The introduction of the Excellence in Research for Australia scheme has heightened debate amongst research institutions over the use of metrics such as citations, especially given the ready availability of citation data. An analysis is presented of the citation performance of nine Australian universities and the Commonwealth Scientific, Industrial and Research Organisation (CSIRO) that indicates that Australian Institutions perform significantly better than the global average. That said, the question is raised as to whether we are setting the bar too low. Finally, a tentative link between citation performance and application to innovation is noted. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)