Category: NSW News

New targets for NSW public schools announced today as part of the School Success Model will ensure that improving student outcomes sits at the heart of the NSW education system.
The School Success Model replaces the Local School Local Decisions policy and will use targets to ensure shared responsibility for student success – from principals right through to senior executives at the Department of Education.
Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said the success of every student is at the heart of what we do as an education system, and that responsibility needs to be shouldered by everyone.
“The School Success Model provides the transparency and support mechanisms for schools to successfully manage their record funding and make decisions that will benefit their students,” Ms Mitchell said.
Schools will be given individual targets benchmarked against similar schools for HSC, Student Growth, Phonics, Attendance, NAPLAN, Wellbeing, Aboriginal Education, and Pathways.
Schools that exceed their targets will provide a database of best practice – with the Department of Education to explore whether their teaching methods can be scaled across NSW.
Schools that fail to meet their targets will trigger intervention – with the Department providing additional support. This will range from looking at whether teaching practices and learning programs reflect evidence based best practice, to exploring whether a school’s unspent additional funding might be better used on providing extra staff in an area of educational need.
“Schools are receiving record funding, and many have used this funding to build truly incredible places to learn. These are the schools the system can learn from. These are the schools whose teaching practices can be scaled across similar schools who are not meeting their targets,” Ms Mitchell said.
Ms Mitchell said that schools are diverse and complex places, and these targets will reflect that complexity.
“From 2021 we will begin collecting data on the different components of the School Success Model, allowing us to work with schools to have individual targets in place from 2022,” Ms Mitchell said.
“While the Department will be held accountable for ensuring that schools across NSW meet their targets, they will also have their own targets based around reducing the administrative burden for principals and teachers.
“The School Success Model will drive systemic improvement; it will champion our best schools and help those who are struggling. At its heart lies an understanding that  principals, directors, executives and the Secretary have a responsibility to deliver the very best education to each NSW public school student.”

NSW drivers have more than two million reasons to download a Digital Driver Licence (DDL), with the significant milestone achieved only a year since its launch.
Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said the DDL is safe, secure and can be used as proof of age and ID at a range of venues and police roadside checks.
“Two million people (36 per cent of all driver licence holders) can’t be wrong. Drivers simply love the technology, with 95 per cent giving it the thumbs up,” Mr Dominello said.
“Most State borders have reopened and many people will be traveling and visiting venues during the festive season, so do yourself a favour and download the DDL.”
Customers have used the DDL to sign into venues more than 562,000 times.
In September, NSW Parliament passed legislation that expanded the use of the Digital Driver Licence, giving it the same legal status as a plastic driver licence card. The DDL is now accepted by Police in every Australian State and Territory.
Mr Dominello encouraged customers to download a DDL in advance of the NSW Government’s Dine and Discover program going live.
“To download a DDL you need to create a MyServiceNSW Account, which is also a requirement for Dine and Discover. So the sooner you create an account, the sooner you can reap the rewards,” Mr Dominello said.
The DDL is hosted securely on the new Service NSW app, locks with a PIN and can be accessed offline. It provides additional levels of security and protection against identity fraud, compared to the plastic driver licence.
To get a DDL, licence holders will need to create a MyServiceNSW Account at www.service.nsw.gov.au and download the Service NSW mobile app on their smartphone. The digital licence will always be opt-in only.
Licence holders are recommended to carry their plastic card as a backup when travelling interstate.

