Scouts Australia - History

History

Scouting came to Australia in 1908, the year the first Boy Scout training handbook "Scouting for Boys" was published in England. Baden-Powell visited Australia in 1912 and in later years (1927, 1931 and 1934) to encourage the extension of the movement in Australia.

Initially each Australian state branch was directly and individually responsible to scout headquarters in London. A federal council of state branch nominees was formed in 1922 to achieve co-operation and coordinated at a national level. The national body later appointed an Australian Commissioner. The Federal Scout Council functioned as a branch of the British Boys Scout Association. Australia became a member of the World Scout Organisation of Scout Movements (WOSM) in 1953 in its own right, and not as a branch of the British Scout Association. In 1958, the adjuration of the Australian Boys Scout Association took place. In 1967, the national organisation was incorporated by Royal Charter. In 1971, the association changed its name to the Scout Association of Australia, although the official name was not changed until 2001, when the Royal Charter was amended through an Act of Parliament. The organisation is unofficially known as Scouts Australia.

The Association is a Founder Member of the Asia-Pacific Region. In the field of support and co-operation with other member countries of the Asia Pacific Region, the organisation has contributed to a number of international friendship and community development oriented projects. Over the years, Australian Scouts have supported emerging Scout Associations in the South Pacific. A twinning project with the Bangladesh Scouts, known as the "Bangladesh-Australia Child Health" (BACH) project made a dramatic impact on child health in project villages during its operation from 1986 to 1992. The Scout Association has a twinning project with the Nepal Scouts known as NATURE Project and involves the reforestation of the Kristi Landslide.

Australia hosted the successful 16th World Scout Jamboree and the 31st World Scout Conference in 1988. Some 15,000 Scouts from 94 countries attended the Jamboree at Cataract Scout Park near Sydney. An Australian Scout Jamboree has been held every three years since 1934 except for the years of the Second World War. The scout jamboree is the largest national scout event but there is also an Australian Rover Moot and an Australian Venture are also held every three years.

In response to World and Regional Scout Conferences held prior to 2000, Scouts Australia established a National Youth Council to engage youth members in national operations and to provide opportunities for these representatives:

• to advise on the relevance of Youth Program to young people;
• to advise Scouts Australia and external agencies of internal and external issues it should address;
• to provide further youth input into all strategies including membership and marketing;
• to be a sounding board for new initiatives;
• to make recommendations to national committees; and
• to continue to develop members' own skills, experience and knowledge in line with the movement's Aims.

Positions were first advertised at the 19th Australian Jamboree held at Cataract Scout Park in Sydney in January 2001 and by April of that same year, the first 30 Scouts, Venturers, Rovers and Young Leaders had been chosen to represent the youth population of Scouts Australia. The Council held its first meeting on 4–6 May 2001.

Today, there are 25 members on the Council from all branches of Scouts Australia. The only non-youth member of the Council is the Adviser who does not have any voting rights. The Council meets face to face twice a year and works in patrols and meets using online collaborative tools throughout the rest of the year. The Chair of the National Youth Council is a full member of the Scouts Australia National Council and therefore has voting rights on the National Operations Committee and National Executive Committee.

In 2003 Scouts Australia became a Registered Training Provider under the banner of the Federal Dept. of Science, Technology and Training. Scouts Australia's Adult Leader Training now leads Adults to a Diploma of Leadership under the Australian Qualifications Framework.

According to its own Annual Reports membership has decreased in all sections from a total of 84,502 in 2126 Groups in 2001 to a total of 63,200 in 1836 Groups in 2005. In 2010, an increase in overall membership to 65,810 in 1,504 groups was reported.