The Colonial Secretary was an essential position in the New South Wales Government. During the Colonial era (1821 to 1856) the Colonial Secretary supported the NSW Governor and was responsible for advising and receiving instructions from the British Government. After NSW achieved self-governence in 1856 the Colonial Secretary, was responsible for a range of essential…
The Department of Aboriginal Affairs in New South Wales is the custodian of the records of the Aborigines Welfare Board (formerly known as the Aborigines Protection Board) and the Chief Secretary. The Family Records Unit was established as a result of the New South Wales Government response to the Bringing Them Home Report to assist…
The Department of Family and Community Services was the new name chosen by the New South Wales Government for the Department of Youth and Community Services in 1991. In 1991 the Department’s name was changed to the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Department of Public Instruction controlled reformatories, industrial schools and training vessels from 1881, until the responsibility for such institutions were transferred to the Child Welfare Department in 1923. The Public Instruction Department was created by the Public Instruction Act 1880. This Act removed government funding from religious schools and made it compulsory for all…
The Department of Juvenile Justice was created in 1990 by the New South Wales Government. It is responsible for juvenile justice centres, which had previously been known as juvenile detention centres. In 2012 these were: Acmena (Grafton); Broken Hill Shelter (Broken Hill); Cobham (Werrington/St Mary’s); Emu Plains (Emu Plains); Frank Baxter (Mt Penang); Juniperina (Lidcombe);…
The Department of Technical Education was established under the Technical Education and New South Wales University of Technology Act, 1949. It was a provider of secondary training for children in New South Wales. In 1957 the Department was renamed the Department of Education.
The Department of Education (formerly known as the Department of Public Instruction) was established in 1915. It was responsible for the welfare of all children held in reformatories, industrial schools, training institutions and training vessels. After 1916, children who truanted from school could be detained in such institutions, and truancy schools were created for that…
The Department of School Education ran Schools for Special Purposes. Its links with the child welfare system are via the referral of children for truancy, behavioural disorders and, increasingly, welfare matters. On 3 December 1997 the Department of School Education became the Department of Education and Training.
From 1848 education was placed under the control of two boards: the Board of National Education and the Denominational School Board. These two boards functioned concurrently until 1866 when the Public Schools Act replaced them with the Council of Education.
The Council of Education replaced the Board of National Education and the Denominational School Board on 1 January 1867 following the Public Schools Act, 1866. The Public Instruction Act, 1880, repealed the Public Schools Act and dissolved the Council of Education on 30 April 1880 to be replaced by the Department of Public Instruction.