Mainstays of the program were Mr. Bob Mitchell (subsequently Assistant Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra), Mr. Ian Frencham (formerly CCAE, now retired), Dr. Rodney Jory (University of Canberra, the founding director of the NYSF), Mr. and Mrs. Ken Shields (Rotary Club of St. Ives, Sydney), Mr. and Mrs. Ted Armstrong (Rotary, Canberra) and six Rotarian couples, "house parents", one couple from each state in Australia.

[This paragraph needs citation(s)] The NSSS was incorporated on 5 June 1984, a council set up and a director appointed.

In 1992, the NSSS saw all student staff brought to Canberra during the Easter break of 1991 and given additional training.

Rio Tinto made $25,000 available to assist with a sponsorship search and provided two weekends of professional seminars.

[This paragraph needs citation(s)] In January 2000, for the first time, NYSF had a "National Youth Science Forum" with no sponsor name.

In 2005, after years of dedication to the program, the Director, Prof. Rod Jory, retired and was replaced by Geoff Burchfield.

After 8 years at the helm of the organisation, Geoff Burchfield stepped down as Director in 2013 to focus on program development for the NYSF.