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It’s flexible, supports every kind of interest and helps young Australians grow into capable, motivated, well-rounded humans.
Think of it as a guided pathway where you choose your activities, set goals and work towards them with support from your Duke of Ed Leader and peers.
Each Level has 4 x Sections - Voluntary Service, Physical Recreation, Skills and an Adventurous Journey. The activities you complete can be as unique as you! Going for Gold? You will also complete a Gold Residential Project.
Below is a breakdown of the Sections. Each one is designed to help you learn something new, stay active, or give back. Combined, they create a powerful experience that builds independence, resilience, friendships and sets you up with practical life skills.
Giving back and making a difference. Choose a cause or community activity you care about.
Your commitment is a minimum of 1 hour/week. You must be willing to carry out your voluntary work without pay, and it should only be done for a charity or not-for-profit organisation – not a business.
There are many examples of what Voluntary Service might look like.
Getting moving in a fun way that works for you.
This Section helps you build healthy habits, wellbeing and building confidence! It’s about progress, not perfection!
Your commitment is a minimum of 1 hour/week. You can choose to participate in any sport or physical activity which is likely to improve your fitness and requires you to burn energy
Learn something new or build on skills you already love.
This Section is about developing your personal interests, talents, and hobbies.
Your commitment is a minimum of 1 hour/week demonstrating your commitment to a skill and showing how you’ve increased your understanding or expertise over a period. It can be practically or socially focussed, but it shouldn’t be a physical activity. For example, while sports coaching can count as a skill, playing the sport won’t
A shared team challenge in the outdoors.
This is where teamwork, resilience, exploration and real adventure comes into play!
Plan, train and take part in a group journey - think hiking, cycling, kayaking, an urban adventure or similar - where you work together, navigate, and step outside your comfort zone. It’s a supervised experience, and often the most memorable part of the Duke of Ed!
There are endless exciting possibilities for your Adventurous Journey
Discover the world around you! For Gold Level only - This is a short-term, immersive experience with new people.
This could be a camp, a leadership program, a community project or another approved residential experience that brings young people out of their usual environment.
It builds independence, confidence, and a sense of belonging.
Your commitment is no less than 5 days and 4 nights away from your usual residence and in the company of others you don’t already know. You must complete this independently with an organised group, registered charity, or other approved Activity Provider, without existing friends. Through this experience you will demonstrate initiative and broaden your horizons in an unfamiliar environment, you’ll be expected to contribute to activities and work with others to achieve a common goal during your time away. Youth camps, residential language or ecology courses, leadership training, environmental cleanups, and maintenance or restoration projects are all examples of what your Gold Residential Project might look like
Anyone between the ages of 14 and 24 can complete a Duke of Ed Level.
It doesn’t matter where you are located, or how you describe your background or circumstances – this is a Framework for everyone!
We want to help you design your own experience and achieve the Duke of Ed in a way that matters to you.
The Duke of Ed isn’t a competition or about being first, but instead, it’s about helping you to step outside your comfort zone and set new personal challenges, so you finish up feeling rewarded, accomplished and #WORLDREADY
That’s right! Duke of Ed Employers recognise that young people who have achieved their Duke of Edinburgh's International Award demonstrate initiative and core skills helping you stand out from the crowd!
Registration fees vary from state to state, you can view the full list of fees here.
The Duke of Ed is a fully inclusive youth development Framework. Funding assistance for individuals or groups maybe available to cover registration fees and activity costs.
Did you know the Duke of Ed supports NDIS participants to pursue their goals? More information about NDIS participants here.
You can search current Duke of Ed Centres here:
For in depth information on the Duke of Ed Framework sections refer to the Handbook.
