ACELG is undertaking a considerable body of research into issues of regional collaboration and structural reform in local government. It has already published papers on Consolidation in Local Government: A Fresh Look and A Comparative Analysis of Regional Organisations of Councils in NSW and Western Australia.

This paper, prepared for ACELG by David Somerville and Melissa Gibbs, builds on that earlier work and investigates models of shared services delivery. Available legal options and models actually in use vary greatly across Australia. This report provides a summary of those options, illustrated by five case studies.

Through undertaking this study, it was identified that further research was needed. Work is already under way to undertake additional and/or more in-depth case studies, and to explore the reasons behind the differences between jurisdictions in the models councils may use for shared services delivery.