Australian Scout Promise & Law

The Australian Scout Promise & Law are the main ways we choose to express our values, and the main tools we use to explore the fundamentals of Scouting with youth members. In this way, we see the Promise & Law's role as an element of the Scout Method. 

All members agree to live their lives guided by the values expressed through the Promise & Law. Both these statements have historical and global significance for Scouting. Each National Scout Organisation has its own variation of a Promise and Law, inspired by the originals created by Baden-Powell. 

Australian Scout Promise

The promise has two common uses:

• Recital at key ceremonial Milestones (such as investiture or major event opening).
• A useful summary of our values for general use in the program.

In Australia, we have two versions of the Scout Promise; every Scout has the choice to make the Promise they relate to most. 

Before a Scout makes the Promise for the first time, or reaffirms it at a special ceremony, it's important to have a discussion with them to make sure they have made a decision about which version to make. This is an opportunity to go through each of the parts of the Promise and for the Scout to develop an understanding of what it means.

Australian Scout Law

All Scouts promise to live by the Scout Law. 

Our Scout Law is broken into three key points; every Scout strives to be respectful, do what is right and believe in themselves. As a Scout progresses in their understanding of these key points, they will explore in more depth the sub-points within each. Normally, this further exploration happens as a Scout progresses into older age sections. 

The Scout Law is aspirational; every Scout does their best to live by it. Through reflection, Scouts are encouraged to consider how well they have lived by the Scout Law and to focuses on improving their best in the future.