Scouts Australia is a trading name of The Scout Association of Australia, which is the largest organisation in the Scout Movement in Australia, claiming over 50,000 participants in programs for children and young adults from 5 to 25 years of age, including girls since 1971. It was formed in 1958 and incorporated in 1967. It is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
The organisation's current stated purpose is to "contribute to the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual potentials as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities".
Participation in the organisation's programs declined in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, despite opening participation to girls and ever younger children and Australia having a high population growth rate, well above the world average. In 1966, it claimed 280,000 youth participants. According to a 2014 media article, "Scouts Australia is hoping [to] arrest a steady decline in membership. In 1979 it had 114,500 youth members and today there are 52,000." According to its annual reports, participation decreased from 84,502 in 2,126 groups in 2001 to 63,200 in 1,836 groups in 2005, while in 2012 there were 49,181 children and youth, 2,587 young adult Rovers and 14,113 adult leaders and support roles in 1,486 groups and, in 2022, there were 48,796 children and youths, 2,792 young adult Rovers and 15,147 adult leaders and support roles in 1,321 groups. The organisation has an exceptionally high number of adults compared to its number of youth participants with a ratio of more than one adult for every three youths.
Structure and governance Scouts Australia is a council which is not elected by, representative of, nor accountable to the Scouts, its adult participants, or Scout groups. The council consists of a majority of members elected by the council itself, office bearers appointed by the council or its national executive committee, state and territory office bearers appointed by the national executive committee, and a smaller number of representatives from state and territory branch councils which are similarly not elected by, representative of or accountable to the Scouts, its adult participants or Scout groups.By-laws of The Scouts Association of Australia The council usually meets just once a year. Real control lies with its national executive committee. Its national executive committee sets policy and programs and coordinates its state and territory branches.
The New South Wales, Victorian, and Tasmanian state branches are incorporated under special Acts of the state parliaments.New South Wales: Scout Association of Australia (New South Wales Branch) Incorporation Act 1928; Victoria: Scout Association Act 1932 while the Western Australian, South Australian, Queensland, Northern Territory, and Australian Capital Territory branches are incorporated by registration under the ordinary Associations Incorporation Acts. Each state or territory branch maintains its distinct structure, operational methods, and rules. However, all branches operate the same programs for children and young adults under a common uniform and common award scheme structure set by the national executive committee.
The national executive committee appoints the organisation's Chief Scout. In the past, the organisation's positions of chief scouts and state branch chief scouts had usually been held, respectively, by the governor-general or governor of the state. When he was the governor-general from 1989 to 1996, Bill Hayden declined to be the organisation's chief scout. On 15 April 2025 Sam Mostyn, the Governor-General of Australia, was invested in this position.
In 2015, the actor Shane Jacobson was appointed as the organisation's Chief Scout of its Victorian branch. The organisation's position of Chief Scout of its Australian Capital Territory branch was allowed to lapse and has been left vacant. In 1942, Sir Leslie Orme Wilson, the Governor of Queensland, resigned as the Boy Scouts Association's Chief Scout of Queensland because of the failure of the Queensland branch to respond to his call for reforms to its centralisation effort that led to the severance of the Mount Morgan Blue Boy Scouts.
History
For the history of Boy Scouts and the Scout Movement in Australia generally, see Scouting and Guiding in Australia.
The organisation was formed in 1958 under the name Australian Boy Scouts Association, as a branch of The Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom. Before its formation, branches of The Boy Scouts Association had been formed in each Australian state. Initially, each Australian state branch was directly responsible to the Imperial Headquarters of The Boy Scouts Association in London. In 1922, The Boy Scouts Association formed its Australian Federal Council, consisting of nominees of its Australian state branches, to achieve cooperation and coordination at a national level. The Boy Scouts Association later appointed an Australian commissioner. The Australian Federal Council functioned as a branch of The Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom, and the Australian commissioner was appointed by the Imperial Headquarters in London. The Australian Federal Council of The Boy Scouts Association became a member of the International Conference of the Boy Scout Movement in 1953, rather than being represented through The Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom. In 1958, when the Australian Boy Scouts Association was formed, it succeeded the Australian Federal Council of The Boy Scouts Association.
In 1967, the organisation was incorporated by royal charter as a branch of The Scout Association of the United Kingdom.Scout Association Act – amendments to 2003, Comlaw.gov.au, Accessed 14 December 2006 Each of the Australian state branches and the Papua New Guinea branch of The Scout Association became branches of the Australian Boy Scouts Association.Royal Charter of Incorporation of The Australian Boy Scouts Association, 1967, Australian Boy Scouts Association, 1969 In 1975, the organisation's Papua New Guinea branch became an independent organisation.
