The New South Wales Government Architect, an appointed officer of the Government of New South Wales, serves as the General Manager of the Government Architect's Office (GAO), a multi-disciplinary consultancy operating on commercial principles providing architecture, design, and engineering services, that is an agency of the government within NSW Public Works.[1]
Historically, the government architect was in charge of the government's public building projects across the state of New South Wales, Australia. Since the 1990s, when the consultancy service began operating on commercial principles, the Government Architect has reported separately in a second capacity, as an advisor to the government, and serves on various committees and boards in relation to heritage protection, architecture, and design.[1]
The first officer in the role, then styled Colonial Architect, was Francis Greenway, appointed in 1816.