# Department of Education (New South Wales)

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.
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.
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.
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.

## Structure and governance

The department's powers are principally drawn from the Education Act, 1990 (NSW).
The head of the department is its secretary, as of June 2023 Murat Dizdar.
The secretary reports to the Minister for Education and Early Learning, currently The Hon. Prue Car MP. Ultimately the ministers are responsible to the Parliament of New South Wales.
With a budget of more than A$8 billion, 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.

### Departmental leadership

| Name | Title | Term start | Term end | Time in office |
| 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 |
| William Wilkins | Secretary of the Council of Education | January 1867 | 30 April 1880 | 21 years, 12 days |
| William Wilkins | Under-Secretary of the Department of Public Instruction | 1 May 1880 | 12 November 1884 | 21 years, 12 days |
| Edwin Johnson | Under-Secretary of the Department of Public Instruction | 13 November 1884 | 10 April 1894 | 9 years, 148 days |
| John Maynard | Under-Secretary of the Department of Public Instruction | 10 April 1894 | 1 October 1903 | 9 years, 174 days |
| Frederick Bridges (acting) | Under-Secretary of the Department of Public Instruction | 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 | Director of Education | 1 January 1923 | 1 August 1930 | 7 years, 212 days |
| G(eorge) Ross Thomas | Director of Education | 2 August 1930 | 21 September 1940 | 10 years, 50 days |
| John Gordon McKenzie | Director of Education | 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 | Director-General of Education | 1 January 1969 | 3 July 1972 | 3 years, 184 days |
| John Buggie | Director-General of Education | 4 July 1972 | 18 February 1977 | 4 years, 229 days |
| Douglas Swan | Director-General of Education | 21 February 1977 | 8 July 1985 | 8 years, 137 days |
| Robert Winder | Director-General of Education | 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 | Director-General of Education and Training Managing Director of TAFE NSW | 22 October 2002 | 22 January 2004 | 1 year, 92 days |
| Andrew Cappie-Wood | Director-General of Education and Training Managing Director of TAFE NSW | 22 January 2004 | 14 April 2007 | 3 years, 82 days |
| Michael Coutts-Trotter | Director-General of Education and Training Managing Director of TAFE NSW | 14 April 2007 | 28 March 2011 | 3 years, 348 days |
| Michele Bruniges | Director-General of Education and Training Managing Director of TAFE NSW | 7 September 2011 | 3 February 2014 | 4 years, 207 days |
| Michele Bruniges | Director-General of Education and Communities Managing Director of TAFE NSW | 3 February 2014 | 1 July 2015 | 4 years, 207 days |
| Michele Bruniges | Secretary of the Department of Education | 1 July 2015 | 1 April 2016 | 4 years, 207 days |
| Mark Scott | Secretary of the Department of Education | 1 September 2016 | 23 April 2021 | |
| Georgina Harrisson | Secretary of the Department of Education | 24 May 2021 (2021-05-24) | 14 April 2023 (2023-04-14) | 1 year, 325 days |
| Murat Dizdar | Secretary of the Department of Education | 15 April 2023 (2023-04-15) | incumbent | 1 year, 312 days |

## Agencies administered

* List of government schools in New South Wales
** List of Government schools in New South Wales: A–F
** List of Government schools in New South Wales: G–P
** List of Government schools in New South Wales: Q–Z
* TAFE NSW