NSW Labor leader Michael Daley has announced that he is standing down from his position after a disastrous end to his election campaign.
Mr Daley revealed on Monday afternoon that he would resign and appoint Penny Sharpe as interim leader, ahead of a leadership spill after the federal election in May.
Kogarah MP Chris Minns has been touted as the top contender to take his position full-time.
Mr Daley was criticised for comments he made in the final week of the campaign suggesting Asians were taking Australian jobs.
He also failed to remember his own education policy during a televised debate, providing wildly inaccurate figures for how much he planned to spend on TAFE.
NSW Labor leader Michael Daley has announced that he is standing down from his position after a disastrous end to his election campaign
Kogarah MP Chris Minns has been touted as the top contender to take his position full-time
The ALP had earlier said Mr Daley would remain in his position until May.
'Labor party officers have resolved to hold the rank-and-file ballot for leader of the NSW parliamentary party after the 2019 federal election,' the ALP said in a statement on Monday.
'The NSW Labor party is on official campaign footing and is committed to the task of electing a (Bill) Shorten Labor government over the next seven weeks.'
A senior party source on Monday told AAP that head office was delaying the contest until after the federal election - expected in May - to limit any negative impact on the campaign.
Labor has directed NSW MPs to 'refrain from commenting on, or campaigning for, the (state) leadership prior to the federal election'.
The decision comes after Mr Daley and the Labor party conceded defeat in the state election on Saturday night.
More than 1.3 million people cast their vote in what was tipped to be one of the closest elections in decades, but in the end the Coalition led the way.
Mr Daley said despite the disappointing result, he would continue on as NSW Labor leader to a cheering crowd of
