​​​NSW Ministry of Health

The NSW Ministry of Health supports the executive and statutory roles of the Minister for Health and Minister for Regional Health, Minister for Mental Health and Minister for Medical Research.

The NSW Ministry of Health also has the role of ‘system manager’ in relation to the NSW public health system, which operates more than 220 public hospitals, as well as providing community health and other public health services, for the NSW community through a network of local health districts, specialty networks and non-government affiliated health organisations, known collectively as NSW Health.

The Ministry of Health guides the development of services and investments in the NSW public health system to ensure that the health priorities of the NSW Government are achieved for the community of NSW.

Health organisations

New South Wales Health also comprises a number of state-wide or specialist health services:

NSW Ambulance

NSW Ambulance is responsible for providing responsive, high quality clinical care in emergency situations, including pre-hospital care, rescue, retrieval and patient transport services.

Health Infrastructure

Health Infrastructure is responsible for the delivery of the NSW Government’s major works hospital building program, under the auspices of a Board appointed by the Secretary. The Board Members each offer specialised expertise in areas of health and infrastructure delivery.

HealthShare NSW

HealthShare NSW provides high-quality shared services to support the delivery of patient care within the NSW Health system, including providing payroll and procurement functions, supporting patient care through food and linen services and assisting people with a disability to live and participate in the community.

NSW Health Pathology

NSW Health Pathologyis a state-wide clinical and scientific service that provides quality, reliable public pathology, forensic and analytical science services across NSW.

eHealth NSW

eHealth NSW provides state-wide leadership on the shape, delivery and management of Information Communication Technology (ICT) led healthcare. eHealth NSW is responsible for establishing, implementing and ensuring compliance with eHealth strategy, policy and standards across the state.

Health Protection NSW

Reporting to the Chief Health Officer, Health Protection NSW is responsible for surveillance and public health response in NSW including monitoring the incidence of notifiable infectious diseases and taking appropriate action to control the spread of diseases. It also provides public health advice and response to environmental issues affecting human health.

Contact your nearest Public Health Unit

Single Digital Patient Record Implementation Authority (SDPRIA)

The Single Digital Patient Record Implementation Authority has been established to lead the implementation of the Single Digital Patient Record (SDPR). It is focused on a whole-of-health, collaborative approach, ensuring the program benefits from the strengths of NSW Health. It is accountable for achieving efficiency and maximum value from the resources available, and ultimately delivering SDPR while ensuring patients and people remain at the core of its delivery.

Local health districts and specialty networks

There are 15 local health districts that are responsible for providing health services in a wide range of settings, from primary care posts in the remote outback to metropolitan tertiary health centres. Six local health districts cover the greater Sydney metropolitan regions, and nine cover rural and regional NSW.

Specialty health networks

Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network

Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network is a state wide service that provides forensic mental health services to forensic patients as well as to adult and juvenile offenders in local courts, in custody and detention, and in the community. It also provides health services to adult offenders in police cells.

The Sydney Children's Hospitals Network

The Sydney Children's Hospitals Network incorporates The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, Bear Cottage, the Newborn and paediatric Emergency Transport Service (NETS), the Pregnancy and newborn Services Network (PSN) and the Children's Court Clinic. The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network is the largest network of hospital and services for children in Australia. Each year the network manages 51,000 inpatient admissions, 92,000 Emergency Department presentations and over one million outpatient occasions of service. The team of over 4000 talented staff (full time equivalent) across the network is committed to providing world-class paediatric health care in a family-focused, healing environment.

Pillar organisations

Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI)

Agency for Clinical Innovation is a chief executive-governed statutory health corporation responsible for bringing clinicians, consumers and system leaders together to design and implement innovations in healthcare. The Agency is committed to improving, evolving and transforming clinical practice and patient outcomes across the NSW Health system.

Bureau of Health Information (BHI)

Bureau of Health Information is a board-governed organisation that provides independent reports to government, the community and healthcare professionals about the performance of the NSW public healthcare system, including safety and quality, effectiveness, efficiency, cost and responsiveness of the system to the health needs of the people of NSW.

Cancer Institute NSW

Cancer Institute NSW is Australia’s first statewide government cancer agency. Established under the Cancer Institute (NSW) Act 2003 to lessen the impact of cancer across the State, its statutory objectives are to reduce the incidence of cancer in the community, increase survival from cancer, and improve the quality of life for people with cancer and their carers and provide a source of expertise on cancer control for the government, health service providers, medical researchers and the general community.

Clinical Excellence Commission (CEC)

Clinical Excellence Commission is a board-governed statutory health corporation, responsible for leading safety and quality improvement in the NSW public health system. It was established in 2004 to reduce adverse events in public hospitals, support improvements in transparency and review of these events in the health system and promote improved clinical care, safety and quality in health services across NSW.

Health Education and Training Institute (HETI)

Health Education and Training Institute is a Chief Executive-governed statutory health corporation which coordinates education and training for NSW Health staff. The Institute works closely with local health districts, specialty health networks, other public health organisations and health education and training providers to ensure that world-class education and training resources are available to support the full range of roles across the public health system including patient care, administration and support services.

Affiliated health organisations

Affiliated health organisations are not-for-profit religious, charitable or other non-government organisations which provide health services and are recognised as part of the public health system under the Health Services Act 1997 No 154.

Under section 65 of the Health Services Act, the Minister may determine the role, functions and activities of the recognised establishments and services of affiliated health organisations following consultation with the relevant organisation. This has been delegated to the Secretary, NSW Health.

Not all facilities or services provided by an affiliated health organisation are recognised as part of the public health system. For example, the NSW Benevolent Society conducts some recognised services but also conducts a range of other activities unrelated to the public health system which are not regulated by the Health Services Act 1997.

An organisation or institution is an affiliated health organisation only in relation to any of its recognised establishments or recognised services as listed in column 2 of Schedule 3 of the Health Services Act 1997.

St Vincent’s Health Network, comprising St Vincent’s Hospital and Sacred Heart Health Service in Darlinghurst is the first affiliated health organisation to be recognised as a networked affiliated health organisation under these provisions.

Where an affiliated health organisation has more than one recognised establishment or service, or provides statewide or significant services, the Minister may declare them to be treated as a network for the purposes of receiving funding under the National Health Reform Agreement (NHRA), with the consent of the organisation concerned.

Current as at: Monday 16 September 2024
Contact page owner: NSW Ministry of Health