Password reset required for all Scouts NSW email users – November 2025
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On 17 November 2025, all Scouts email users (@nsw.scouts.com.au) needed to reset their password and multi-factor authentication (MFA) for Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365). Microsoft had discontinued the not-for-profit licence type, therefore, to manage the cost to the organisation we migrated to the Scouts Australia Microsoft tenancy. This impacted all Microsoft 365 products, including Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive. All users cannot access these products, including email, until they have reset their password with Microsoft and reconfigured multi-factor authentication. This page will continue to be updated with information, resources and FAQs to support the change. |
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Update 31 March Between November 2025 and April 2026, to support the m365 migration project, login usernames were temporarily modified to help users’ devices recognise the change. As most active users have now migrated to the new tenancy, usernames will be reverted to make things “as they were”. From 20 April 2026, username = email |
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Why is this happening?
Microsoft has discontinued the not-for-profit licences for their Microsoft 365 products globally. This change would have seen the Scouts NSW annual licence costs increase substantially.
Scouts NSW is going to migrate into Scouts Australia’s education licence structure to avoid this cost increase.
What does this mean for you?
On the morning of Monday, 17 November, the IT Team will migrate Scouts NSW into Scouts Australia’s Microsoft 365 environment. When this happens, you will not be able to access your email or associated Microsoft 365 products, such as Teams, SharePoint or OneDrive until you action the steps below.
What about my files?
Because this process requires us to move documents and files to a new location, you may have issues accessing old links. Navigate to outlook.office.com and select the app launcher (nine squares in the top left corner) to access SharePoint or OneDrive and bookmark your links from there. Please note, MS Forms has not migrated and will need to be recreated.
What to do
Put simply - each email user will need to reset their password and reset their multi-factor authentication (MFA) for their personal Scouts NSW email address. Note - this is not required for shared mailboxes or distribution groups. Steps on how to do this are below.
You may also need to update links to files or documents after the migration, for example bookmarks and links to shared files.
What not to do
Do not attempt to reset your password or MFA prior to the date above, as the task must be completed after IT complete the migration.
All email history and OneDrive files will be migrated by the IT team, therefore do not attempt to download or store your data youself.
Simple Instructions
All email users are required to complete the steps below using your temporary username.
Your temporary username will be in the format your.name@team.nsw.scouts.com.au. Note, your email address for communicating with others has not changed, this is a temporary username for login and password reset only.
- Delete multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- Reset password by visiting outlook.office.com via a web browser. If you are automatically logged in, please log out and select "Forgot password?" to trigger the password reset
- Reconnect multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- (optional) - log in and out of any additional devices, eg mobile phone email app, iPad/tablet email app, etc
- (optional) - re-sync OneDrive folders to File Explorer
- (optional) - update any bookmarks or saved links to existing files and documents
Detailed Instructions
Need additional instructions? Click one of the links below to see step-by-step instructions for each of the required tasks.
PDF: How to reset your password and reconnect your MFA
PDF: How to remove/add a mail account from phone app (iPhone)
Microsoft 365 Login Change – What you need to know for 20 April
Scouts NSW is updating login usernames so they match email addresses again. During the email migration, login usernames temporarily included “team” to help users’ devices recognise the change (e.g. firstname.lastname@team.nsw.scouts.com.au). As most active users have now migrated to the new tenancy, usernames will be reverted to make things “as they were”.
What is changing?
- Your sign-in username for Microsoft products.
What is not changing?
- Your email address
- Your password
- Your MFA (multi-factor authentication).
All files, emails, Teams, and access remain the same.
Example
Old login username: firstname.lastname@team.nsw.scouts.com.au
New login username: firstname.lastname@nsw.scouts.com.au
When will this happen?
This change is scheduled for Monday, April 20. After the change, use your new login username (your Scouts NSW email address – firstname.lastname@nsw.scouts.com.au) the next time you are prompted to sign in.
What do I need to do?
For most people – nothing.
When prompted to sign in again:
- Enter your NEW login username (your normal Scouts NSW email address)
- Enter your existing password
- Approve any multi-factor authentication prompts if asked.
