Scouts Australia

Scouts Australia is a trading name of The Scout Association of Australia which is the largest Scouting organisation in Australia. It is a member organisation of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. It operates personal development programs for children and young adults from 5 to 25 years of age in Australia and Australian territories. It was formed in 1958 and incorporated in 1967. Scouts Australia's programs were opened to girls after 1971.
The current stated purpose of Scouts Australia 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".
Despite opening participation to girls and ever younger children and Australia having a high population growth rate, well above the world average, participation in the organisation's programs declined in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. According to a 2014 media article, "Scouts Australia is hoping [to] arrest a steady decline in membership. In 1979 the organisation had 114,500 youth members, today there are 52,000." According to its own annual reports participation decreased from 84,502 in 2,126 groups in 2001 to 63,200 in 1,836 groups in 2005, and in 2012 there were 49,181 youth, 2,587 young adult Rovers and 14,113 adult leaders and support roles in 1,486 groups. This means 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.
Scouts Australia is a council consisting of a majority of members elected by the council itself, office bearers appointed by the council or its 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 or representative of the Scouts, the adults in Scouting or Scout groups. The national council usually meets just once a year. Its national executive committee seeks to achieve co-operation and coordination of the state and territory branches. The New South Wales, Victorian and Tasmanian state branches are incorporated under special Acts of the state parliaments. 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 own structure and operational methodologies and rules. However, all branches operate programs for children and young adults under a common uniform and common award scheme structure.
The organisation's current Chief Scout is David Hurley, the Governor-General of Australia. The Chief Scout of each state branch had usually been the governor of the state. In 2015, the actor Shane Jacobson was appointed as the Chief Scout of the Victorian branch. 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. Prior to its formation, branches of the Boy Scouts Association had been formed in each of the Australian states. Initially each Australian state branch was directly responsible to 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 co-operation and co-ordination 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. Each of the Australian state branches and the Papua New Guinea branch of the Scout Association became branches of the Australian Boy Scouts Association. In 1975, the organisation's Papua New Guinea branch became an independent organisation.
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. Until 1976, it admitted only British subjects to membership and programs and other nationalities only on special conditions and approval. After 1976, British subjects continued to be automatically admitted to membership while others, including residents, were still subject to special conditions and approval.
In 1997, the organisation adopted the trading name Scouts Australia.
Program reviews.
In 1969 the organisation began a review of its youth programs under its Design for Tomorrow Committee and implemented its New Design program from 1971. The program 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 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 to engage youth in its national operations and provide opportunities for youth leadership at a national level. It is composed of 25 Scouts, Venturers and Rovers. The council meets face to face twice a year and online throughout the rest of the year. Despite this, youth participation rates and numbers continued to decline.
A further program review commenced in 2013. In 2019, a new program, along with new logo and branding, was launched, again hoping to appeal to a larger audience. Elements of this program include the catchphrases "youth leading, adults supporting", "plan, do, review", another overhaul of its award scheme and a return to a focus on outdoor adventure.
Religion.
Scouts Australia is a non-religious organisation. To enrol with Scouts Australia you are required to make the Scout Promise. The unique wording in the Australian Scout Promise of “do my best to do my duty to "my" God" allows some flexibility and Scouts Australia is open to people of all religious faiths that can make this 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.
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 and 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.
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:
Uniform.
The core uniform is a navy blue shirt with the relevant youth section colour across the sleeves and collar, a scarf and woggle. The leaders' shirt is only dark blue.
The section colours are:
Award scheme.
The youth award scheme in Australian Scouting consists of awards for proficiency in an adventurous activity, participation in major events, recognition of service, gallantry and meritorious service, and for the practice of Scouting (Queen's Scout, Baden-Powell Award, etc.).
The highest award for each section is Promise Challenge, Grey Wolf Award, Australian Scout Medallion, Queen's Scout Award, and Baden-Powell Award respectively.
Lone Scouts.
The Lone Scout Group is for youth unable to attend or find a local Scout group. Lones include people with disabilities and are therefore unable to attend regular group meetings, people who are constant travellers or go to places at which they are unable to attend a group i.e. boarding school or isolated communities. They hold annual week-long camps for members and their families. Lone scouts have meetings over the radio.
International connections.
The organisation operates in the non-sovereign Australian Indian Ocean Territories of:
Two Scout troops in Singapore are affiliated with the organisation.
The organisation is a founder member of the Asia-Pacific Region of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. In the field of support and co-operation with other national member organisations 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 organisations 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 organisation has a twinning project with the Nepal Scouts known as NATURE Project and involves the reforestation of the Kristi Landslide.
In 1988 the organisation hosted the 16th World Scout Jamboree and the 31st World Scout Conference. 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 organisation's largest event but an Australian Rover Moot and an Australian Venture are also held every three years.
