The Art Gallery of New South Wales Trust Board is constituted under Part 2 (Section 5-10) of the Art Gallery of New South Wales Act 1980. Section 6 stipulates that: 'the Trust shall consist of 11 Trustees who shall be appointed by the NSW Governor on the recommendation of the Minister for the Arts and at least two of whom shall be knowledgeable and experienced in the visual arts'. Trustees are appointed for a term not exceeding three years and may be re-appointed following the expiry of the appointed term, but no trustee shall hold office for four consecutive terms. Trustees do not receive any remuneration for their Board activities. During the year they have not only given generously of their time and expertise in their role as Trustees but have also provided specialist services for Gallery projects, encouraged donors and made to donations themselves to the Gallery's fundraising activities, and occasionally gifted or lent works of art to the Gallery. A Code of Conduct is in place and all Trustees are required to acknowledge their acceptance by signing the document. Corporate secretariat support is provided for the Trust Board and its sub-committees, each of which meets approximately six times a year. Each of the five sub-committees provides specialist expertise in monitoring the activities of the Gallery. The minutes of Trust sub-committee meetings and recommendations are tabled at the main Board meeting.

Trust Sub-committees

The sub-committees generally comprise a sub-set of Board members based on their respective areas of interest and expertise. Also included are the relevant senior staff members and other experts as appropriate. The sub-committees are responsible for monitoring their respective areas and making recommendations to the main Board for approval or otherwise. They meet usually within the week prior to the main Board meeting and the minutes of their meetings are tabled at the main Board meeting.

Acquisition and Loans Sub-committee
The Acquisition and Loans Sub-Committee plays an important role in overseeing our collections policy. It considers curatorial proposals on acquisitions, gifts, inward and outward loans and if applicable de-accessions. Based on these considerations recommendations are made to the Board for approval.

Sponsorship Sub-committee
The Sponsorship Sub-Committee is responsible for supporting the Gallery's efforts in raising funds for its various activities.

Finance and Audit Sub-committee
The Finance and Audit Sub-Committee oversees all financial aspects of the Art Gallery, including establishing budgeting, monitoring performance and ensuring stewardship of the assets. All audit matters are also tabled with the Committee. During the year officers from the NSW Audit Office, external auditors, attended a Committee meeting to provide a direct link with Trust members for discussion of relevant accounting policy matters.

Building Sub-committee
The Building Sub-Committee was established to provide Trust support and oversee the substantial building program of recent years. It has proved very valuable in the initial tendering and contractual phase as well as during major construction implementation. With construction almost fully completed in 2003/04 this committee was wound down and only held one final meeting.

Regional Sub-committee
The Regional Sub-Committee is responsible for the Gallery's numerous activities in supporting NSW regional galleries. This includes loans of artworks, touring exhibitions and provision of expertise as needed.

(Summarised from the Art Gallery of New South Wales Annual Report 2004, pages 44-46, which is available for download from this website.)