Beyond Victoria

Scouts Victoria's 400 Scout Groups are based in local communities across the State.

But the local Scout hall is also connected to the whole world of Scouting, to a global organisation of 47 million members today - and more than one billion Scouts since Scouting began in 1907.

The Scout program operates in all but five countries in the world (Andorra, China, Cuba, North Korea, and Laos)

Scouts Australia

Scouts Australia is the national body for Scouting in Australia, a federation of State associations that operate collectively as Scouts Australia, a National Scout Organisation (NSO).

Scouts Australia is led by the Chief Commissioner of Australia supported by the National team, including National Commissioners for Adult Training and Development, Transformation, Youth Program, and Youth Empowerment, and the International Commissioner.          

Scouts Australia's governing bodies include the National Executive Committee (including the Chief Commissioner of Australia, National Chair, and National team, and the Chief Commissioner and chair of each State and Territory) and the National Council.

Other important National bodies include the National Youth Council and the National Youth Program Team.

The Chief Scout of Australia is usually the Governor-General.

The National secretariat is based in Sydney.

www.scouts.com.au

Asia-Pacific Region

World Scouting is divided into six regions. Australia is one of the 25 member countries of the Asia-Pacific Region.

This region extends from Mongolia in the north to New Zealand in the south, and from Pakistan in the west to Pacific island of Kiribati in the east.

The region has more than 20 million youth and adult members, making it the largest Scouting region in the world.

The headquarters of Scouting's Asia-Pacific Region is in Manila, in the Philippines.

World Organisation Scout Movement

The World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM) is an international body comprised of National Scout Organisations (NSOs) such as Scouts Australia.

Only one National Scout Organisation is recognised in any country, although, in some countries, the official National Scout Organisation is a federation comprised of two or more local Scout Associations.

WOSM's role includes promoting the unity of Scouting throughout the world, in accordance with Scouting’s purpose.

Australia has made a major contribution to world Scouting over the years, with many Australians serving on the World Scout Committee, some of them even serving as Chair of the World Scout Committee (Bruce Garnsey, Norman Johnson and Neil Westaway AM).

The professional side of World Scouting is led by the Secretary-General.

The World Bureau is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, while the legal seat of the World Scout Bureau is in Geneva, Switzerland.

www.scout.org