NSW has welcomed 1,000 new police officers at a special ceremony paying tribute to the ‘Classes of 2020’, who joined the Police Force to protect our State during the catastrophic bushfire season and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NSW Police Force Attestation Parade was held at the Sydney Cricket Ground today to officially welcome four classes of graduating officers in front of friends and family members.
The ceremony also recognised the work of the other emergency services during 2020, including NSW Health, Ambulance NSW, Rural Fire Service, State Emergency Service, Fire and Rescue NSW and the Australian Defence Force.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the NSW Police Force, alongside our other emergency services, has played a pivotal role in protecting our State.
“Every member of the NSW Police Force deserves our State’s greatest thanks after a year that saw Police play an unprecedented role in keeping our community safe,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“On behalf of the State, congratulations to our newest recruits and thank you to our police officers and emergency service workers for their incredible effort over 2020.”
Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott welcomed the new recruits and said the NSW Government is committed to supporting them throughout their careers.
“Our Police cadets have faced exceptional challenges this year, but they have shown they can overcome difficult circumstances to complete their training, and they will now use the same resilience to push them forward in their new careers,” Mr Elliott said.
“Police put their lives on the line every day to protect our community and I thank and congratulate each and every one of these officers for choosing to join the Force, I wish them all a long and successful career.”
NSW Police Force Commissioner Mick Fuller APM said the ‘Classes of 2020’ attestation ceremony acknowledges the efforts of all serving officers over the course of this year.
“It has been a challenging year for NSW and Police have taken on an extraordinary role in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic threat, alongside the other critical issues we have faced this year,” Commissioner Fuller said.
“I am proud to be able to honour our newest recruits and all of the ‘Classes of 2020’ recruits in this official parade – an unprecedented and significant event.”
The NSW Government has committed $583 million to introduce 1500 extra Police over four years and recently announced a $60 million upgrade to Goulburn Police Academy.

Police have conducted a review after two German Nationals flew to Melbourne after arriving in Sydney on an International flight in contravention of Public Health (COVID-19 Air Transportation Quarantine) Order 2020.
The pair – a 53-year-old woman and a 15-year-old boy – arrived into Sydney International Airport about 9.45am yesterday (Saturday 5 December 2020) on a flight from Tokyo, Japan, and were screened by NSW Health.
After being cleared, all travellers were directed to board a bus to hotel quarantine before the pair advised police that they were booked on a flight to Melbourne.
Police made inquiries as to travel and exemptions, which subsequently allowed the pair to travel to Melbourne on a domestic flight under standard protocols for exempt travellers.
On arrival in Melbourne, Victoria Health advised NSW Health that the pair were not in possession of an approved exemption and had been escorted to hotel quarantine, where they remain.
The NSW Police Force has since conducted a review into the circumstances of the incident and identified police had incorrectly allowed the two travellers to proceed to Melbourne.
Police practices and systems at the airport have also been reviewed and strengthened as a result of this incident.
Since Sunday 29 March 2020, more than 100,000 people have entered the NSW hotel quarantine program, with more than 5500 currently in 17 police-managed hotels across Sydney.

A Lithgow woman has been charged after allegedly posing as a volunteer firefighter to claim relief funds of more than $190,000.
Detectives from Chifley Police District initiated inquiries after multiple submissions were allegedly made between Friday 17 January 2020 and Saturday 20 June 2020, applying for the bushfire volunteer firefighter payment.
Police will allege a 49-year-old woman submitted 522 claims online and was paid for 34, for a total of more than $190,000.
Following inquiries, detectives executed a search warrant at a home on Calero Street, Lithgow, shortly after 9am on Wednesday (2 December 2020), and arrested the woman at the scene.
Several items – including clothing, electrical items and identification – were also seized.
The woman was taken to Lithgow Police Station where she has been charged with 34 counts of dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception, and four counts of dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception (attempted).
She was granted strict conditional bail to appear before Lithgow Local Court on Thursday 28 January 2021.
Under this scheme, each volunteer could claim up to $6000.
The woman is not – and never has been – a volunteer firefighter.

