FAQs

Cubtopia is the 8th NSW Cuboree, a five-day standing camp run by Scouts NSW that brings Cub Scouts together from right across the state. It's a big step up in independence for most Cub Scouts: camping with their Unit, trying new activities, and making friends from other Groups and Regions.

We're expecting around 1,600 Cub Scouts, supported by roughly 300 Youth Service Leaders, 500 Leaders, 200 Parent Helpers and 50 carers, a camping city of more than 2,600 people.

Cubtopia runs from 15 to 19 April 2027 at Cataract Activity Centre, Appin. Arrival and departure times, and the day-by-day program, will be published closer to the event.

Cubtopia is run under Scouts NSW policy by a volunteer Cuboree Organising Committee: a Chief Director, supported by a Deputy, leading a team of Directors across Program, Health & Wellbeing, Sites & Services, Administration, Transport & Logistics, Sub Camps, Finance & Merchandise, and Youth Service Leaders. See Contacts for the full team and how to reach them.

As a Major Event, the Committee is also supported by an advisory team including the Chief Commissioner, Deputy Chief Commissioner, a member of the State Finance Committee, the State Service Centre and the State Commissioner.

Cataract is a fenced, gate-secured bushland site near Appin (Baden Powell Dr, Appin NSW 2560), with sealed roads and walking tracks, and permanent buildings including toilet and shower blocks, bunk rooms, kitchens and dining shelters. Cuboree uses four of the site's ten campgrounds as Villages (Sub Camps) for participants, with three more used for activities.

It's a sizeable site, around a square kilometre for the areas Cuboree uses, with a mix of tree-shaded and mostly open ground. Underfoot is mostly bare and hard, some of it sloped, so expect some solid walking, up to 20 minutes between the furthest corners of the activity areas. For safety, vehicle movement on site is limited and everyone is expected to walk.

Camp sites at Cuboree are unpowered. Water and sewer lines run across the site to shared facilities, so every Unit can reach a tap and sullage pit, but there's no power connection to individual Unit sites, so Units typically bring their own solar lighting. For more on the venue itself, visit the Cataract Activity Centre website.

Cub Scouts attending Cuboree camp together in a Cuboree Unit of around 36 Cub Scouts, split into six Patrols of six. Units can organise Patrols how they like, though a traditional mix of ages and abilities, led by a Patrol Leader and Assistant Patrol Leader, works well since many on-site activities are built around teams of six.

Each Unit is supported by nine adults: six Line Leaders plus three Unit Helpers. The six Line Leaders are:

• Unit Coordinator: the team leader of the Unit. Holds a Certificate of Adult Leadership (preferably in the Cub Scout Section) and has attended a Cuboree before as a Line Leader.
• Health & Wellbeing Leader: holds a Certificate of Proficiency and first aid (Mental Health First Aid and Youth Safe Scouting are preferred), and makes sure the Unit is set up and run to keep everyone healthy and happy.
• Four other Unit Leaders: each holds a Certificate of Proficiency and supports the Unit Coordinator. Units decide who does what, but roles to consider include Activity Leaders (who know the program and prepare the Unit for it), Camping Leaders (who keep equipment, camping standards and the kitchen safe and high quality) and First Aid Leaders (who assist the Health & Wellbeing Leader, are the first point of call for minor first aid and help make sure medications are administered correctly).

The three Unit Helpers, usually Adult Helpers, need an Adult Helper Appointment as a minimum. Their main job is helping with catering, preparing and serving meals, and looking after the kitchen and stores, though Units can decide exactly what each one does.

If a Cub Scout needs a dedicated full-time carer, note it on their application and complete the approval process by emailing cuboree@nsw.scouts.com.au. A carer isn't counted in the six plus three adult allocation, but must meet the eligibility criteria and register like any other adult.

All adults in a Unit plan together ahead of the event and attend a pre-Cuboree Shakedown camp, so everyone has a sense of ownership. Unit Leaders and Unit Helpers may help with other Cuboree planning beforehand, but on site their full-time focus is their Unit.

A Unit Line Leader is an adult who camps with a Cuboree Unit and looks after Cub Scouts day to day. A Service Leader is anyone 18 or over who works across the wider event instead, in areas like program, logistics, admin or finance, rather than camping with a Unit. A Youth Service Leader (YSL) is a Scout or Venturer Scout who takes on a similar support role to a Service Leader.

See Pricing, Roles & Eligibility for age requirements and costs for each role.

Your role is agreed between you, your Region Liaison Leader and the Cuboree Organising Team. Some adults are invited directly onto a Directorate team and know their role before they apply; others hope to be a Line Leader, but spaces camping with a Unit are limited.

Where a choice has to be made, it comes down to things like your experience in a Unit Line Leader role at a past Cuboree or Jamboree, your experience camping with Cub Scouts, any existing relationship with the Unit's Home Group, and the overall balance of skills across the Line Leader team. If you're not placed as a Line Leader, you'll be allocated to a Service Leader role instead.