Apps that may ask you to sign in again
- Outlook (computer or mobile)
- Microsoft Teams
- OneDrive
- Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
- Web browser access to office.com.
Remember
- No emails will be lost
- No files will be deleted
- Your account permissions remain unchanged
- This is a standard, Microsoft best-practice update.
If something doesn’t work
If an app continues to ask for your old username:
- Fully sign out of the app
- Close and reopen it
- Sign back in using your NEW login username (your normal Scouts NSW email address).
If you are still unable to sign in, contact the IT helpdesk on (02) 4631 6621 or email helpdesk@nsw.scouts.com.au
Still need help?
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If you need help, call our IT helpdesk on (02) 4631 6621. If the line is busy, please leave a voicemail and we will return your call as soon as possible. Alternatively, email helpdesk@nsw.scouts.com.au and a member of the team will call you as soon as possible. |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
During the email migration, login usernames temporarily included "team" to help users' devices recognise the change (e.g. firstname.lastname@team.nsw.scouts.com.au). As most active users have now migrated to the new tenancy, usernames will be reverted to make things "as they were".
From Monday, April 20, your new login username will be your Scouts NSW email address: firstname.lastname@nsw.scouts.com.au
The email address first.lastname@nswscouts.onmicrosoft.com was temporarily created and used as part of the migration process.
Your email HAS NOT CHANGED. Your email is still first.lastname@nsw.scouts.com.au and is still the email you use for communicating with others via Teams, Outlook and other Microsoft applications.
If you see the @nswscouts.onmicrosoft.com email anywhere, it should disappear in the coming days.
If you are seeing the below error message, this could indicate your mobile phone number was not available for migration and a password reset cannot be completed automatically using the available steps. We need to manually add further information for you to proceed.
Please reach out to our team via (02) 4631 6621 to speak to our IT helpdesk and we can manually fix this error.
Issue:Apple device keeps trying to sign in with an nswscouts.onmicrosoft.com address
Scenario.User has removed the old Scouts NSW account and when trying to add the Scouts NSW account back in, the device is automatically changing the email address from nsw.scouts.com.au to nswcouts.onmicrosoft.com and the process is producing an error
Suggestion:
- Open the SAFARI browser on the device and browse to outlook.office.com
- The page may load and you see your initials in the top right corner. Click these and "sign out"
- You may also see the following screen
- ON the screen displayed, you will see the “onmicrosoft” user there
- Click sign out and forget
- Close safari
- Now add your account back into your app and sign in with your regular email address, make sure you use Microsoft Exchange.
The A1 licence type for volunteers at Scouts NSW does not give you the ability to install Microsoft Office desktop apps. To access emails via a PC or laptop, visit outlook.office.com via a web browser such as Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.
However, if you already have a licensed copy of Outlook on your PC (from some other licence, e.g. Office 2019/2021, M365 Apps via another plan, etc.), you can connect that licenced Outlook client to the Exchange Online mailbox that’s licensed with A1.
Why that’s allowed
The A1 Licensing splits into two parts:
- Server/service licence – in this case, Exchange Online Plan 1, which is included in A1. That gives the user the right to an Exchange mailbox.
- Client app licence – the right to run the Outlook desktop application on the device. A1 does not provide this. But if you’ve bought Office separately (perpetual or another subscription that includes the desktop apps), that client licence is covered.
https://m365maps.com/matrix.htm#111000100001000111111
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/office-365-platform-service-descrip…
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/office-365-platform-service-descrip…
How to connect your desktop Outlook app if you pay for your own licence - instructions here.
Some things will carry over, some things will need to be set up again. Please see below for more information.
Outlook themes and preferences:
You will need to set these again. For example, font size, conversation mode, focussed inbox, etc. These can be adjusted by clicking the settings cog in the top right corner, then use the tabs on the left labelled "General", "Mail", etc. For detailed instructions, use the Microsoft Support centre here for Focussed Inbox, Conversations, Dark Mode, Appearance, etc.
