In this paper a comparison is made between the structure and operations of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council and the Ako Aotearoa National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence of New Zealand. Both of these organisations were established in the mid 2000s and were created at a time when higher education institutions in both countries were attempting to increase their research profiles in response to changing funding criteria. Although the two organisations were established for similar reasons they did not operate in quite the same fashion and with the same degree of focus. Instead large differences in the scale of funding has meant that the Australian agency undertakes far more activities than its New Zealand counterpart, although the relative influence of the two bodies in their respective jurisdictions is similar. (Contains 7 endnotes and 3 tables.)