You'll be assigned to a Directorate team and work set hours within that team for most of the event. Exact duties vary a lot by team; your Team Leader will brief you on what's involved and try to make sure you get some variety and downtime. Broadly, you could land in:

• Program (activity bases): planning and running the Ecosystems, from getting Cub Scouts ready for the climbing wall to lifeguarding the water slide or running a quieter craft or treasure hunt activity.
• Program (beyond activity bases): Explore Cubtopia Patrol activities, the stage and production team for ceremonies and evening entertainment, and functions.
• Sites & Services: keeping the Villages running, from clearing blocked toilets to moving sand, testing water quality and organising waste collection.
• Transport & Logistics: food services and the Q-Store, special diets, catering, coach and fleet transport, and front gate security and check-in.
• Administration: emails, phone calls and registrations, plus marketing, communications, the website and digital content.
• Health & Wellbeing: first aid, fire, medical, emergency planning, wellbeing and child protection.
• Finance & Merchandise: event income and expenditure, on-site cash and payments, and Cuboree merchandise and retail.

Cuboree is a working holiday for anyone who isn't a Cub Scout, but there's still plenty on offer. Both the Youth Service Leader and Service Leader/Leader groups have their own entertainment lined up for the opening ceremony (Thursday 15 April, 7pm, Cub-arena, Site 8) and the closing ceremony (Sunday 18 April, 7pm, Cub-arena, Site 8), plus evening entertainment on the nights in between, still being finalised.

There are also functions through the week, including a Gilwell Reunion for Wood Badge holders from the 1st Gilwell Park Scout Group, thank you functions and recognition functions, plus adult-only spaces such as the Oasis and the Library for anyone who needs some downtime outside their rostered hours.

Expect a mix of rotating activity bases, evening entertainment, ceremonies and free time with your Unit, bookended by an opening ceremony on arrival night and a closing ceremony before you head home. Here's the draft day-by-day, though timing may still shift a little before 2027:

The core program runs across seven themed Ecosystems, activity bases that each Cuboree Unit rotates through over the week, each open for a three-hour session including a tea break. Six have been named so far, with the seventh still to be announced:

• River Run
• Imagination Institute
• Splash Harbour
• Mystery Mountain
• Explorers Expedition
• Adventure Heights

Alongside the Ecosystems, Explore the World runs Patrol activities over lunch (12–2pm) and early evening (5–7pm) on Saturday and Sunday, and lunch on Monday, focused on the Sustainable Development Goals, badge swapping, and international and heritage themes. There's also a Cuboree shop for merchandise, with details to follow.

We'll know from your registration if a birthday falls during the event, and your Unit will make a fuss of them on the day. Family won't be there to celebrate, but you're welcome to send cards or a small gift to open on site, or celebrate properly once they're home.

There's quiet time built in too, for reflection, rest and downtime either on your Unit site or in a break-out area, and a few functions through the week to celebrate Scouting: a State Cub Scout Youth Council, a Peak Award function for youth or adults who've achieved the Promise Challenge or Grey Wolf Award, and thank you and recognition functions.

Cub Scouts also spend plenty of time with their Unit, which is home for the week: at least 36 Cub Scouts and nine adults, where they eat and sleep. Unit Leaders run activities in the Unit area for downtime, while waiting for meals or transport, to make shower and wash times fly by, and to get everyone sleepy in the evening and wide awake in the morning.

Pack everything into one clearly labelled bag: clothing (including warm layers, as it can be hot by day and cold at night), sleeping gear, toiletries, a mess kit (plate, bowl, mug, cutlery), and a torch. Electronic games, radios, mobile phones and food from home aren't needed or permitted on site.

Your Cuboree Unit Coordinator will issue a detailed kit list closer to the event. Bear in mind you'll need to be able to carry your own bag, so pack only what you can manage.

Day wear should be comfortable, sun-smart and ready to get messy; older shoes are a good idea, since not everything survives the week. Evenings get cold, so bring warm layers for after dark. For the opening ceremony, wear your Scout uniform shirt and Home Group scarf; for the closing ceremony, wear your Cuboree shirt and hat. Your Unit will confirm what to wear for travel days.

Cuboree registrations have typically included a Cuboree shirt, hat and event badge, plus coach transport, food and activities, with Units organising their own tents and camping gear. Final inclusions for Cubtopia will be confirmed alongside pricing on the Pricing, Roles & Eligibility page.

Cuboree is a tenting event. Cub Scouts share a tent with other Cub Scouts of the same gender, usually supplied by their Scout Group. Line Leaders and Parent/Adult Helpers bring their own tent and can't share with youth members, including their own children. Service Leaders and JSLs camp on a separate Service Leader site. Caravans and similar non-tent accommodation aren't permitted on Unit lines.

Food is centrally supplied and planned to keep everyone fed through an active week. Cuboree Units collect their food daily from a Quartermaster's Store and self-cater as a team; Service Leaders and JSLs are centrally catered through a shared dining area.