Program reviews
In 1969, the organisation began a review of its youth programs under its Design for Tomorrow Committee and implemented its New Design scheme in 1971. The scheme involved a new name, new branding, new uniforms, and new award schemes. It failed to attract an increase in participants and led to considerable disaffection and loss of long-term leaders and supporters and the formation of Australian affiliates of the traditionalist Baden-Powell Scouts' Association while its decline in participation continued.
In 1971, the organisation dropped the word "boy" from its name when it changed its name from the Australian Boy Scouts Association to The Scout Association of Australia. While girls had been part of the Scout Movement and other Scout organisations in Australia since 1908, Scouts Australia and its branches excluded girls until after 1971. It and its branches had utilised women as cubmasters in its Wolf Cubs program from 1920. In 1973, following its Design for Tomorrow report, it began trial admissions of girls to its Rovers and new Venturer programs, and adopted voluntary admission to these programs by Scout groups from 1975. It admitted girls to its cubs and scouts programs in 1988 and to its joeys from its commencement the program in 1990.
Until 1976, it admitted only British Subjects with other nationalities admitted only on special conditions and approval.Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Boy Scouts Association, 1959 Rule 24; POR of The Australian Boy Scouts Association, 1969 Rules 2/3 & 2/4; POR of The Scout Association of Australia, 1976 Rules 2/3 & 2/4 After 1976, British subjects continued to be automatically admitted while foreign subjects, including residents were still subject to special conditions and approval.Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association of Australia 1981 Rules 2/3 & 2/4; POR of The Scout Association of Australia 1993 (in effect until 1996), Rules 2/3/& 2/4
In 1979, following years of disaffection and concerns that the organisation, like its parent organisation in the United Kingdom, would disband Rovers, the organisation formed its national Rover council, composed of Rovers (ages 18 to 25), appointed by each of its seven branch Rover councils. The national Rover council elects an executive to represent Rovers in the organisation's affairs and the chairperson of the National Rover Council is a member of the organisation's national executive committee.
In 1997, the organisation adopted the new trading name Scouts Australia new logo, uniforms, and branding to be more appealing, but participation rates and numbers continued to decline.
In 2001, the organisation formed its National Youth Council in an attempt to engage youth and provide opportunities for youth leadership at its national level. It was composed of just 25 Scouts, Venturers, and Rovers, met face to face twice a year and online throughout the rest of the year. Despite this, youth participation rates and numbers continued to decline. The National Youth Council was disbanded in 2018.
A further program review commenced in 2013. In 2019, at the 25th Australian Scout Jamboree a new program and logo and branding were launched, with the intention of modernising the organisation's brand, and moving its programs more in line with Australian curriculums.
Religion
The organisation is a non-religious. To enrol, participants are required to make a promise. In 2017, with the launch of "The Adventure Begins", a new promise option allows Scouts to "do my best to be true to my spiritual beliefs", to further open the promise to all religious faiths. The other more established option for the Australian Scout Promise includes the phrase "do my best to do my duty to my God", allowing some flexibility in the interpretation of "my God".
Historically, Scouting in Australia was rooted in Christianity as that was the world view of Scouts founder, Lord Baden-Powell. Although Britain is now a majority non-religious nation Christianity was the dominant faith in both Britain and Australia in Scouting's early days.
More recently, participants have come from many faiths, although the majority of Scout groups promote an interfaith approach to religion. Many Scout groups have been formed within existing communities and specific religious traditions as "sponsored groups", such as Coptic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Islamic and Jewish.
Scout Promise and Law Scout Promise There are two versions of the Australian Scout Promise which individuals may choose to select:
Option One On my honour, I promise to do my best, To do my duty to my God and To the King of Australia, To help other people, And to live by the Scout Law.
Option Two On my honour, I promise To do my best, To be true to my spiritual beliefs, To contribute to my community and our world, To help other people, And to live by the Scout Law.
Scout Law Be Respectful Be friendly and considerate. Care for others and the environment.
Do What is Right Be trustworthy, honest and fair. Use resources wisely.
Believe in Myself Learn from my experiences. Face challenges with courage.
Children and youth programs Age sections Youth development in the organisation's programs is divided into several age group stages. The age groups encourage movement through the sections as the youth matures. The sections are:
Joeys (5–7 years): helping to develop a child's sense of personal identity. Cubs (8–10 years): aims to develop a sense of adventure and achievement and a chance to grow their character. Scouts (11–14 years): promotes leadership and teamwork, as well as an appreciation of the outdoors.