A woman has been reunited with her dog after she was found nearly 300km from home in Sydney’s CBD this week.
About 11am on Wednesday 2 December 2020, officers attached to Sydney City Police Area Command were called to a carpark on Elizabeth Street after reports a dog had been found in a vehicle.
Upon arrival, police located a black and white cattle dog cross in a Toyota RAV 4 and later spoke to the vehicle owner, a 28-year-old woman.
The woman told police she was travelling through Yass – in the state’s south – earlier that morning when she found the dog on the side of the road, before continuing to Sydney.
The dog was in good spirits when police found her and was examined by vets, with no injuries reported.
After extensive inquires to locate the owner, police were contacted by a woman who had heard from a neighbour via social media that her dog, Speck, had been located and was waiting for her in Sydney.
Police were told Speck had dug her way under a fence and escaped before she was found alone, on the side of the road and was driven three hours to Sydney.
Speck and his owner, a 21-year-old woman, were reunited at Day Street Police Station today (Friday 4 December 2020).
“This little pup has had quite the adventure this week and we want to thank the public for their help in reuniting Speck with her very worried owner,” Detective Inspector David El-Badawi, Crime Manager, Sydney City Police Area Command said.
The one-year old dog will return to Yass with her owner later today.

A new express turn-up-and-go bus service will be introduced along Victoria Road from West Ryde to the city as part of network changes delivering an extra 700 weekly services.
Minister for Transport Andrew Constance said customers in Sydney’s North West and Lower North Shore will benefit from the timetable changes with the extra weekly services including the new West Ryde to City and Chatswood to City frequent routes introduced next month.
“From January we’ll be making changes to increase the frequency of services on key routes, with improved connections for customers travelling to the city or within the local area.
“This will include a new limited stops turn-up-and-go bus for the people of West Ryde right into the heart of the city at Hyde Park on the 500X route.
“Chatswood and Willoughby will also see regular services on route 120 into the QVB, at least every 10 minutes on every day of the week, giving customers more choice around when they travel,” Mr Constance said.
There will be some changes to existing local and city services to support the new frequent routes and to allow for better connections to other modes of public transport such as ferries.
The changes to respond to customer demand will affect some bus services in locations such as Parramatta, Carlingford, Macquarie Park, Ryde and Eastwood.
To help reduce duplication on the network, some routes will be replaced by new routes or extra services on other routes, while some current routes will be shortened but retain their current route numbers.
Existing overnight services on route 520 will operate under a new route number between Parramatta and the city.
The changes will be introduced in January 2021. A full list of changes will be available at www.transportnsw.info.

More than 50 new electric buses will roll out across Sydney over the next year, as part of the NSW Government’s commitment to deliver faster and quieter services.
Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance said the government is transitioning the state’s fleet of 8,000 buses to zero emission technology.
“I want to scale up our efforts towards tackling climate change  so I am challenging  Transport for NSW to aim for my goal of electrifying the state’s entire bus fleet by 2030,” Mr Constance said.
“I am excited to see us one step closer to our vision of creating a greener, cleaner and healthier future for the people of NSW, with more people now able to enjoy our electric bus fleet right across Sydney.
“Over the last 18 months we’ve been trialling five electric buses in the Inner West, and the feedback from drivers and customers has been positive.
The new electric buses are part of the Government’s fleet replacement program, with the first vehicles expected on the road during the first quarter of 2021.
They have been ordered from a range of manufacturers, including BCI, Yutong, Nexport BYD Gemilang and Nexport BYD Volgren.
They will be rolled out by several operators – Punchbowl Bus Company, Busabout  and Interline  in the south west, Transdev  in the north, with Transit Systems making the largest order for the inner west with more than 30.

Transport for NSW’s Deputy Secretary of Greater Sydney Elizabeth Mildwater said more local manufacturers will feature in future orders of zero emission buses.
“There are a lot more zero emission buses to come and we’re delighted that local manufacturers like Bustech and Custom Buses are getting into the game with their buses currently undergoing a review to ensure they meet local standards, while Nexport is planning to set up a local plant,” Ms Mildwater said.
“Once they and other manufacturers are ready, our operators will have more choices to buy locally. In the current order, the Volgren bus is being assembled in Victoria using a chassis made by Nexport BYD overseas.”