Each Unit is responsible for managing the special dietary requirements of its members throughout the event. Unit Leaders must be told about all requirements in advance, so they can make sure everyone's needs are clearly understood and appropriately managed.

If you have a special dietary requirement, make sure it's recorded in full on your registration, tell your Unit Leaders and whoever is cooking for you what it means in practice, and bring at least a day's backup food from home in case anything needs sorting out early on.

Coach transport is organised centrally for all NSW attendees, with timing details released closer to the event. If you need to arrive early to help set up your Unit's site, or need an early or late departure, that's arranged through your Unit Coordinator or, for Service Leaders and JSLs, your Directorate.

Independent travel (making your own way rather than taking the coach) needs to be applied for ahead of a published cut-off date. Contact cuboree@nsw.scouts.com.au if this applies to you.

Cars aren't permitted on the camping lines during the main event; a car park is provided near the site entrance. Each Cuboree Unit can generally keep one trailer on their site if it's in active use for storage, additional or empty trailers are moved to the main car park.

Most states run their own Cuboree-style event. NSW members are welcome to attend an interstate Cuboree as well as Cubtopia, but Cubtopia comes first, and interstate travel needs the usual Scouts NSW approvals through your Region Commissioner.

A designated and experienced team is on site to manage welfare, wellbeing and child safety matters. The team coordinates incident responses, provides appropriate support and escalates serious incidents in line with Scouts NSW policies and procedures. Every Unit also has its own Health & Wellbeing Leader, who is your first point of contact. See Contacts for the Health & Wellbeing team.

A qualified first aid provider is on site throughout Cuboree, with paramedic support also available. Each activity base has a designated first aid leader who manages local incidents as they arise, and your Unit's Health & Wellbeing Leader is there for anything within the Unit.

Cuboree is an inclusive event, but it assumes participants can camp in a tent, walk reasonable distances over rough ground, use standard toilets and showers, and manage without power. If your child's needs sit outside that, get in touch with the Cuboree team as soon as you register at cuboree@nsw.scouts.com.au so we can plan appropriate support together.

Every youth member with additional behavioural, physical or other support needs must have a Scout Support Plan in place before the event. The leader responsible for them on site needs to be familiar with the plan and understand how to provide the support required. Plans are kept at the event and managed confidentially.

Any medication a youth member needs must be supplied in a Webster-pak or equivalent pharmacy-prepared packaging, with clear pharmacy instructions stating the dosage and how often it is given. A designated Unit Leader is responsible for administering it.

If medication or medical equipment needs specific storage or handling, including insulin, adrenaline autoinjectors and allergy-related treatments, you'll need to provide suitable storage arrangements for use throughout the event.

The organising committee and your child's Unit Leaders must be told about any medical condition that may affect them during the event. Let us know through your registration and we'll send you the relevant management plan to complete, such as an anaphylaxis or asthma plan, ahead of the event. Appropriate management plans need to be available for anyone who requires insulin, adrenaline autoinjectors, allergy treatments or other medical support, and suitable storage arrangements must be in place where needed.

A limited number of all-terrain wheelchairs are available on request.

Risk assessments are completed for all activities and approved by the Event Risk and Safety Leader before those activities start.

Yes. Cubtopia operates in accordance with Scouts NSW child safety policies, procedures and escalation processes. Every Unit has a Health & Wellbeing Leader with child protection responsibilities, backed by Sub Camp Health & Wellbeing Leaders and a senior on-site Health & Wellbeing team with access to the State Child Protection Team. Any legal or child protection matter should go to the Director of Health & Wellbeing or the Cuboree Chief Director; see Contacts for details.

Please don't come if you're unwell in the days beforehand; illness spreads fast in a camp of this size, so stay home and let your Unit Coordinator know, you can join later with medical clearance. If you're unwell on site, your first point of contact is your Unit's Health & Wellbeing Leader or the Sub Camp first aid base. It's also common to feel a bit off-colour for a day or two after the event given the pace and change of routine, let us know if you think it's more than that.

Cuboree runs a strong welfare culture at every level, from your Unit through to a professional support team for the whole event. If you're struggling, or notice someone else who is, tell a Leader and support will come.

For homesickness specifically, staying busy and connecting with your Unit generally helps more than a phone call home. Your Unit's Health & Wellbeing Leader can help manage this if it becomes a problem.

No, everyone on site, including contractors, needs to be pre-registered; there's no general visitor access. A small number of invited guests, such as ceremony speakers or sponsors, are handled separately, contact the Chief Director if you have a request like this.

Reception at Cataract is patchy and varies a lot by provider, and there's no power on site to charge devices. Cub Scouts are generally better off leaving phones at home; if you're sending one with your child for peace of mind, it's worth weighing that up. Cuboree can't take responsibility for lost, broken or stolen devices.

Alcohol isn't permitted anywhere on site while youth members are present, consistent with Scouts NSW policy at all youth events. Smoking and vaping are discouraged on Scouting premises and restricted to designated areas away from youth and fire-risk zones; smoking outside those areas can result in being asked to leave the site.