New South Wales Department of Justice

The New South Wales Department of Justice was a State government agency in New South Wales, Australia, that operated under various names between 2009 and 2019. In 2019, most of its functions were absorbed by a new Department of Communities and Justice.[2] The Department was responsible for the State's justice system – courts, prosecutions, prisons, sheriffs – and most emergency service agencies.

New South Wales Department of Justice
Department overview
Formed2011
Preceding agencies
Dissolved1 July 2019 (2019-07-01)
Superseding agency
TypeDepartment
JurisdictionNew South Wales
Headquarters160 Marsden Street, Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia
Employees4,300 (2008)[1]
Ministers responsible
Department executive
Child agencies
WebsiteDepartment of Justice

The Department was known as the Department of Justice and Attorney General (2009–11), the Department of Attorney General and Justice (2011–4), the Department of Police and Justice (2014) and finally the Department of Justice (2014–9).[3]

History

The re-organisation of the legal system of Colonial New South Wales led to the creation of the Attorney-General, an appointed law officer. Following the creation of self-government in 1856, the position of Attorney-General became an officer appointed by the Government of the day from within the membership of the Parliament of New South Wales.[4]

In 1901, the Department of Attorney General and the Department of Justice were amalgamated into the Department of the Attorney General and Justice. In 1911, two separate branches of the Department were established, later called divisions which continued until the 1970s. Responsibility for police and corrective services were removed from the Department in the 1970s; and by 1991 the Department of Courts Administration was split out of the Department. Some four years later, the two Departments were merged to reform the Attorney General's Department. The Justice portfolio was re-established in 2009 through the creation of a new Department of Justice and Attorney General, abolishing the old Attorney General's Department.[4][5]

The headquarters of the department was at the Goodsell Building in Chifley Square. In 2008 the department's main business centres were relocated to newer offices in Parramatta.

Following the 2011 state election the department was merged with Corrective Services and renamed to its current name. On 23 April 2014 it was decided that the department would be renamed the Department of Police and Justice. Subsequent government initiatives lead to the department becoming the Department of Justice. Following the 2019 state election the department merged with the Department of Family and Community Services and most of the functions of both departments were transferred to the newly formed Department of Communities and Justice.[2][6]

Agencies administered

The following agencies were administered by the department until its abolition:[7]

References
  1. "Your Career with the Attorney General's Department of NSW" (PDF). NSW Attorney General’s Department. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 June 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  2. "Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes—Public Service Agencies) Order 2019 [NSW] (159)" (PDF). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 2 April 2019. p. 7-8. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  3. "Department of Justice and Attorney General (2009-2011) Department of Attorney General and Justice [II] (2011-2014) Department of Police and Justice (2014) Department of Justice [II] (2014-)". New South Wales State Archives and Records. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  4. "History: Organisation". Department of Attorney General and Justice. 13 May 2011. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  5. "Attorney General's Department [III]". NSW State Archives & Records. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  6. "Administrative Arrangements (Administration of Acts—General) Order 2019 [NSW]: Schedule 1 - Allocation of the administration of Acts (157)" (PDF). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 2 April 2019. p. 12-17. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  7. "Department of Attorney General and Justice". NSW Directory. Government of New South Wales. 13 February 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
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