The 2sqm rule will be expanded and venue caps will be removed under a major easing of restrictions, as NSW continues to record zero cases of community transmission.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the timing is right to ease restrictions and replace the 4sqm rule with the 2sqm rule, except at gyms and nightclubs.
“We are grateful to the people in NSW for their patience and understanding over what has been an incredibly difficult year,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“The rolling back of restrictions across the State is only possible because of the excellent work of the community who have followed social distancing guidelines and continued to come forward for testing.”
On Monday, 7 December, the NSW Government will ease the following restrictions allowing:
Venues including hospitality venues, retail and places of worship:

• 1 person per 2sqm (with 25 people permitted before the rule applies), except for:
  • Gyms and nightclubs (1 person per 4sqm, with a maximum of 50 people allowed in gym classes or on the dancefloor at nightclubs)

Stadiums and theatres:

• Outdoors: 100 per cent seated capacity, and 1 person per 2sqm rule for unstructured seating areas.
• Indoors: 75 per cent seated capacity.

Gatherings in outdoor public spaces:

• Up to 100 people for outdoor gatherings (up from 50).
• Up to 5,000 people for outdoor events that are fenced, ticketed and seated (subject to the 2sqm rule).
• Up to 3,000 people for other organised outdoor events i.e. community sport and outdoor protests (subject to the 2sqm rule).

Dance Floors:

• Up to 50 people indoors.

Singing

• Up to 50 performers indoors, no maximum cap outdoors.
• Advice is for congregation/audience to continue wearing masks if singing.

Under the changes, maximum capacity caps will be removed subject to the 2sqm rule for:

• Bookings at hospitality venues;
• Weddings;
• Funerals;
• Regional agricultural shows;
• Corporate events; and
• Religious services.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro said the people of NSW have worked hard to keep COVID-19 under control and deserved this major easing of restrictions.
“Today is a great day for the people of NSW and great timing with Christmas fast approaching, as we will soon see larger crowds at venues and events and the expansion of the 2sqm rule state-wide,” Mr Barilaro said.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said under the changes most venues will be able to double their capacity, which will have an immediate and substantial impact on the economy.
“This change will make a big difference to many businesses and will provide a real boost for jobs particularly in the service industry which has been hit hard over the past nine months,” Mr Perrottet said
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said as restrictions are eased the community needs to continue playing their part and being COVID-Safe.
“Keep getting tested with even the slightest of symptoms, maintain your social distance, don’t go to work if you are unwell and wear a mask where you cannot guarantee social distancing,” Mr Hazzard said.
Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said the NSW Government would continue to work with business and industry to ensure they operate in a COVID-Safe way.
“We have worked closely with industry representatives throughout 2020 to safely ease restrictions and we appreciate their patience and know these changes will be incredibly well received,” Mr Ayres said.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said despite there being no recent cases of community transmission the community should continue to be COVID-Safe.
“It is critical that people continue to come forward for testing and practice COVID-safe behaviour when out and about and catching up with family and friends,” Dr Chant said.

The New South Wales economy has helped power Australia back to economic growth and out of the first recession in almost three decades, with ABS data released today showing a 6.8 per cent rebound in state final demand for the September quarter.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the positive result was driven by a number of factors including a 10.8 per cent increase in household consumption and strong investment by the NSW Government in the public sector, which saw public demand up two per cent in the quarter and 6.4 per cent through the year.
“There are many challenges ahead but we are now seeing greater confidence in the community and a return to solid economic growth for NSW,” Mr Perrottet said.
“Our ability to keep as much of NSW open as possible and in the process support jobs and businesses with $29 billion in health, economic and social support measures is reflected in these latest economic results.”
Mr Perrottet said the Government would continue to do everything possible to boost employment, support businesses and ensure the community remained safe.
“Today we announced the further easing of restrictions around the number of people allowed in a range of venues, and this will further boost economic activity and support jobs at a critical time for the economy,” Mr Perrottet said.
“As we regain more freedom ahead of Christmas it’s vital people continue to remember the real risk of COVID-19 and use commonsense and follow health advice.”
The latest data follows more than 36,000 people returning to work in NSW in October with the state’s unemployment rate falling 0.6 per cent to 6.5 per cent.
Female participation increased by 0.3 percentage points to 60.6 per cent, the highest it’s been in the history of the series.
For more information on the State’s economic recovery, reform agenda, and the NSW Budget released on November 17 please visit budget.nsw.gov.au.