DPC Agency Information Guide

The Department of Premier and Cabinet’s Agency Information Guide tells you in general terms:

  • What our structure and functions are;
  • What kind of government information we have;
  • What kind of government information we will make available to the public;
  • How that information will be made available;
  • Whether or not there is a charge to access specific kinds of information.

Our structure and functions

The purpose of the department is primarily to support the Premier and Cabinet, to deliver on the government’s commitments and priorities.  We are accountable for the leadership of the NSW Public Service, with a focus on securing the best outcomes for the people of NSW.

The department supports the Premier, the Cabinet, Ministers and agencies by coordinating policies and services across government, managing the passage of government legislation, supporting the delivery of major projects, coordinating and planning significant state events, and working with the federal government and other state and territory governments on national reforms.

We focus on government initiatives such as  regulatory reform, performance reviews and service delivery improvement. We undertake sector wide activities that must be located centrally. We provide services essential to support the machinery of government like ministerial services, cabinet secretariat and policy support.

Parts of the Department specifically support the:

  • Premier;
  • Minister for Aboriginal Affairs;
  • Minister for Employee Relations;
  • Minister for Women;
  • Attorney General.

Our primary responsibility is to serve and advise the Premier as the head of government and the head of the state’s administration. This includes co-ordinating policy and administration between government agencies.

Information on the current structure and functions of the Department is publicly available in the About section of the Department's website and is also contained in the annual report.

What kind of government information do we have?

Information is contained in the following records held by DPC:

  • policy documents including Memoranda and Circulars;
  • documents on internal administration of the department;
  • documents concerning appointments to various official positions;
  • policy and planning documents.

In addition, the department also maintains the following categories of records:

  • official records of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees, including:
    • documents prepared for submission to Cabinet and Cabinet Committees;
    • deliberations or decisions of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees;
  • documents prepared for submission to the Executive Council;
  • deliberations or advice of the Executive Council;
  • Premier's and Minister's briefing papers;
  • correspondence with the Commonwealth;
  • correspondence with the other States and Territories;
  • correspondence with members of the public;
  • correspondence with Ministers and other Members of Parliament;
  • internal working papers of the Department;
  • correspondence with the Parliament and committees of the Houses of Parliament.

What kind of government information is made available to the public, and how?

Open access information

The department makes available, free of charge on this website, the following “open access information”:

Other proactively-released information

In addition, the department pro-actively makes available, free of charge on this website, a large range of additional information, including the following:

Information available on informal request

A request may be made at any time for other information held by the department. While the department reserves the right to require a formal access application to be made under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (the GIPA Act), the department will generally provide the following types of information in response to an informal request without the need to make a formal access application:

  • Copies of correspondence, where the person requesting the correspondence was the person who sent it to the Department
  • Documents that contain only personal information about a particular individual, and that is the person who is requesting the information
  • Documents that have already been made public in some other way
  • Other reasonable requests for information the release of which would not raise any potential concerns in terms of public interest considerations against disclosure.

The department reserves the right to impose conditions in relation to the use or disclosure of information that is released in response to an informal request.

Information available in response to an access application

An access application may be made for all other information held by the department (other than certain “excluded information”, set out below).

Access applications are subject to application fees and processing charges in accordance with the GIPA Act.

Although an access application may be made for all other government information held by the department, the department will not release information if there is an overriding public interest against the disclosure of the information.

Some of the particular information that the department cannot release in response to an access application includes:

  • Cabinet information (as defined in item 2 of Schedule 1 to the GIPA Act);
  • Executive Council information (as defined in item 3 of Schedule 1 to the GIPA Act);
  • Documents that are subject to Parliamentary privilege, such as draft answers to Questions on Notice (item 4 of Schedule 1 to the GIPA Act); and
  • The Register of Pecuniary Interests, kept under the Ministerial Code of Conduct (item 11 of Schedule 1 to the GIPA Act).

Otherwise, the department will release information in response to a valid access application unless there is an overriding public interest against disclosure.

Have your say

Members of the public may participate in the development of NSW Government policy by engaging with public consultation hosted on the Have Your Say community engagement portal.

The department supports the NSW Premier, who can be contacted via the Premier’s contact form.

Last updated: 8 August 2022