Adult training and awards.
Training institute
In 1996 Scouts Australia became a registered training organisation (RTO), trading as the Scouts Australia Institute of Training (SAIT). Scouts Australia's adult leader training program now leads adults and Rover Scouts to a Certificate III in Business and a Certificate IV in Leadership and Management, as well as the Scouting Woodbadge qualification. Woodbadged Leaders and Rovers can then undertake the Diploma of Leadership and Management qualification through SAIT.
In 2011, the institute added a number of the SIS10 qualifications to its scope, and changes are occurring in the individual state branches to allow Adventurous Activity Leader training to also lead to the Certificate IV in Outdoor Recreation. Adventurous Activities Leaders are leaders who specialise in the running of advanced adventurous activities, such as abseiling, rock climbing, scuba diving and mountain biking, as opposed to the everyday running of a Scout group and more basic activities such as camping and hiking.
Adult Recognition Awards
Adult Recognition Awards (formerly Good Service Awards) are presented each year by the Chief Scout of each branch and are presented for service to Scouting over and above what is expected for someone who is simply carrying out the duties of their position. These awards can be nominated by anyone affiliated with Scouts Australia.
Awards for gallantry and meritorious conduct.
Awards for Gallantry are made by the Chief Scout of Australia for actions involving risk, for example for saving someone from a burning building, to individual participants or groups.
Awards for meritorious conduct are awarded for actions that may not have involved risking of life but still display courage, endurance, initiative or devotion to duty, often under suffering. As with Awards for Gallantry, these awards are made by the Chief Scout of Australia to individuals or groups depending on the circumstances.
Sexual abuse cases.
Scouts Australia was called before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse for its failures in handling complaints against its leaders.
In 2014, Darryl Rubiolo, a former Scout Association of Australia leader, publicity officer, leader trainer, St. George Area Commissioner and member of the New South Wales state branch council, was convicted of serial child sex offences against three boys aged 9, 13 and 14, between 1975 and 1987 while he was an official of the Scout Association of Australia. Rubiolo was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison with a non-parole period of one year.
In 2012, Steven Larkins, a former leader in New South Wales was convicted and imprisoned for offences he had committed 15 years earlier.
In February 2000, Roderick Albert Joseph CORRIE, a former NSW Branch Commissioner and scout leader of nearly thirty-two years was convicted of child sexual offences. "Corrie, one of the most senior and highly decorated Scouts in NSW, was jailed for seven years in February 2000 after pleading guilty in the District Court to eight most serious of 77 charges of sexually abusing children as young as 11, including rape and buggery, occurring 1969–1995. Two years earlier, Corrie had been convicted of eight charges of “aggravated indecent assault” and placed on a bond, given counselling and 70 hours of community service." The head of Scouts Australia, "Dr. Bruce Munro, apologised to the families of those abused after the Sydney Morning Herald obtained a copy of a 14-page report written by a senior Scout leader in 1981 that detailed serious allegations of Corrie abusing four boys, one aged 12 at the time. Munro admitted that those allegations were not properly investigated or referred to the police and that although Corrie was initially suspended, he was then simply allowed to transfer as a leader to a North Shore Scouting group. Even after police began investigating Corrie in 1994, he was allowed to continue having contact with, and sexually abusing, scouts until at least May 1995."
Mark Geoffrey Fisher, scoutmaster at 1st Hunters Hill troop in New South Wales from 1969 to 1988, pleaded guilty to charges of 35 sex offences involving eight boys aged between 11 and 15 between 1971–88.
In 2017, former scout leader Neville Budge, was convicted of sexually abusing eight young boys between the years of 1995 and 2002, whilst working as a Scout leader in the Belmont and Geelong district, Victoria. The court referred to his manipulative and predatory actions, labelling his crimes as being “simply abhorrent”.
In 2017, former scout leader Chris Edmondson was convicted of the sexual abuse of three young boys between 1975 and 1978 in Warrandyte. On one occasion he sexually abused a young boy for having not known a test answer. Edmondson was jailed in Queensland in 2006 and released in 2012, then jailed in Victoria in 2015 again, had his sentence extended in 2016 and would have been eligible for parole in January of 2019. The outcome of the proceedings is unclear to date.
Former scout leader Kim Richard Harvey was jailed for the sexual abuse of 15 teenage boys in Melbourne’s South Eastern suburbs between the years of 1974 and 1989. Harvey’s behaviour posed a uniquely disturbing pattern, whereby premeditated grooming was a natural part of his ‘game’; often plying his victims with alcohol, lollies and pornography. Harvey’s crimes were not just isolated to local scout halls but continued throughout various camping trips and activities in his role as a leader with Scouts Victoria.
Since then, Scouts Australia put child safe training and procedures in place to try to protect the children under their care.