The NSW Department of Education and Communities is committed to ensuring that all schools are staffed with qualified, skilled teachers and that teaching continues to be acknowledged as an attractive and rewarding profession.

The NSW Government is committed to giving greater control over school decision making to principals, teachers and school communities, enabling local schools to make local decisions, because they are best placed to know about the particular needs of their particular school and community. Increased authority to manage resources at a local level will better enable schools to effectively target strategic school priorities.

With increased local flexibility, combined with proven effective recruitment and retention strategies, schools will be even better placed to respond to the needs of students, including those in remote regional areas.

The Department has recently undertaken a public consultation process, under the banner of Local Schools, Local Decisions, to elicit feedback about ways to improve resource management and staffing as well as how to benefit from working locally and reducing red tape.