What is Federation
Our full name is the Federation of Parents and Citizens' Associations of New South Wales, but we are more commonly known as the NSW Parents and Citizens' Federation, or more simply "P&C Federation".
We are committed to a free public education system which is open to all people irrespective of culture, gender, academic ability and socio-economic class which empowers students to control their own lives and be contributing members of society.
This commitment is based on the belief that:
- All people have the capacity to learn.
- The NSW Government has prime responsibility to provide an education system which is free and secular and open to all.
- Schools should be structured to meet the needs of individual students and should respect the knowledge those students bring to school and build on that knowledge to foster their understanding about the world.
Parents, as partners in the education process, have a right and a responsibility to play an active role in the education of their children. P&C Federation and its representatives share a responsibility of ensuring representative decision making for the benefit of all students.
Membership of the Federation is open to constituted parents' associations in all NSW government schools and to district councils of these associations. P&C Federation provides a range of services to its members, which include 2,100 school based parent organisations, as well as a large number of district and regional councils.
We were established in 1922 and incorporated by an Act of the New South Wales Parliament in 1976. We operate at the national level through our affiliation with the Canberra based national parent organisation, the Australian Council of State School Organisations (ACSSO).