Officially, only the Leader and Deputy-Leader of the Opposition are recognised parliamentary positions, but in recent decades the major opposition party or coalition of parties has adopted the practice of establishing a "Shadow Ministry". In a manner similar to that in which Ministers are selected (though without official status or appointment by the Governor) the Opposition Leader allocates to senior Opposition members the responsibility of "shadowing" the work of a particular Minister. They become the Opposition expert and spokesperson in that area, critiquing or challenging the government and raising questions about the Ministers’ performance, developing alternative policies and preparing themselves for future government when they might hope to take on the role of Minister themselves. Then Leader of the Opposition is, of course, the chief shadow minister, with the Premier as the primary object of interest.

Details of the current New South Wales shadow ministers are listed in the Members section of this site.