Scouts Australia Operations Branch Updates
What does Scouts Australia Operations Branch (SAOB) mean for Scout members?
As discussed in all our communication before the AGM on this subject, the aim of SAOB is to create an environment which will allow Branches to grow, prosper and deliver the scout program to youth in our community in a way that they may not have been able to before joining SAOB.
It is believed that this can be achieved through enhanced efficiencies, structures and most importantly a true collaboration of working together to achieve the best outcome for all.
Consultation
Initial discussions within the Scouts Australia Operations Branch (SAOB) Working Group identified a critical need to communicate the value of SAOB to both the National Council and the greater National Scouting community. As we know, within Scouting there are many important stakeholders that must be empowered and communicated with if any organisational change is to be successful. This thinking was critical in the development of the communication strategy and led to several actions being undertaken, which I believe led to the successful National Council vote in November 2025.
Some key elements involved:
- Individually speaking to 25 of the 90 plus Council members to understand and gauge their understanding of SAOB, and identify the best method to communicate with this cohort. The issue of trust was continually highlighted within these discussions, making the element of trust a crucial element in the strategy.
- Developing a proactive strategy that targeted specific stakeholders; National Council Members, Chief Commissioners, NEC, NOC & BEC’s, and most importantly the general Scouting community Nationally. This diverse group were communicated with using several different communication mediums.
- Four webinars were conducted creating an opportunity for National Council and BEC members to increase their understanding of the SAOB concept and importantly highlighting the benefits and disadvantages of the strategy.
- Webinars were supported by a National Web page which included a very detailed and diverse list of questions and answers (over 50 FAQ’s) which gave the detail which some were looking for. The FAQ’s gave members the trust that their questions had been answered in an honest way, creating further confidence in the process. The FAQ’s also allowed members to ask specific questions through an email, which were answered by the working group. This again provided an extra level of transparency which became popular with a number of questions being answered, and members commenting in a very positive way, in the ability to ask questions.
The strategies used to communicate, acknowledge and empower our members will be a benchmark for further organisational change in the future.
Approved by the National Council
In November 2025, the National Council voted on several recommendations specific to the implementation of SAOB which required amendments to the National Royal Charter which is best described as the National Constitution.
Pleasingly the vote was approved with over a 90% approval rate, which is a great result and highlights the benefit of those actions taken to communicate with all members of Scouting to achieve this outcome.
Registration of Scouts Australia Operations Branch Limited
Since the National Council meeting the working group has continued working resulting in SAOB being registered as a company limited by guarantee under the Corporations Act as of 6 February 2026.
The main effect of this registration now allows existing Branches to join SAOB, if they wish.
We could not register the name as: SA-OB, it had to be registered as SAOB, that is why the – has been removed.
The next phase
The next phase of this process is the most exciting part, the working group are having discussions with those Branches that have shown an interest in joining SAOB. Part of these discussions will be identifying how the Branch can be supported by the working group to allow the merger to occur.
Some Branches will be quite easy to merge, and others will be more difficult depending on the size and complexity of the Branch. It is important to note that this part of the process must be driven by the Branch and the working group and National are there to help and support.
It is hoped that there will be more than one Branch seeking to join SAOB initially. The working group will work with those Branches to develop appropriate organisational structures, policies and processes to govern SAOB. The best thing about this process, is the ability to some extent to create a governance structure from a blank page and to take the best from other Branches and organisations in the development of a structure that best suits those Branches joining and SAOB.
For more information, visit scouts.com.au/sa-ob. or for further questions, please speak with your local Branch leadership team or email sa-ob@scouts.com.au.
Paul Dickson APM
Program Manager
Scouts Australia Operations Branch Working Group
