Asked whether the revamp would trigger job losses, she said: ‘‘I don’t anticipate there will be any in regional NSW whatsoever ... some people might have different jobs but that is something exciting to look forward to". Loading Administrative changes released this week reveal the state’s public service has been concentrated in eight departments – down from 10. But the significance of the changes is even more pronounced. As well as departments, public servants and public responsibilities also reside in agencies and offices that focus expertise within particular areas. Some offices have been abolished, such as the Office of Local Government and the Environment and Heritage, where officials were trying to reassure staff about their job security on Friday. Labor and the Greens are concerned the changes will result in less advice to government. “We're creating these monoliths that nobody will be able to question,” said David Shoebridge, the Greens’ planning spokesman.

The changes are potentially most significant within the planning system. Under NSW planning laws, agencies such as the Office of Environment can make submissions on proposed developments – such as in housing or mining – before they are approved. Sometimes their agreement is mandatory. Loading “We are going to see that critical loss of independence,” Mr Shoebridge said. “You need to hear different opinions. This is a one-party state approach to bureaucracy." A spokesman for Ms Berejiklian declined repeated requests to explain how submissions about environmental or heritage concerns would be made without an independent office. Ms Berejiklian's spokesman said: “The changes are designed to ensure the structures of the NSW government are fit for purpose well into the 2020s, in particular, to provide for a greater focus on improved service delivery, less red tape and government priorities.”

Views on the reforms are likely to be mixed. For instance, under an organisation chart distributed within Transport for NSW, Roads and Maritime Services will no longer be a separate division of that department. Public transport advocates have long pushed for the merger of the transport and roads agencies, so all aspects of the transport system can be considered together. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The changes also create a super-charged Infrastructure NSW, which was intended to mainly offer independent advice. But the UrbanGrowth Development Corporation - created in 2012 to deliver housing in inner city areas - has been scrapped, with its staff transferred to INSW. The Barangaroo Delivery Authority has been subsumed into the same agency.

For now, eight ministers are responsible for the eight new departments. But that is likely to change over the next few weeks, when different aspects of government policy are apportioned over the 24 Cabinet ministers Ms Berejiklian has nominated. The existence of the eight departments, however - one of which is the newly created Department of Customer Service - is not likely to change. Andrew Podger, a former Commonwealth department secretary and public service commissioner, said consolidating within eight departments would be a "pretty radical" change. Mr Podger, also a honorary professor of public policy at the Australian National University, said there were significant advantages in having all departments represented in cabinet, ensuring all perspectives were heard and operations manageable. “But if you've got a very large portfolio and you're briefing your minister, you've got to be careful that you're not just giving your minister only one option,” Mr Podger said. “There may be different views within your large portfolio.