Parliamentary Counsel's Office (NSW)

What Parliamentary Counsel's Office (NSW) does

The Parliamentary Counsel's Office (NSW) is a Public Service executive agency of the New South Wales Government, related to the Department of Premier and Cabinet, that serves as the statutory drafter of NSW legislation. Established in 1856 (with the first full-time Parliamentary Draftsman appointed in 1878) and headquartered at Level 1/60-70 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, the office operates roughly 50 specialist staff (one source reports a headcount of 79) organised into legislative drafters, editorial and publishing personnel, IT staff, and corporate functions. Its operations are organised around six drafting programs: the Government Bills Program (drafting Bills for the NSW Government), the Non-Government Bills Program (drafting Bills for individual MPs under Premier's authorisation), the Environmental Planning Instruments Program (SEPPs and LEPs under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979), the Statutory Instruments Program (regulations, proclamations, by-laws, and rules of court), the Staged Repeal Program (replacement instruments under the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989), and the annual Statute Law Revision Program. Instructors (NSW Government departments, agencies, Parliament, courts, tribunals, and local councils) submit written instructions via email; the office does not draft legislation for members of the public.

Name

Parliamentary Counsel's Office (NSW)

Legal name

New South Wales Parliamentary Counsel's Office

Website

https://pco.nsw.gov.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1856

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Parliamentary Counsel's Office (NSW) is the statutory drafter of New South Wales legislation — drafting Bills, statutory instruments, environmental planning instruments, and rules of court for NSW Government departments, Parliament, courts, and local councils — and manages the public NSW Legislation Website.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Legislative Drafting Services

NAICS

Legislative Bodies (92112), Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAIABAB

State Legislature/Regional Assembly Administration

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/State/Provincial & Regional Government Administration

SECONDARYBPAIAAAB

Central Government Policy, Strategy & Performance (incl. OMB-style functions)

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Central/Federal Government Administration

Keywords

• Legislative drafting services
• Government bill drafting
• Statutory instruments drafting
• Legislation publication website
• Government gazette publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: PCO is a NSW Government agency funded through public taxation and government appropriations. Services are provided free of charge to government clients and the public.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Parliamentary Counsel's Office (NSW) drafts Bills, regulations, statutory instruments, and environmental planning instruments for the NSW Government, Parliament, courts, tribunals, local councils, and non-Government MPs. It manages the official NSW Legislation Website (legislation.nsw.gov.au) and the NSW Government Gazette portal, providing authoritative public access to NSW legislation and statutory notifications. It also publishes drafting style guides (PCO Standard and Manual for Non-Government Drafting) and delivers instructor training for government agencies.

Product overview

The NSW Parliamentary Counsel's Office (PCO) provides a comprehensive legislative drafting and access service for New South Wales. The core offering is the NSW Legislation Website (legislation.nsw.gov.au), which provides online public access to NSW legislation in both static (PDF As Made) and dynamic (HTML consolidated with amendments) formats. PCO's drafting services encompass multiple programs: the Government Bills Program drafts Bills for the NSW Government; the Non-Government Bills Program drafts Bills for individual MPs; the Environmental Planning Instruments Program drafts SEPPs and LEPs; the Statutory Instruments Program drafts regulations, proclamations, and court rules; the Staged Repeal Program drafts replacement instruments for automatic repeal; and the Statute Law Revision Program drafts annual miscellaneous provisions Bills. Supporting these core services are publications like the PCO Standard style guide and Manual for Non-Government Drafting, instructor training programs, and management of the NSW Government Gazette portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Government Bills Program
• Non-Government Bills Program
• Environmental Planning Instruments Program
• Statutory Instruments Program
• Staged Repeal Program
• Statute Law Revision Program Annual drafting of Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bills to fix errors, update out-of-date references, and make minor changes to NSW legislation.
• NSW Legislation Website
• NSW Government Gazette
• PCO Standard
• PCO Manual for Non-Government Drafting
• Instructor Training Program

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Australasian Parliamentary Counsel's Committee (PCC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPCC is a committee of Australasian parliamentary counsel offices. Annette O'Callaghan, NSW Parliamentary Counsel, serves as Secretary of the PCC. The committee facilitates collaboration and coordination among Australian and New Zealand legislative drafting offices.
• Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel (CALC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational association of legislative counsel offices from Commonwealth countries. PCO is a member, enabling knowledge sharing and professional development among Commonwealth legislative drafters.
• Federal Office of Parliamentary Counsel (OPC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommonwealth government legislative drafting office. Listed as a related drafting organization for reference and potential collaboration on federal matters.
• State and Territory Parliamentary Counsel OfficescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPCO maintains relationships with all Australian state and territory parliamentary counsel offices including ACT, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia. These offices draft legislation for their respective jurisdictions.
• Department of Premier and Cabinet (NSW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPCO operates within the Department of Premier and Cabinet structure. Liaises with DPC and Premier's Office concerning priorities and timing for Government Bills.
• NSW ParliamentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPCO provides legislation to Parliament for introduction and passage. Works with Hansard and parliamentary proceedings. Final versions of Bills are provided to Parliament.
• Destination NSWminorOthersDestination NSW provided the panoramic image of Sydney Harbour used on PCO's homepage, licensed for use on the corporate website.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Parliamentary Counsel's Office (Western Australia): WA's state legislative drafting office. Performs the same drafting and publication function for Western Australia and is a fellow member of the Australasian Parliamentary Counsel's Committee.
• Parliamentary Counsel Office (New Zealand) — Te Tari Tohutohu Pāremata: New Zealand's national legislative drafting office. Closest international peer under the same Westminster-derived drafting tradition, fellow PCC member, and operates the NZ Legislation website.
• Office of Parliamentary Counsel (ACT): ACT's legislative drafting office. Smaller jurisdiction but performs the same function and is part of the PCC network alongside PCO.
• Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel: State-level legislative drafting office for Queensland that performs the same statutory drafting function for its jurisdiction. Most directly comparable peer in terms of mandate, scale, and outputs.
• Office of Parliamentary Counsel (Commonwealth): Federal-level legislative drafting office that drafts Commonwealth Acts and instruments. Closely related function at the national level; explicitly listed as a related drafting organization in PCO's own partnerships data.
• Office of Parliamentary Counsel (South Australia): South Australia's state legislative drafting office. Provides equivalent Bills, statutory instruments, and consolidated legislation publishing services for SA, and is a fellow PCC member.
• Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (Tasmania): Tasmania's state legislative drafting office. Smaller-scope but functionally identical state-level peer, and fellow PCC member.
• Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel (Victoria): Victoria's state legislative drafting office. Operates under the same Commonwealth-derived drafting tradition and provides Bills, statutory instruments, and the official Victorian legislation website, directly mirroring PCO's mandate.

Broad incumbents

• Department of Justice Canada — Legislative Services Branch: Canada's federal legislative drafting and publishing function. Performs statutory drafting, consolidation, and online publication of federal Acts and regulations, providing an analogous Commonwealth comparator at national scale.
• Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (UK): The UK's central government legislative drafting office. Operates the same drafting function at national scale under the same legal tradition that informs PCO's practice, and is a CALC member.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/new-south-wales-government-parliamentary-counsel's-office

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Parliamentary Counsel's Office (NSW)