The paper examines the current situation with respect to community consultation in Australia, reviews evaluations of community consultation, considers different community consultation mechanisms, and looks at new paradigms emerging in the area of police-community relationships. The paper evaluates consultation from ideological, structural, and operational perspectives. While consultation continues as a key element in strengthening the relationship between police and community, it has never really been implemented or trusted and, despite its continued use, may be under threat as a tactic as politicians and communities demand more measurable outcomes. Despite flaws, consultation continues to reinforce the current agenda of serving the community and there is widespread support for it. For those wanting to make consultation more meaningful in order to ensure that it remains a core strategy in the face of competing centralizing tendencies, the paper recommends: (1) continue to address the ideological issues; (2) promote a broader view of consultation; (3) implement technical changes/improvements; (4) address the issues of evaluation and performance indicators; and (5) explore means to incorporate privatized policing into consultation structures. Figure, notes, table, bibliography