The NSW Government is committed to achieving a new policy target that 50% of new appointments to all NSW Government boards and committees will be women by the end of 2012.

The policy target applies to all NSW Government boards and committees.

When recommending appointments to Cabinet, and for entities covered by the Guidelines for Boards and Committees including State-significant Trusts, agencies must:

• demonstrate they have consulted the NSW Government Register for Boards and Committees and/or outline other strategies they have used to attract women candidates
• indicate the gender composition of the relevant entity.

To improve transparency and reporting, agencies must include in their annual reports, for the boards and committees they administer:

• the actions they are taking to increase gender diversity
• the gender composition of each entity.

To support the achievement of the 50% target, the Department of Premier and Cabinet will publish quarterly reports on the number of women appointed as a proportion of vacancies.
All NSW Government agencies are encouraged to consult the Register for Boards and Committees when compiling nominations and to advertise all vacancies on the Boards website.

Information about the NSW Government Register for Boards and Committees and quarterly progress reports can be found at www.boards.dpc.nsw.gov.au.

Kristina Keneally MP
Premier

This Memorandum does not supersede any other Memoranda. This Memorandum is to be read in conjunction with M1998-39 Appointments to Government Boards and Committees.