Sustainability reporting research has historically focused on the corporate sector, with public sector research still very much in its infancy. This exploratory study extends such research in considering the current and future state of local government sustainability reporting in Australia. We utilized a mail survey instrument to collect data. We found that local government in Australia reports on aspects of sustainability, with 50% of respondents indicating that they report on at least one area of sustainability with social reporting being most prevalent. Reporting existed across an array of reports, with no standout reporting focus found. The future of sustainability reporting in local government looks promising, with almost 40% of current non-reporters indicating that they are likely to report in the future.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	sustainability reporting, public sector, local government, mail survey
Research Division:	Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
Research Group:	Accounting, Auditing and Accountability
Research Field:	Sustainability Accounting and Reporting
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding Knowledge in Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
Author:	Williams, B (Dr Belinda Williams)
Author:	Wilmshurst, T (Associate Professor Trevor Wilmshurst)
Author:	Clift, R (Professor Robert Clift)
ID Code:	76354
Year Published:	2011
Deposited By:	Accounting and Corporate Governance
Deposited On:	2012-03-05
Last Modified:	2017-11-28
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