Membership
Empower your child to discover fun, friends, adventure and themselves by joining Scouts.
Interested in finding out more about Scouts? Your child can enjoy a free trial at their local Group – and the process for getting involved is easy:
- Find the Group/s you are interested in joining here and submit an enquiry
- We will be in touch to organise your initial visit to the Group
- Prior to your first visit, you will need to complete a Membership Application form. This gives Leaders important contact information for when your child attends the Scout meeting
- There is a four-to-six week (depending on the Group) free trial period for you to explore Scouts. After that, you become a full member, unless you have decided not to continue.
Scouts is proudly a volunteer-run organisation. All our Leaders and Group Leaders are volunteers, which may impact how quickly you hear from them when signing up.
Membership Costs
As a membership organisation, all funds go towards running the youth program and providing training and resources for our Leaders and members. Our Leaders and adult helpers are all volunteers, which goes towards keeping costs down. Scouts offers an exciting program with many opportunities, and membership fees are set to keep Scouts open to all. The Active and Creative Kids Voucher can be used to participate in Scouts, and there are support programs in place to assist families facing financial need and to help young people participate.
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The cost of participating in Scouts comprises of:
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- A State Membership fee of $300 that includes essential insurance for members, Leader training, a wide range of resources, and essential support services including finance, IT, property and facilities, child safety team, marketing and communication
- A local Group fee covers the week-to-week expenses of running Scouts – resources, maintenance and utilities of the Scout Hall, and regular meeting activities
- A once-off joining fee of $60 for new members
- Other one-off costs – there are endless opportunities for additional participation in Scouts and there may be associated fees like camping charges, travel, event fees etc
The Scouts membership period runs for 12 months from April to March. Your membership fee covers your registration for that entire period. Depending on when you join, you’ll be offered a pro-rata amount.
Please note, transaction fees for online payments apply in addition to fees listed above. For more information on our Membership fees, read here.
FAQs
Yes, membership of Scouts requires a shirt to be purchased. Scouts are always recognisable by their uniform (especially the badges!). The uniform’s inexpensive and easy to source. Your Group may have a second-hand uniform pool, otherwise, you can buy your uniform from the Scout Shop here.
Scouts is organised across five age ranges from 5 to 25 years old. Young people can join the relevant section at any time. They don’t have to progress from one stage to the next but can start their Scouting journey when they choose.
Absolutely – we would love you to come along and see what Scouts gets up to. All new members get a free four-to-six-week trial period to participate in the local Group. After that period, this converts to a full membership; notice of payment for the membership and joining fees will be sent.
The Scouts NSW state membership fee is $300 per year (covering the period April 2026-March 2027).
In addition to the state fee for all members, there is a one-off administration fee for new members only, which as of April 2026 is $60.
As localised, volunteer-led organisations, Groups set their own Group fees. Have a chat with your prospective Group and they will be able to explain the local cost. This can vary from time to time depending on the activities planned.
There is a one-off registration fee of $60 for new members. This will be added to the State Membership fee at the time a member first registers.
Yes, transaction fees apply for all online payments made through ScoutHub and are charged in addition to Scouts NSW membership fees. As total fees owing vary for each member (based on location, discounts, vouchers etc), the transaction fee payable will also vary, and is calculated on the final checkout screen prior to entering payment details.
A payment plan is available for members to split the cost of the fees into smaller part-payments. Each member will have the ability to select to pay upfront or pay in six* instalments during the registration process. Members who choose to pay in instalments will have their total annual fees split into six equal monthly instalments. The first instalment will be charged at the time of registration, and the following instalments will be auto-debited monthly until the total balance owing is paid in full.
Any payment plan must be paid in full prior to the end of the billing period.
* Towards the end of a billing period, the total number of instalments may decrease to ensure the total amount owing is paid in full prior to the end of the billing period.
Yes, you can use a valid Active and Creative Kids voucher provided by the NSW Government towards your Membership fee. Find out more here.
Yes. The preferred method of payment for fees is using credit/debit card via the online platform ScoutHub. Payments via credit/debit card are instant, automatic and easy. Alternatively, a member can request to make payment via BPAY, by contacting memberservices@nsw.scouts.com.au. Please note payments made via BPAY may take a number of days to process.
No, unfortunately we are not able to offer any refunds. Our upfront State Membership fee is a prepaid annual fee, regardless of the level of participation of the member during the period. The upfront fee covers various items including administration and annual costs such as insurance, amongst other items.
At Scouts NSW, a Trek was formerly how we would refer to a period of time for billing and registration purposes, although it is not used anymore
If you hear this word, it just means your billing period, which is the twelve month period from April-March.
Each year, we require existing members to renew their membership and pay fees for the next 12 months.
Renewal is required for all members, including youth members, adult leaders, adult supporters, and account admins.
To complete renewal, members need to find their Group registration portal, select "returning member", and follow the prompts.
Find your Group portal, click here.
For a detailed step-by-step guide, download our resource here.
