Heads of department
Below is the full list of the heads of departments in NSW from 1848 onwards.
| Title | Name | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secretary of the Board | William Wills | 12/02/1849 | 10/1863 |
| Secretary of the Council | William Wilkins | 10/1863 | 30/04/1880 |
| Under-Secretary | William Wilkins | 01/05/1880 | 12/11/1884 |
| Under-Secretary | Edwin Johnson | 13/11/1884 | 10/04/1894 |
| Under-Secretary | John Maynard | 10/04/1894 | 01/10/1903 |
| Under-Secretary | Fredrick Bridges | 01/10/1903 | 07/02/1905 |
| Director of Education | Peter Board | 08/02/1905 | 31/12/1922 |
| Director of Education | Stephen Smith | 01/01/1923 | 01/08/1930 |
| Director of Education | G. Ross Thomas | 02/08/1930 | 21/09/1940 |
| Director of Education | John McKenzie | 22/09/1940 | 29/11/1952 |
| Director-General of Education | Harold Wyndham | 01/12/1952 | 31/12/1968 |
| Director-General of Education | David Verco | 01/01/1969 | 03/07/1972 |
| Director-General of Education | John Buggie | 04/07/972 | 18/02/1977 |
| Director-General of Education | Douglas Swan | 21/02/1977 | 08/07/1985 |
| Director-General of Education | Robert Winder | 10/07/1985 | 29/04/1988 |
| Director-General of School Education | Fenton Sharpe | 30/04/1988 | 12/11/1991 |
| Director-General of Education and Training and Managing Director of TAFE |
Ken Boston | 02/01/1992 | 12/07/2002 |
| Director-General of Education and Training and Managing Director of TAFE |
Jan McLelland | 22/10/2002 | 22/01/2004 |
| Director-General of Education and Training and Managing Director of TAFE |
Andrew Cappie-Wood | 22/01/2004 | 05/04/2007 |
| Director-General of Education and Training and Managing Director of TAFE |
Michael Coutts-Trotter | 10/04/2007 | 01/04/2011 |
| Director-General of Education and Training and Managing Director of TAFE |
Michele Bruniges | 07/09/2011 | 01/04/2016 |
| Secretary of the Department of Education and Communities |
Peter Riordan (acting) | 04/04/2016 | 08/2016 |
| Secretary of the Department of Education | Mark Scott | 09/2016 | 04/2021 |
| Secretary of the Department of Education | Georgina Harrisson | 05/2021 | 14/04/2023 | A/Secretary of the Department of Education | Murat Dizdar | 17/04/2023 | current |
Notes:
From February 2014, the title changed from Director-General to Secretary of the Department of Education and Communities, and from July 2015 the title changed to Secretary of the Department of Education.