Applications today open for young people interested in being part of a student council that will lobby on behalf of NSW public school students and consult with education leaders.

The Minister's Student Council - to be known as the Department of Student Voices in Education and Schools (DOVES) - is an initiative of Education Minister Sarah Mitchell to ensure student voices are heard in developing education policy and addressing matters of concern to students.

It was born out of the Minister’s experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic which impacted heavily on students.

Ms Mitchell said the pandemic had shown that officials needed a student stakeholder group they could consult and work with.

“While we had principals’ organisations, teachers’ groups and parents’ groups to talk to, what was missing was the student voice,” Ms Mitchell said recently.

“I want to add the [student] council to this group to work together on policy reform.”

In October last year a student steering committee was formed to help co-design the council.

The result is DOVES – a 24-member council that will include students from across NSW who can advocate on behalf of their communities.

The DOVES council will be made up of three students from each of the department’s eight regional directorates. Representatives will bring their wider student community into the policy process by holding regular DOVES forums, where they will hear from special interest groups.