NSW Government Confirms Departmental Restructure

On 27 July, the NSW government initiative to form 13 new super agencies was formalised with the Public Sector Employment and Management (Departmental Amalgamations) Order 2009.

This Hawker Britton occasional paper confirms the division of responsibility between the 13 super departments and their ministers. Notably there have been several changes of responsibility between departments.

The aim of this reform is to consolidate back office functions in the NSW Government bureaucracy in order to deliver efficiency and quality gains in service delivery.

Each of the new is listed below with the ministers responsible and the departments, offices and trusts under control of each ‘super department’.

The 13 New Super Departments

  1. Communities NSW (new department)
  2. Department of Education and Training (no change to name)*
  3. Department of Environment. Climate Change and Water (previously Department of Environment and Climate Change)
  4. Department of Human Service (new department)
  5. Department of Health (no change to name)*
  6. Department of Industry and Investment (new department)
  7. Department of Justice and Attorney General (new department)
  8. Police and Emergency Services NSW (new department)
  9. Department of Premier and Cabinet (no change to name)
  10. Department of Services. Technology and Administration (new department)
  11. Department of Planning*
  12. Department of Transport and Infrastructure (new department)
  13. The Treasury (no change to name)*

*There are no formal changes to responsibility for these departments in this legislation.

Please click here to download a one page document that shows the areas of responsibility for each new super department. Note this document is an update from a previous Occasional Paper.

Communities NSW Communities

NSW is responsible to the following Ministers:

  • Premier.
  • Minister for the Arts.
  • Minister for Citizenship.
  • Minister for Community Services.
  • Minister for Gaming and Racing.
  • Minister Assisting the Premier on the Arts.
  • Minister for Sport and Recreation.
  • Minister for Tourism.
  • Minister for Volunteering.
  • Minister for Western Sydney.
  • Minister for Youth.

All branches below are removed from other Departments and added to Communities NSW:

  • Department of the Arts, Sport and Recreation.
  • Office for Children.
  • Office of the Community Relations Commission.
  • Office of the Sydney Olympic Park Authority.
  • Office of the Sydney 2009 World Masters Games Organising Committee.
  • Hunter Region Sporting Venues Authority Division.
  • Parramatta Stadium Trust Division.
  • State Sports Centre Trust Division.
  • Wollongong Sportsground Trust Division.
  • Sydney Olympic Park Authority Aquatic and Athletic Centres Division.

Other functions being transferred to Communities NSW and important notes:

  • Transfer of certain DOCS staff working with:
    • youth programs.
    • Better Futures program
  • Transfer of Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) staff working with volunteering
  • Transfer of Office of Western Sydney from DPC to Communities NSW
  • Transfer of Western Sydney parklands trust staff to Communities NSW
  • Any previous reference to the Director of Liquor and Gaming is a reference to the Director General (DG) of Communities NSW.

Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW)

Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water is responsible to the following Ministers:

  • Minister for Climate Change and the Environment.
  • Minister for Water.

All branches below are removed from other Departments and added to DECCW

  • The Office of Water is established as a separate office within DECCW.

Groups of staff principally involved in the administration of legislation relating to water will be transferred from the old Department of Water and Energy to the new Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water.

Department of Human Services*

The Department is responsible to the following Ministers:

  • Minister for Aboriginal Affairs.
  • Minister for Ageing.
  • Minister for Community Services.
  • Minister for Disability Services.
  • Minister for Housing.
  • Minister for Juvenile Justice.

All branches are removed from each of the following Divisions of the Government Service and added to the Department of Human Services:

  • Department of Aboriginal Affairs.
  • Aboriginal Housing Office Group of Staff.
  • Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care.
  • Department of Community Services.
  • Housing NSW.
  • Department of Juvenile Justice.
  • NSWBusinesslink is transferred to Human Services (from Commerce)

*Note any reference in any document to the Department of Commerce is a reference to the Department of Human Services.

Department of Industry and Investment

The Department is responsible to the following Ministers:

  • Minister for the Arts.
  • Minister for Energy.
  • Minister for Mineral Resources.
  • Minister Assisting the Premier on the Arts.
  • Minister for Primary Industries.
  • Minister for Regional Development.
  • Minister for Rural Affairs.
  • Minister for Science and Medical Research.
  • Minister for Small Business.
  • Minister for State Development.
  • Minister for Tourism.

