New South Wales – Demographics

The estimated population of New South Wales at the end of June 2007 was 6.89 million people (62.9% based in Sydney). Most of them live in largest cities:

Sidney                    4,600,000

Newcastle               546,000

Wollongon               361,000

Wagga Wagga           57,000

Albury                      48,000

Tamworth                 37,000

Broken Hill                25,000

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~enigman/australia/nsw.html

In Sydney and the surrounding regions alone there are more than 2,000 aboriginals.

Poverty rate (2001): Total 8.7% refering to 8.3% adults and 10% children.   http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/RN/2004-05/05rn49.htm

New South Wales – Legal system

  The Judicial Commission of New South Wales is a statutory corporation that provides continuing education to and examines complaints made against judicial officers in New South Wales. The commission is headed by the Chief Justice of New South Wales and consists of the heads of each of the major courts in New South Wales plus community representatives. The commission is the only body of its type in Australia.

  The commission marked a significant change in the legal system in New South Wales. It restored public confidence in the judicial system, provides a means outside of politics for the dispassionate consideration of misconduct by judicial officers, it has actually improved and safe-guarded independence of the courts. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_Commission_of_New_South_Wales

More information in http://www.judcom.nsw.gov.au/

New South Wales – Government

Since 1901, New South Wales has been a state of the Commonwealth of Australia and the Australian Constitution regulates its relationship.

The form of the Government of New South Wales is similar to other “Westminster” (English-style) systems in Australia. A State Parliament composed of the Sovereign and two houses: the Legislative Assembly (lower house), and the Legislative Council (upper house). Elections are held every four years. The actual governor is Professor Marie Bashir, the first woman to be appointed that took up her office on 1 March 2001.

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/web/common.nsf/key/ResourcesSystem.

The state government classifies local governments into two categories: Cities and Areas, there being little significant difference between the two. City is simply an area receiving a proclamation of city status by the governor while areas often retain the designations they held under pre-reform legislation, though these titles no longer indicate a legal status. These are:

Municipalities (predominantly inner-city suburban areas and smaller rural towns)

Shires (predominantly rural or outer suburban areas).

The title Region, usually large rural areas dominated by a rural city. Many councils now choose not to use any title, and simply refer to themselves as councils. Councils are the local main govermental structures.

Look at full listings of councils and descriptions in NSW Council Directory: http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dlg/dlghome/dlg_regions.asp?regiontype=0

For further information check New South Wales Government web: http://www.nsw.gov.au/

New South Wales – Education

In NSW Primary education extends from Kindergarten to Year 6. Secondary education typically commences after completion of primary education, at around age 12 and in NSW it extends from Year 7 to Year 12.

Schooling is compulsory until age 15. However, almost all students remain at school until completion of the High School Certificate at the end of Year 12. The HSC must be completed for a student to get a University Admissions Index, which determines the students rank against fellow students who completed the Higher School Certificate. In 2007 there were 67 189 students who enrolled for the HSC. 

 http://144.53.252.30/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/7d12b0f6763c78caca257061001cc588/928c33798869bc41ca2573b400118ded!OpenDocument

 

 

Candidates by institution type
School students	65698	97.78%
TAFE students	1479	2.20%
Self-tuition students	12	0.02%

http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/bos_stats/pdf_doc/mediaguide-2007.pdf

 

 

There are differencies in achievement between country and city students:Though the greater proportion continue enrolling in Goverment Schools.

 

Metropolitan Primary Students  626,921      Metropolitan Secondary Students  529,251

 Country Primary Students  67,873              Country Secondary 80,780 

• Over 738,000 students were educated at more than 2,200 government schools in 2007.
• Over 207,000 students with Language Background other than English (27.6% of students).
• More than 38,000 Indigenous students.
• More than 33,000 students with a disability.

By the end of 2007, the Class Size Reduction Program will have delivered more than 1,800 teachers to more than 650 classrooms in NSW primary schools. The Government has committed to reduce the statewide average of class sizes from Kindergarten to Year 2 in government schools. https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/reports_stats/fastfacts/index.htm

 

Selective schools are intended to provide a more academically stimulating and educationally enriched environment for students who have gained entry. Students are expected to perform academically at a higher standard than other schools in the state. Each year, approximately 13,000 Year 6 students from across the state of New South Wales optionally undertake the Selective High Schools Test to seek one of the 3700 places offered for first year entry into selective high schools. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_school_(New_South_Wales)

 

New South Wales (NSW) recorded 183,099 international student enrolments and 106,758 commencements from students on a student visa in 2007  increase of 21.0% and 28.2% respectively on 2006. http://aei.dest.gov.au/AEI/MIP/Statistics/StudentEnrolmentAndVisaStatistics/2007/NSWAnnual_pdf.pdf

 

Check the following report about Education in New South Wales: http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/publications.nsf/key/EducationinCountryandCityNewSouthWales/$File/Education2FINALINDEX.pdf

New South Wales map

New South Wales – Universities

 Admission to universities is arranged together with the Universities Admission Centre - central office that receives and processes applications in an easier way than applying to each institute separately.

To qualify for applying to the universities in Australia, an overseas student is expected to have a minimum band score of 5.0 in the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) examination.

List of main universities in NSW

Macquaire University  http://www.mq.edu.au/

   

University of New England http://www.une.edu.au/

 

University of New South Wales http://www.unsw.edu.au/

 

University of Newcastle http://www.newcastle.edu.au/

 

Southern Cross University http://www.scu.edu.au/index.php

 

University of Sydney http://www.usyd.edu.au/

 

University of Technology http://linus.lib.uts.edu.au/

 

University of Western Sydney  www.uws.edu.au/

 

University of Wollongog http://www.uow.edu.au/

 

Charles  Sturt  University . www.csu.edu.au/

 

Australian Catholic University www.acu.edu.au/

 

La Trobe University www.latrobe.edu.au/

New South Wales – Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institues

    Primarily vocational training is provided up the level of advanced diplomas in Technical and Further Education(TAFE) institutes. These are tertiary education courses in over 130 campuses throughout the state. The TAFEs provide Certificate, Diploma and Associate Degrees which usually take about 1 to 2 years to complete. Fields covered include hospitality, tourism, construction, engineering, secretarial skills, visual arts, computer programming and community work. TAFE colleges are owned, operated and financed by the various State and Territory Governments. This is in contrast to the higher education sector, whose funding is predominantly the domain of the Commonwealth.

There are ten TAFE NSW Institutes in NSW which include:

Hunter Institute

Illawarra Institute

New England Institute

North Coast Institute

Northern Sydney Institute

Riverina Institute

South Western Sydney Institute

Sydney Institute

Western Institute

Western Sydney Institute, including OTEN

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_and_Further_Education#New_South_Wales