
Elections to the 53rd Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday 22 March 2003. All seats in the Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the Legislative Council were up for election. The Labor Party led by Bob Carr won a third four-year term against the Liberal-National Coalition led by John Brogden.

The 2006 Junee bushfire, officially referred to as the "Jail Break Inn fire", was a bushfire that burned from 1–6 January and primarily affected the Riverina region in the Australian state of New South Wales. At least 25,200 hectares of farmland and forest reserve in the municipality of Junee Shire were burned during the 6-day duration of the fire. Ten houses, four shearing sheds and numerous other vehicles and non-residential buildings were destroyed, and damage was also caused to the Junee Round House. Rural industry in the Junee area was also significantly affected by the fire; over 20,000 head of livestock perished or were put down due to fire related injuries, 20 hectares of unharvested crops were burned and 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) of fencing was damaged. The fire affected 200 properties in and around the communities of Bethungra, Eurongilly, Illabo, Junee and Old Junee.

Elections for the 54th Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 24 March 2007. The entire Legislative Assembly and half of the Legislative Council was up for election. The Labor Party led by Morris Iemma won a fourth four-year term against the Liberal-National coalition led by Peter Debnam.

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Lakemba on 18 October 2008 after former Premier Morris Iemma resigned as member for Lakemba. By-elections for the seats of Cabramatta, Port Macquarie and Ryde were held on the same day.

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Port Macquarie on 18 October 2008. This was triggered by the resignation of independent MP Rob Oakeshott who was elected to the federal seat of Lyne at a by-election the previous month.

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Ryde on 18 October 2008 to coincide with the Port Macquarie, Lakemba and Cabramatta by-elections. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of sitting member and Deputy Premier John Watkins, who cited exhaustion and the lack of time spent with his family for his resignation. Watkins resigned as Deputy Premier and Minister for Transport and retired from parliament on 8 September 2008, prompting a Cabinet reshuffle.

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Cabramatta on 18 October 2008 to coincide with the Lakemba, Port Macquarie and Ryde by-elections. The Cabramatta by-election was triggered by the resignation of sitting member and former Health Minister Reba Meagher, after a spectacular series of events that saw both the Deputy Premier and the Premier resign.

The June 2007 Hunter Region and Central Coast storms started on Friday, June 8th following the development of an intense east coast low pressure system during the previous night. Over the next 36 hours these areas were battered by the system's strong winds and torrential rain, which caused extensive flooding, damage, loss of life and the grounding of a 225 m (738 ft) long bulk carrier. The strongest observed wind gusts were 135 kilometres per hour (84 mph) at Norah Head and 124 kilometres per hour (77 mph) at Newcastle.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 is a repealed statute of New South Wales (NSW). The Act was repealed by the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

The Pulletop bushfire, officially referred to as the Wandoo fire, started on the 6 February 2006 in hot dry and windy weather conditions approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) southeast of Wagga Wagga in the Australian state of New South Wales. The fire was thought to have been started by sparks from a tractor on a property at Pulletop which quickly got out of control. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service declared a bushfire emergency and the Hume Highway was closed late in the afternoon with fears that the fire would threaten the towns of Humula, Book Book, Livingstone and Kyeamba after 10 square kilometres (3.9 sq mi) of farmland was burnt. By 7 February 2006 milder conditions helped firefighters to control the fire burning in inaccessible country.

The Waterfall rail accident was a train accident that occurred on 31 January 2003 near Waterfall, New South Wales, Australia. The train derailed, killing seven people aboard, including the train driver. The accident is famously remembered by systems engineers due to the poorly designed safety systems.