Scouts Australia is a trading name of The Scout Association of Australia, which is the largest scouting organisation in Australia, with an estimated 55,038 youth participants in 2021, and a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. It was formed in 1958 and incorporated in 1967. It operates personal development programs for children and young adults from 5 to 25 years of age with programs successively opened to girls after 1971. The organisation's current stated purpose is to "contribute to the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual potentials as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities". Participation in the organisation's programs declined in the late 20th and early 21st centuries despite opening participation to girls and ever younger children and Australia having a high population growth rate, well above the world average. According to a 2014 media article, "Scouts Australia is hoping [to] arrest a steady decline in membership. In 1979 the organisation had 114,500 youth members, today there are 52,000." According to its own annual reports participation decreased from 84,502 in 2,126 groups in 2001 to 63,200 in 1,836 groups in 2005, and in 2012 there were 49,181 youth, 2,587 young adult Rovers and 14,113 adult leaders and support roles in 1,486 groups. The organisation has an exceptionally high number of adults compared to its number of youth participants with a ratio of more than one adult for every three youths. Structure Scouts Australia is a council consisting of a majority of members elected by the council itself, office bearers appointed by the council or its executive committee, state and territory office bearers appointed by the national executive committee, and a smaller number of representatives from state and territory branch councils which are similarly not elected by or representative of the Scouts, the adults in Scouting or Scout groups. The national council usually meets just once a year. Its national executive committee seeks to achieve cooperation and coordination of the state and territory branches. The New South Wales, Victorian and Tasmanian state branches are incorporated under special Acts of the state parliaments. while the Western Australian, South Australian, Queensland, Northern Territory, and Australian Capital Territory branches are incorporated by registration under the ordinary Associations Incorporation Acts. Each state or territory branch maintains its distinct structure, operational methodologies, and rules. However, all branches