Chair, National Executive Committee

Toby Phillips

Mr Toby Phillips was elected Chair of the National Executive Committee of Scouts Australia, in November 2021.

Based in Melbourne, Toby is currently the Program Director, Sustainable Economy at the Centre for Policy Development (CPD) and also the Executive Director, Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker at Oxford University. These roles demonstrate his commitment to improving the world in which we live, as well as an understanding of the strategic policy and practical solutions that are needed to achieve this.

Toby works with key and senior individuals in government, business and the community and has proven capacity in building and maintaining these relationships. Importantly, he has clearly demonstrated his ability to bring conflicting viewpoints to a common understanding and has a significant grasp of the issues confronting a modern (and younger) world.

He has significant experience of Scouting as a youth member, including serving as Chair of the National Rover Council (2015-2016), and currently serves as a member of the Governance Sub-Committee. He was one of the chief architects of the modern NEC model and was previously a member of the NEC.

As Scouts Australia continues to evolve to meet the needs of the community, Toby’s background provides him with the experience to be able to innovate and provide a new perspective on issues that face the NEC and Scouts Australia over the coming years. This well-established experience places Toby in a position to lead the NEC and Scouts Australia to not only get through challenges but to emerge as a better organisation.