We, the undersigned, call for a Royal Commission into the NSW Department of Education to investigate the systemic failures, lack of accountability, and chronic mismanagement undermining public education in our state.

The urgent need for an inquiry was brought into sharp focus over the weekend when the Department outsourced selective school testing to a private company at a cost of $45 million, only for the process to descend into chaos. Mismanagement led to such distress that police were called in—a shocking failure that demands serious scrutiny.

This incident is not isolated. It highlights broader, long-standing concerns, including:

• No transparent review or performance criteria for school principals, despite their critical role in school outcomes.
• Complaints routinely dismissed or buried with no independent escalation pathway.
• Opaque financial management—no clear auditing of how taxpayer funds are spent in schools.
• A system where the quality of a child’s education is determined by the leadership at their school, rather than consistent, system-wide standards.

A growing equity crisis, where public schools are underfunded, and parents are endlessly called on to raise money for essentials—while private schools receive millions in public funding.

Our children deserve better. Teachers and families deserve better. And taxpayers deserve to know how billions in education funding are being spent.

We demand a Royal Commission to shine a light on the failures within the NSW Department of Education and to chart a path toward fairness, transparency, and excellence in public education.