At the Australian Council of Local Government (ACLG) meeting in November 2008, the Prime Minister announced funding support for a Centre of Excellence to showcase innovation and best practice across local government and encourage adoption of innovative practices and solutions.
One of the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government (ACELG) consortium partners, the UTS: Centre for Local Government is working in partnership with SAI Global (SAI) to review the use of the Australian Business Excellence Framework (BEF) within Australian local government. The ultimate aim of this project is to provide local government with a model which promotes excellence within the sector. 
The Local Government Business Excellence Network (LGBEN) is a national network of councils who are actively using the BEF, and are interested in building and strengthening its use in the Australian local government sector. A survey of LGBEN councils conducted in 2010 confirmed that the BEF provided a structured process for continuous improvement, a facilitator of better communication, a tool for team building and aligning theorganisation to corporate priorities, a catalyst for finding financial savings, and a vehicle for providing access to best practice (ACELG, 2010). However both LGBEN and SAI are interested in exploring ways that the BEF can be further enhanced and tailored to facilitate broader takeup within Australian local government.  
The following councils were the subjects of the case studies:
Bass Coast Shire Council (Vic)
City of Marion (SA)
City of Melville (WA)
City of Swan (WA)
Hobart City Council (Tas)
Port Stephens Council (NSW)
Warringah Council (NSW)
Yarra Ranges Council (Vic)