In 2021 Scouts Australia commissioned a program looking at the national Policy & Rules (P&R) document and our broader policy hierarchy. Approved by the National Operations Committee and the National Executive Committee, the program has kicked off with team members from across the country. Research of other Scouting organisations and detailed scrutiny of our policy approach is underway – now we need your input.

P&R provides a range of national rules about membership, governance, and many more topics, and is published in PDF format on the Scouts Australia website through the Key Resources section, alongside a number of supporting policies, procedures and other guidance documents. Prior to 1996, P&R was called Policy, Organisation and Rules, though the “Organisation” part was removed with Branches able to publish their own supporting document (such as InfoBook in Victoria, QBSI in Queensland, MyScout platforms and more).

P&R Redesign is taking a broad look at our approach to policies and procedures at a national level, aiming to bring our approach up to current best practice for design, structure and content. A lot of work has gone into engaging with key stakeholders involved in decision making and policies, though we are keen to ensure other P&R users have their say too.

Your feedback through the survey will help us understand how our members use policies published by Scouts Australia. It takes approximately five minutes to complete, with twelve questions about you and how you access policies, and any challenges you may have. You will have the option to provide further feedback at the end.

The survey is open until 15 March 2022. If you have any questions, please contact the P&R Redesign team.