. The department provides administrative support that enables the
cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...
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, business and the community to ensure responses to community needs are effective. The Department is led by its Secretary, presently
Michael Coutts-Trotter Michael Coutts-Trotter is an Australian public servant who is the current Secretary of the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet for Premier Dominic Perrottet. He was previously Secretary of the New South Wales Department of Communities and Ju ...
, 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 governm ...
, presently
Dominic Perrottet Dominic Francis Perrottet ( ; born 21 September 1982) is an Australian politician who is currently serving as the 46th premier of New South Wales and leader of the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party of Australia. He assumed office ...
and in his absence, the
Deputy Premier A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
, presently
Paul Toole Paul Lawrence Toole (born 2 August 1970), an Australian politician, is the Deputy Premier and leader of the New South Wales Nationals since October 2021. Toole is the Minister for Regional New South Wales in the second Berejiklian and Perrot ...
, since 6 October 2021. The Premier is assisted in administration of the portfolio by the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, the Minister for the Arts, and the
Minister for Regional Youth The New South Wales Minister for Regional Youth is a minister in the New South Wales Government with responsibility for providing a whole-of-government approach to regional youth issues in New South Wales, Australia. It was first established ...
, currently the Hon. Ben Franklin , since 21 December 2021.


Agency activities

The Department of Premier and Cabinet is 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 Aboriginal Affairs NSW (AANSW) is an agency of the Department of Premier and Cabinet in the Government of New South Wales. Aboriginal Affairs NSW is responsible for administering legislation in relation to the NSW Government policies that suppor ...
; Create NSW; Heritage NSW; State Archives Records Authority (SARA); and the
Sydney Living Museums Sydney Living Museums is the trading name of the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales (HHT), a statutory corporation entrusted with the care and maintenance of historic sites throughout New South Wales, Australia, including various gardens, ...
. Heritage NSW will be transferred to the
Department of Planning and Environment The New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) is a department of the New South Wales Government, responsible for effective and sustainable planning to support the growth in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It makes pla ...
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 importa ...
* Australian Museum *
Election Funding Authority of New South Wales The Election Funding Authority of New South Wales was the agency of the Government of New South Wales charged with administering the Elections Funding Act 1981. The Authority formerly distributed public funding for the purposes of campaigning by ...
*
Greater Sydney Commission The Greater Sydney Commission is an independent New South Wales Government agency responsible for land use planning across the metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia. The Commission was led by Lucy Turnbull Lucinda Mary Turnbull Officer of t ...
* Heritage Council of New South Wales * Independent Commission Against Corruption * Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal * Infrastructure NSW *
Library Council of New South Wales The Library Council of New South Wales is the governing body of the State Library of New South Wales, as described in The Library Act 1939 (NSW). The Library Council also has specific responsibilities to monitor the operation of public libraries i ...
* Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences * Natural Resources Commission * New South Wales Electoral Commission *
New South Wales Ombudsman New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
* Office of the Inspector of the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission * Parliamentary Counsel's Office * Public Service Commission *
Resilience NSW Resilience NSW was a Government of New South Wales executive agency within the Department of Premier and Cabinet, focused on disaster management and was responsible for disaster recovery and building community resilience to future disasters. It ...
* Sydney Opera House Trust


Non-executive agencies

*
Aboriginal Affairs NSW Aboriginal Affairs NSW (AANSW) is an agency of the Department of Premier and Cabinet in the Government of New South Wales. Aboriginal Affairs NSW is responsible for administering legislation in relation to the NSW Government policies that suppor ...
* 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 servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
in the New South Wales Department of Transport and brother of Michael Lee, a former Labor Federal Minister and Councillor of the City of Sydney. 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 Kristina Marie Kerscher Keneally (born 19 December 1968) is an American-born Australian politician who was a Labor Senator for New South Wales from February 2018 until April 2022, when she resigned to unsuccessfully contest the House of Represe ...
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 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 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.


Agency executives


Premier's Department


Premier & Cabinet


Agency inquiries

In 2007, the Director General of the Department referred a matter to NSW Police following allegation that Paul Gibson had allegedly assaulted
Sandra Nori Sandra Christine Nori (born 16 June 1953 in Newcastle, New South Wales) is a former Australian politician and presently a company director and Member of Macquarie University Council. Nori was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly ...
, 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. This can ...
. Premier Keneally defended the Department and stated that, ''"nobody in my government has those sorts of arrangements"''.


See also

* New South Wales Government * Premier of New South Wales


References


External links


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