All branches are removed from each of the following Divisions of the Government Service and added to the Department of Industry and Investment.

  • Department of Primary Industries.
  • Department of State and Regional Development.
  • Department of Water and Energy.
  • Transfer of Film and Television Office staff to Industry and Investment.

Department of Justice and Attorney General

The Department is responsible to the following Ministers:

  • Attorney General.
  • Minister for Corrective Services.

All branches are removed from each of the following Divisions of the Government Service and added to the Department of Justice and Attorney General.

  • Attorney General’s Department.
  • Department of Corrective Services.
  • Transfer of DPP and Legal Aid Commission corporate services staff to Justice and Attorney General.

Police and Emergency Services NSW

The Department is responsible to the following Ministers:

  • Minister for Emergency Services.
  • Minister for Police.

    • Department of Premier and Cabinet

The Department of Premier and Cabinet is responsible to the following Ministers:

  • Premier.
  • Minister for the Central Coast.
  • Minister for the Hunter.
  • Minister for the Illawarra.
  • Minister for Infrastructure.
  • Minister for Local Government.
  • Minister for Police.
  • Minister Assisting the Premier on Veterans’ Affairs.
  • Minister for Public Sector Reform.
  • Minister for Regulatory Reform.
  • Special Minister of State.
  • Minister for Women.

All branches are removed from the Department of Local Government and added to the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

  • The Department of Local Government is abolished as a Division of the Government Service.
  • In any document, a reference to the Department of Local Government is to be construed as a reference to the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

 

Department of Services, Technology and Administration

The Department is responsible to the following Ministers:

  • Minister for Commerce.
  • Minister for Fair Trading.
  • Minister for Industrial Relations.
  • Minister for Small Business.

All branches are removed from each of the following Divisions of the Government Service and added to the Department of Services, Technology and Administration:

  • Department of Commerce.
  • Internal Audit Bureau Division.
  • Certain DET staff responsible for the Teacher Housing Authority will be transferred to Services, Technology and Administration.
  • Transfer of Retail Tenancy Unit to Services. Technology and Administration.
  • Transfer of certain corporate services staff, staff in the Department of Lands and the Office of the State Property Authority will go to Services. Technology and Administration.

Land and Property Management Authority

The Land and Property Management Authority is responsible to the following Ministers:

  • Minister for Finance.
  • Minister for the Hunter.
  • Minister for Lands.

All branches are removed from each of the following Divisions of the Government Service and added to the Land and Property Management Authority.

  • Department of Lands.
  • Office of the State Property Authority.
  • Transfer of Hunter Development Corporation staff.
  • Transfer of Office of Biofuels.
  • Transfer of certain DECC staff involved in administration of the Lake Illawarra Authority Act 1987.

Department of Transport and Infrastructure

The Department is responsible to the following Ministers:

  • Minister for Infrastructure.
  • Minister for Ports and Waterways.
  • Minister for Roads.
  • Minister for Transport.

All branches are removed from each of the following Divisions of the Government Service and added to Department of Transport and Infrastructure:

  • Maritime Authority of NSW Division.
  • Public Transport Ticketing Corporation Division.
  • Roads and Traffic Authority Division.
  • State Transit Authority Division.
  • Sydney Metro Division.
  • Western Sydney Buses Division.

Staff involved in the following activities across all NSW bureaucracy will be transferred to the Department of Transport and Infrastructure:

  • strategic transport policy development.
  • planning of networks.
  • co-ordination and planning of integrated transport, timetabling, interchange and ticketing.
  • national transport policy co-ordination and inter-jurisdictional relations.
  • transport modelling and data, including in relation to demography, population geography and land use.
  • central corporate support services, including legal services, human resources, financial services, information technology and payroll.
  • major capital projects, including scoping, feasibility studies, procurement and delivery.

Other important changes:

Establishment of the Compensation Authorities Staff Division

It will be responsible to following Ministers:

  • Minister for Finance.
  • Minister for Industrial Relations.

All staff from the Office of the Motor Accidents Authority and the Office of the WorkCover Authority will be transferred to the Compensation Authorities Staff Division.