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.[1]
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.[2]
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.[3]
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.[4][5]
With a budget of more than A$8 billion,[when?] 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.[8]
Departmental leadership
Name
Title
Term start
Term end
Time in office
Notes
William Wills
Secretary of the Board of National Education
12 February 1849
October 1863
14 years, 261 days
William Wilkins
October 1863
December 1866
21 years, 12 days
Secretary of the Council of Education
January 1867
30 April 1880
Under-Secretary of the Department of Public Instruction