Sydney Opera House Trust

The Trust operates as one of the State's premier cultural institutions within the Create NSW portfolio. It is constituted as a body corporate under the Sydney Opera House Trust Act 1961.^[3] It has 10 members appointed by the Governor of New South Wales on the nomination of the Minister for the Arts. The Trustees must include at least two persons who have knowledge of or experience in the performing arts. A Trustee holds office for three years and is eligible for reappointment for no more than three consecutive terms.^[4]

The Trust's objectives are:^[4]

• To administer, care for, control, manage, staff and maintain the Sydney Opera House building and site
• To manage and administer the site as an arts centre and meeting place
• To promote artistic taste and achievement in all branches of the performing arts
• To foster scientific research into and to encourage the development of new forms of entertainment and presentation.

The trust is responsible for the oversight and appointment of the Sydney Opera House Executive Team, which "works in partnership with the Trust and is responsible for developing, implementing and monitoring the organisational strategy", and includes portfolio directors under the Chief Executive Officer.^[4]

The Sydney Opera House Trust was established by the Sydney Opera House Trust Act 1961, which came into effect from 14 March 1961, replacing the Sydney Opera House Executive Committee, which since 1954 had investigated the location and design competition.^[5][6][7] The first trust appointed under the 1961 act comprised 17 trustees: the Premier Bob Heffron or the Minister for Public Works (Norm Ryan; as president), the Lord Mayor of Sydney (Harry Jensen; as vice-president), and 15 'nominated trustees': Stanley Haviland CBE (chairman), Edward William Adams, Clarence Henry Woodward Arthy, Professor Henry Ingham Ashworth, Doris Fitton OBE, John Glass CBE, Sir Bernard Heinze, Neil Hutchison, Hon. James Denis Kenny , Erik Langker OBE, Dr Nicolai Malko, Charles Moses CBE, Dr Cobden Parkes CBE, Dr Lloyd Maxwell Ross, and Dr Harold Wyndham.^[7][8]

The Trust consists of ten members in total, including the Chair. The current members of the Trust are:^{[4][9][10][11]}