Do you know that you can apply for the Duke of Edinburgh Award (from Bronze to Gold Levels) while you are completing your Queens Scout Award? There is quite a lot of common ground between the awards and it is not too difficult to qualify for the D of E while you are travelling through to Queens Scout.

We have made some changes to the way that scouts can register to participate in Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) and the way that they can now participate through Scouts.

The DofE office have made some changes at a National level and (if a person is not already registered - i.e. : through their School) they must now participate through an On-line Record Book (ORB) system. The guidelines on the Scouts website are currently being rewritten to reflect the change to the DofE ORB and will be available shortly.

To assist with this, the NSW State Office is Registered as an operator of the DofE - so no individual Group, District or Region is required to register and pay any additional fees. If they do their own registration they will be responsible for their own fees, ongoing costs and administration.

To assist Scouts we have set up a data entry process on the Scouts webpage where Scouts can enter their details and indicate their interest in participating in the DofE through Scouts. At this time they will also have the opportunity to indicate if they have already achieved any levels of the DofE and these will then be recorded on the Scout's Record System. .

Once this information is received by Scouts, the members details will be checked.

This will include verification of :

• That the member is a current, registered and financial member of Scouts NSW. 
• the age of the member (must have had their 14th birthday and not have reached their 25th birthday - these are DofE guidelines and are non-negotiable)
• Bronze DofE can be started at a minimum age of 14 yrs
• Silver DofE can be started at a minimum age of 15 yrs
• Gold DofE can be started at a minimum age of 16 yrs
• All DofE participation must be completed, signed off and submitted prior to the member's 25th birthday.
• The awarding of any levels of the DoE award that the member has indicated that they already hold.

Once these details have been checked the member will receive an e-mail verifying their registration. This will include entering their details on the Scout 's membership database (MIS) and will then track their progress and record any awards received. They will then be directed to go to the DofE on-line registration system and register with the DofE with Scouts Australia (NSW) as the Operator.

Once registered through the DofE ORB they will receive an e-mail from the DoE office confirming their acceptance or rejection. Once they receive this final e-mail they will be approved to commence counting Scouting activities towards the DofE. Sorry, but under DofE guidelines, there is no retrospective recognition and nothing completed prior to this point can be counted towards DofE Awards.

The DofE office will forward an account for the individual member's DofE participation fee to Scouts NSW and the member will then be invoiced by Scouts. Scouts are expected to pay this fee within 4 weeks and any account outstanding by more than this time may result in the members participation in the DofE Award being cancelled.

Once Award levels are achieved, Scout members are permitted to wear a single cloth badge on their right sleeve indicating the highest level achieved. These are available from the NSW State Office - DofE Coordinator.

If a Scout member (Youth or Leader) already holds a DofE award, and they can produce evidence that they hold the award, they will then be entitled to purchase the cloth badge and wear it on their uniform.

If you are interested in more information or expressing an interest in registering for the D of E award, please complete the form below and we’ll get back to you! Better Be Aware that you must register BEFORE you start any major bits of the QS Scheme if you want credit for the activities and projects that you do.