Minister for Education and Early Learning
# Minister for Education and Early Learning

The New South Wales Minister for Education and Early Learning is a minister in the New South Wales Government and has responsibilities that includes all schools and institutes of higher education in New South Wales, Australia.

Together, the ministers administer the portfolio through the Education cluster, in particular the Department of Education, TAFE NSW, and a range of other government agencies.

Ultimately, the ministers are responsible to the Parliament of New South Wales.

## Office history

The role of administering the education system in New South Wales began with the passing by the New South Wales Legislative Council of the National Education Board Act 1848, which emulated the 'National' system of education established in Ireland by Lord Stanley in 1831 through the Stanley letter. The Act established the Board of National Education, a body corporate, with a Chairman of the Board appointed by the board members. The Board was abolished by the colonial government of Henry Parkes in 1866 with the passing of the Public Schools Act 1866 and its functions were replaced by the Council of Education.

Originally the bill for the act had included a measure to attach the role of President of the Council of Education ex officio to the Colonial Secretary. This measure was deleted in committee stage and the role of President was to be elected by the members of the council. This came to be seen by the first president, Parkes, as an indispensable way in which to protect the independence of the fledgling education system in the colony. From 1873, with the independence of the role of President well established, the responsibility for education within the Parliament was held by the Minister of Justice and Public Instruction.

However this situation did not last and the independent council was abolished with the passing of the Public Instruction Act 1880 by Sir Henry Parkes' third government. The Act dissolved the Council of Education and transferred its responsibilities to a new Minister of Public Instruction, who had the role of establishing for the first time a well-structured system of public education throughout the colony. The Minister administered the portfolio through the Department of Public Instruction, which became the Department of Education in 1915. In 2015 the functions of TAFE NSW were transferred from the education portfolio to the industry, portfolio only to return to the education portfolio in 2019.

## Predecessor offices and ministers

### Board of National Education/Council of Education

The Chairman or President were not ministers of the crown, although all but John Smith were current or former members of parliament. They were independent of ministerial supervision until the Minister of Justice and Public Instruction was appointed in December 1873.

| Office | Office-holder | Term start | Term end | Time in office |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Chairman of the Board of National Education | John Plunkett | 15 July 1848 | 1 February 1858 | 9 years, 201 days |
| Chairman of the Board of National Education | Sir Charles Nicholson | 1 February 1858 | 31 December 1858 | 333 days |
| Chairman of the Board of National Education | George Holden | 1 January 1859 | 31 December 1859 | 364 days |
| Chairman of the Board of National Education | Sir Charles Nicholson | 1 January 1860 | 31 December 1860 | 365 days |
| Chairman of the Board of National Education | George Holden | 1 January 1861 | 31 December 1866 | 5 years, 364 days |
| President of the Council of Education | Henry Parkes | 1 January 1867 | 14 October 1870 | 3 years, 286 days |
| President of the Council of Education | John Smith | 14 October 1870 | 14 July 1871 | 273 days |
| President of the Council of Education | George Allen | 14 July 1871 | 1 January 1872 | 171 days |
| President of the Council of Education | John Smith | 1 January 1872 | 30 April 1880 | 8 years, 120 days |

### Ministers of Justice and Public Instruction

| Title | Minister | Term start | Term end | Time in office |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Minister of Justice and Public Instruction | George Allen MLA | 9 December 1873 | 8 February 1875 | 1 year, 61 days |
| Minister of Justice and Public Instruction | Joseph Docker MLC | 9 February 1875 | 21 March 1877 | 2 years, 40 days |
| Minister of Justice and Public Instruction | Francis Suttor MLA | 22 March 1877 | 16 August 1877 | 147 days |
| Minister of Justice and Public Instruction | John Lackey MLA | 17 August 1877 | 17 December 1877 | 122 days |
| Minister of Justice and Public Instruction | Joseph Leary MLA | 18 December 1877 | 20 December 1878 | 1 year, 2 days |
| Minister of Justice and Public Instruction | Francis Suttor | 21 December 1878 | 30 April 1880 | 1 year, 131 days |

## List of ministers

The following individuals have been appointed Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning or any previous titles.

