The New South Wales Government (NSW Government) is made up of a number of departments, state-owned corporations and other agencies. The NSW Public Service is organised under the Government Sector Employment Act 2013, with public bodies organised under various legislation. In 2009, most of the 100+ government organisations were restructured into 13 'super agencies' or clusters.[1] This number was subsequently reduced to ten clusters in 2013;[2] and in July 2019 following the 2019 state election, it was further reduced to eight clusters.[3] A new cluster for Regional NSW was created in April 2020, increasing to nine clusters;[4][5] and a further cluster, Enterprise, Investment and Trade, established on 21 December 2021, in the second Perrottet ministry.[6]
Agency types
The executive government is made up of:
ministerial departments, which are the lead agencies in each cluster
executive agencies, which are agencies related to departments
separate agencies, which operate independently of departments but can still be within clusters
statutory authorities, which are established under legislation but sit outside clusters
state-owned corporations
subsidiaries of the NSW Government established under the Corporations Act
councils under the Local Government Act
universities.
There are also a number of advisory boards and committees, though these are not agencies in their own right.[7]
Clusters
The NSW Public Sector employs more than 348,000 people (full-time equivalent), almost all of whom work within one of the ten clusters.[8][9] A restructure into eight clusters took effect on 1 July 2019; and a new cluster was added in April 2020;[10][11] with a further cluster added on 21 December 2021.[6]
As of January 2024, the clusters and their ministers are:
This is a list of executive agencies of the NSW Government, as listed in Schedule 4 of the Administrative Arrangements (Second Perrottet Ministry—Transitional) Order 2021, containing Amendment No. 40 to the Government Sector Employment Act 2013:[6][15]
The Law and Justice Foundation of NSW is an independent statutory body, established by the Law and Justice Foundation Act 2000. It is a justice research organisation, with an explicit mandate to focus on the legal needs of the community, its aim being "to contribute to the development of a fair and equitable justice system that addresses the legal needs of the community and improves access to justice by the community, particularly by socially and economically disadvantaged people". It creates, analyses, and provides data, supports planning of legal assistance in the state, and manages a grants program.[17] It gave the Aboriginal Justice Award from 2002 until 2017,[18] after which funding for the award was withdrawn.[19]
^"Governance arrangements chart"(PDF). New South Wales Department of Premier & Cabinet. 1 May 2020. Archived(PDF) from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
^"Workforce Profile Report 2020". Public Service Commission. Table 2.3: Composition of the public sector by cluster, census period FTE, 2019–2020: Public Service Commission. February 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.((cite web)): CS1 maint: location (link)
