The independent Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Local Government was appointed in August 2011 by the Australian Government.

The Panel was tasked with consulting the community on whether Australia's Constitution should be changed to include local government.

The Panel consulted nationally and considered feedback it received from Australians before handing its report to Government in December 2011.

The background to the Panel's work was the Constitution's omission of any mention of local government, and the question of whether local government should be recognised in this founding legal and political document - the basis for our laws and political system.