### Ministers for Education

| Minister | Party | Title | Term start | Term end | Time in office |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Sir John Robertson | None | Minister of Public Instruction | 1 May 1880 | 10 November 1881 | 101 days |
| Francis Suttor | None | Minister of Public Instruction | 14 November 1881 | 4 January 1883 | 1 year, 51 days |
| George Reid | None | Minister of Public Instruction | 5 January 1883 | 6 March 1884 | 1 year, 61 days |
| William Trickett | None | Minister of Public Instruction | 2 May 1884 | 21 December 1885 | 1 year, 233 days |
| James Young | None | Minister of Public Instruction | 22 December 1885 | 25 February 1886 | 65 days |
| Arthur Renwick | None | Minister of Public Instruction | 26 February 1886 | 19 January 1887 | 327 days |
| James Inglis | Free Trade | Minister of Public Instruction | 20 January 1887 | 16 January 1889 | 1 year, 362 days |
| Francis Suttor | Protectionist | Minister of Public Instruction | 17 January 1889 | 7 March 1889 | 49 days |
| Joseph Carruthers | Free Trade | Minister of Public Instruction | 8 March 1889 | 22 October 1891 | 2 years, 228 days |
| Francis Suttor | Protectionist | Minister of Public Instruction | 23 October 1891 | 2 August 1894 | 2 years, 283 days |
| Jacob Garrard | Free Trade | Minister of Public Instruction | 3 August 1894 | 15 August 1898 | 4 years, 12 days |
| James Hogue | Free Trade | Minister of Public Instruction | 27 August 1898 | 13 September 1899 | 1 year, 17 days |
| John Perry | Protectionist / Progressive | Minister of Public Instruction | 14 September 1899 | 14 June 1904 | 4 years, 274 days |
| John Fegan | Free Trade | Minister of Public Instruction | 15 June 1904 | 29 August 1904 | 75 days |
| Broughton O'Conor | Liberal Reform | Minister of Public Instruction | 30 August 1904 | 13 May 1907 | 2 years, 256 days |
| James Hogue | Liberal Reform | Minister of Public Instruction | 14 May 1907 | 20 October 1910 | 3 years, 159 days |
| George Beeby | Labor | Minister of Public Instruction | 21 October 1910 | 10 September 1911 | 324 days |
| Campbell Carmichael | Labor | Minister of Public Instruction | 11 September 1911 | 26 November 1911 | 76 days |
| Frederick Flowers | Labor | Minister of Public Instruction | 27 November 1911 | 29 February 1912 | 94 days |
| Campbell Carmichael | Labor | Minister of Public Instruction | 1 March 1912 | 5 March 1915 | 3 years, 4 days |
| William Holman | Labor | Minister of Public Instruction | 6 March 1915 | 15 March 1915 | 9 days |
| Arthur Griffith | Labor | Minister of Public Instruction | 15 March 1915 | 7 November 1916 | 1 year, 237 days |
| Augustus James | Nationalist | Minister of Public Instruction | 15 November 1916 | 12 April 1920 | 3 years, 149 days |
| Thomas Mutch | Labor | Minister of Public Instruction | 13 April 1920 | 20 December 1921 | 1 year, 251 days |
| Thomas Ley | Nationalist | Minister of Public Instruction | 20 December 1921 | 20 December 1921 | 7 hours |
| Thomas Mutch | Labor | Minister of Public Instruction | 20 December 1921 | 13 April 1922 | 114 days |
| Albert Bruntnell | Nationalist | Minister of Public Instruction | 13 April 1922 | 17 June 1925 | 3 years, 65 days |
| Thomas Mutch | Labor | Minister for Education | 17 June 1925 | 26 May 1927 | 1 year, 343 days |
| Billy Davies | Labor | Minister of Public Instruction | 27 May 1927 | 18 October 1927 | 144 days |
| David Drummond | Country | Minister for Education | 18 October 1927 | 3 November 1930 | 3 years, 16 days |
| Billy Davies | Labor | Minister for Education | 4 November 1930 | 15 October 1931 | 1 year, 191 days |
| Billy Davies | Labor (NSW) | Minister for Education | 15 October 1931 | 13 May 1932 | 1 year, 191 days |
| David Drummond | Country | Minister for Education | 16 May 1932 | 13 May 1941 | 8 years, 362 days |
| Clive Evatt | Labor | Minister for Education | 13 May 1941 | 8 June 1944 | 3 years, 26 days |