Email Signature:
You will need to recreate your email signature. The simplest way is to go to your sent items, find your existing signature, and copy/paste it in. For detailed instructions on setting your email signature, click here.
Mailbox Rules:
Mailbox rules are copied across (for example, move all emails with subject "hello" to a folder called "hello"). Any rules that previously applied to sender address ending @nsw.scouts.com.au may need to be edited and re-saved.
Firstly, on your computer
- Navigate to the Microsoft account security page at https://mysignins.microsoft.com/security-info and sign in. You can also reach this page through your Office 365 account by navigating to your security info
- Click + Add sign-in method
- Select Authenticator app from the dropdown menu and click Add
- Click Next to continue. A QR code will be displayed on your computer screen.
Then, on your phone
- Open the Microsoft Authenticator app
- Tap the plus icon (+) and select Add account
- Choose Work or school account and then Scan a QR code
- Use your phone's camera to scan the QR code shown on your computer screen
- Follow any on-screen prompts on both your phone and computer to complete the process, which may include approving a test notification to link your device.
MS Forms were not part of the migration, and any data or forms used will no longer be accessible.
If you are using MS Forms, you will need to recreate new forms and publish them again.
If you need to access data captured using old forms, please request help via helpdesk@nsw.scouts.com.au or (02) 4631 6621and the IT Team will provide assistance.
We would strongly recommend you create a new, strong password in the interest of maintaining cyber security for yourself and Scouts NSW.
No, updating your MFA or password before 17 November would not speed up the process. Scouts NSW is migrating into the Scouts Australia environment on 17 November and users can only update their login credentials after 9am.
No, once the migration commences on 17 November, you will not be able to access your emails or files until you have reset your password and updated your MFA.
Any emails sent or received during the migration period will be held and delivered to your inbox once migration is complete.
Emails will continue to be sent and received by your email, but will not appear in your inbox until after you have reset your password and MFA.
This procedure has been deemed by Microsoft to be secure. The password reset can only occur by using a one-time code sent to your mobile phone on record.
Bookmark this website to be able to access it on 17 November.
Familiarise yourself with how to delete your MFA by reading the instructions provided on this webpage.
Share information about this migration with your fellow Scouts NSW email users to ensure everyone is aware of the change, particularly those who may not access their emails as frequently (such as committees, supporters, etc).
Yes, you must access your Microsoft account via a web browser to trigger the password reset process. The website is outlook.office.com.
We strongly recommend doing this from a desktop computer or laptop, as you will also need to have your mobile phone nearby to complete the SMS authentication step of the password reset, and the multi-factor authentication (MFA) setup.
If you have completed your password reset on desktop, you will still need to update your mobile devices by deleting the account and adding it back in using your new login.
Delete your existing MFA for Microsoft, then add a new MFA for your Microsoft account. For step-by-step instructions, click here.
This process is slightly different across different authenticator apps. If in doubt, Google the steps for your specific app.
No, you do not need to save or store your data in advance. All your emails and files are being migrated across as part of the process.
Emails, chat history, and files in OneDrive and SharePoint will be migrated across. However, because this process requires us to move documents and files to a new location, the links to the old location will no longer work.
Once the migration is complete, navigate to outlook.office.com and select the app launcher (nine squares in the top left corner) to access SharePoint or OneDrive and bookmark your new links from there.
Microsoft has discontinued the not-for-profit licences for their Microsoft 365 products globally.
This change would have seen the cost of Scouts NSW's licence increase substantially.
Scouts NSW is going to migrate into Scouts Australia's education licence to avoid this cost increase.
All the information you need to complete your password and MFA reset is available on this page. If you encounter a problem that cannot be resolved with this information, the Support Team will be available to provide support. Please call (02) 4631 6621.
The system itself has not changed; you only need to reset your password and MFA. If you have problems with this process, please follow the step-by-step guides above in the first instance. You may also know anoter Scouting colleague who is able to assist you.
If you are still having problems, please call the Support Team on (02) 4631 6621.
The Support Team will be available to help if you have trouble with the above guides. Please call (02) 4631 6621.