| Robert Heffron | Labor | Minister for Education | 8 June 1944 | 31 May 1960 | 15 years, 358 days |
| Ernest Wetherell | Labor | Minister for Education | 31 May 1960 | 13 May 1965 | 4 years, 347 days |
| Sir Charles Cutler | Country | Minister for Education | 13 May 1965 | 19 June 1972 | 7 years, 37 days |
| Sir Eric Willis | Liberal | Minister for Education | 19 June 1972 | 23 January 1976 | 3 years, 218 days |
| Neil Pickard | Liberal | Minister for Education | 23 January 1976 | 14 May 1976 | 112 days |
| Eric Bedford | Labor | Minister for Education | 14 May 1976 | 29 February 1980 | 3 years, 291 days |
| Paul Landa | Labor | Minister for Education | 29 February 1980 | 2 October 1981 | 1 year, 216 days |
| Ron Mulock | Labor | Minister for Education | 2 October 1981 | 10 February 1984 | 2 years, 131 days |
| Eric Bedford | Labor | Minister for Education | 10 February 1984 | 5 April 1984 | 55 days |
| Rodney Cavalier | Labor | Minister for Education | 5 April 1984 | 21 March 1988 | 3 years, 351 days |
| Terry Metherell | Liberal | Minister for Education and Youth Affairs | 25 March 1988 | 24 July 1990 | 2 years, 121 days |
| Virginia Chadwick | Liberal | Minister for School Education and Youth Affairs | 24 July 1990 | 26 May 1993 | 4 years, 254 days |
| Virginia Chadwick | Liberal | Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs | 26 May 1993 | 4 April 1995 | 4 years, 254 days |
| John Aquilina | Labor | Minister for Education and Training | 4 April 1995 | 21 November 2001 | 6 years, 231 days |
| John Watkins | Labor | Minister for Education and Training | 21 November 2001 | 2 April 2003 | 1 year, 132 days |
| Andrew Refshauge | Labor | Minister for Education and Training | 2 April 2003 | 21 January 2005 | 1 year, 294 days |
| Carmel Tebbutt | Labor | Minister for Education and Training | 21 January 2005 | 2 April 2007 | 2 years, 71 days |
| John Della Bosca | Labor | Minister for Education and Training | 2 April 2007 | 8 September 2008 | 1 year, 159 days |
| Verity Firth | Labor | Minister for Education and Training | 8 September 2008 | 28 March 2011 | 2 years, 201 days |
| Adrian Piccoli | National | Minister for Education | 3 April 2011 | 30 January 2017 | 5 years, 302 days |
| Rob Stokes | Liberal | Minister for Education | 30 January 2017 | 23 March 2019 (2019-03-23) | 2 years, 52 days |
| Sarah Mitchell | National | Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning | 2 April 2019 (2019-04-02) | 21 December 2021 (2021-12-21) | 4 years, 116 days |
| Sarah Mitchell | National | Minister for Education and Early Learning | 21 December 2021 (2021-12-21) | 28 March 2023 (2023-03-28) | 4 years, 116 days |
| Prue Car | Labor | Minister for Education and Early Learning | 28 March 2023 (2023-03-28) | incumbent | 121 days |

## Former ministerial titles

### Assistant ministers

Occasionally, an Assistant Minister for Education would be appointed to assist the minister and act as a deputy.

| Title | Minister | Party | Term start | Term end | Time in office |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Assistant Minister of Public Instruction | Jack FitzGerald | Labor | 4 April 1916 | 18 July 1916 | 105 days |
| Assistant Minister for Education | Wal Fife | Liberal | 13 May 1965 | 27 June 1967 | 2 years, 45 days |
| Assistant Minister for Education | Bob Debus | Labor | 4 July 1986 | 21 March 1988 | 11 years, 260 days |
| Assistant Minister for Education | Kerry Chikarovski | Liberal | 3 July 1992 | 26 May 1993 | 327 days |
| Assistant Minister for Education | Victor Dominello | Liberal | 23 April 2014 | 2 April 2015 | 344 days |
| Assistant Minister for Education Minister for Early Childhood Education | Leslie Williams | National | 2 April 2015 | 30 January 2017 | 1 year, 303 days |
| Assistant Minister for Education Minister for Early Childhood Education | Sarah Mitchell | National | 30 January 2017 | 23 March 2019 (2019-03-23) | 2 years, 52 days |
