This resource is based on the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC). For further details and examples of citations refer to: Australian Guide to Legal Citation (Melbourne University Law Review Association Inc, 3rd ed, 2010).
You should always check your unit guide and/or with your unit chair, lecturer or tutor to make sure that this is the recommended style for your unit.
General principles
The AGLC style consists of:
- Footnotes. A superscript number is placed after the relevant text, which refers to a footnote listed at the bottom of the page.
- A bibliography. If a bibliography is required, it is provided at the end of the paper and gives details of each source, as well as details of other sources consulted in preparing the paper.
Footnotes
All sources must be acknowledged in footnotes. Footnotes should be used whenever ideas are discussed or when sources are summarised, paraphrased or quoted, unless the full source is already provided in text.
The superscript number should be placed at the end of the portion of text to which the corresponding footnote refers. The number should appear after any relevant punctuation, such as a full stop or a comma.
The control order process undermines the fundamental principle that a person's liberty should not be restricted unless there is a judicial finding of criminal guilt.1
_________________________
1 Nicola McGarrity, 'From Terrorism to Bikies: Control Orders in Australia' (2012) 37(3) Alternative Law Journal 166, 168.
The first time a source is cited, the footnote must provide full bibliographic details. Footnotes for subsequent references to the same source do not repeat all the details but use a shortened form – see the section below on repeat citations for further details.
In footnotes:
- authors' names should be exactly as they appear in the source
- where there are two or three authors, the names of all the authors are included and the word 'and' separates the names of the last two authors
- where there are more than three authors, include the family name of the first-listed author only, followed by 'et al'
- initials in authors' names are separated by a space and are not followed by a full stop
- all titles have the first letter of significant words capitalised
- titles of journals, books and cases names are formatted in italics
- each footnote ends with a full stop. (Note that this is not the case with bibliography entries).
Aside from referencing, footnotes are also used to provide tangential or extraneous information outside the body of the text. They can be used to back up an argument or to acknowledge a source that has contributed to an argument.
Quotation style
Use single quote marks for short quotes of less than three lines. Punctuation marks such as commas and full stops at the end of direct quotes should not be included within quote marks unless they form an important part of that sentence.
Note the broad definition of security arrangements by the Australian Law Reform Commission: 'an interest in property which is held by one person to ensure the performance of an obligation by another'.16
For quotes longer than three lines, do not use quotation marks. Start the quote on a new line, in a smaller font size and indent the quote about 1 cm from the left-hand margin of the page.
Hoffmann J concluded that:
The public interest requires a balancing of the advantages to the economy of facilitating the borrowing of money against the possibility of injustice to unsecured creditors. These arguments for and against the floating of charges are matters for Parliament rather than the courts and have been the subject of public debate in and out of Parliament for more than a century.21
For quotations within quotations use double quote marks for short quotes and use single quotation marks within indented long quotes.
Bibliography
Check with your unit chair, lecturer or tutor to determine if you are required to compile a bibliography for your assignment.
In a bibliography, list all works referred to both in footnotes and in the body of your assignment, as well as all works consulted in writing your assignment.
Sources should be presented under the following sections where applicable:
A Articles/Books/Reports
B Cases
C Legislation
D Treaties
E Other
Sources under Other might include:
- government documents like parliamentary debates, parliamentary committee reports or royal commission reports
- newspaper articles
- television or radio transcripts
- press releases
- legal encyclopedias
- loose-leaf services
- internet sources.
Note that details provided in the bibliography are almost identical to details provided in the footnotes, with the following exceptions:
- List entries alphabetically under each section of the bibliography, disregarding 'A', 'An or 'The'.
- Do not use a full stop at the end of bibliography entries (unlike footnotes which always end with a full stop).
The formatting of authors' names in bibliographic entries also differs from footnotes:
- Order works alphabetically according to the family name of the first-listed author.
- For works by a single author, begin with the author's family name first, followed by a comma and the given name or initials. (Note that in footnotes the given name or initials appear first, followed by the family name, and no comma is used.)
- For works by two or three authors, begin with the first-listed author's family name, followed by a comma and the given name or initials. Second and third authors' names are provided in the correct order. Separate the last two authors with 'and'.
- For works by four or more authors, begin with the first-listed author's family name, followed by a comma and the given name or initials, and then 'et al'.
Note that the only examples of bibliographic entries provided are in this section of the guide. All other examples in this guide are footnotes.
AGLC sample bibliography
A Articles/Books/Reports
Bell, Justine et al, 'Legal Frameworks for Unique Ecosystems: How can the EPBC Act Offsets Policy Address the Impact of Development on Seagrass?' (2014) 31 Environmental and Planning Law Journal 34
Boros, Elizabeth, 'Virtual Shareholder Meetings: Who Decides How Companies Make Decisions' (2004) 28 Melbourne University Law Review 265
Cryer, Robert et al, An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure (Cambridge University Press, 2007) 87
Rooney, Greg, 'Mediation and the Rise of Relationship Contracting: A Decade of Change for Lawyers' (2002) 76(10) Law Institute Journal 40
Tooher, Joycey, and Bryan Dwyer, Introduction to Property Law (LexisNexis Butterworths, 5th ed, 2008)
Weerasooria, W S, Bank Lending and Securities in Australia (Butterworths, 1998)
B Cases
Breen v Williams (1995) 186 CLR 71
Hospital Products Ltd v United States Surgical Corporation (1984) 156 CLR 41
Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (NSW) v Mimer (Ion 145) Pty Ltd (1991) 24 NSWLR 510
Victoria Park Racing and Recreation Grounds Co Ltd v Taylor (1937) 58 CLR 479
C Legislation
Banking Act 1959 (Cth)
Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic)
D Treaties
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, opened for signature 1 July 1968, 729 UNTS161 (entered into force 5 March 1970)
E Other
The Financial Ombudsman Service, 'Insurance Policy Excesses and Financial Difficulty' (2010) 3 Circular Edition <http://fos.org.au/circular3/Excesses.html>
Internet Patent News Service, Patent Database, Patenting Arts and Entertainment <http://www.patenting-art.com/database/dbase1-e.htm>
'Little Corporate Appeal in Green Bottom Line', Business, The Age (Melbourne), 6 June 2005, 4
Whinnett, Ellen, 'Industry Poll Reverses Greens' Survey Forestry Offensive', The Mercury (Hobart) 25 September 2004, 3
Repeat citations
When a particular source is cited more than once in a paper, the full bibliographic details should only be provided in the first instance.
The terms 'Ibid' and 'above n' are used for repeat citations of the same work.
Note that only 'Ibid' is used for repeat citations of legislation, cases and treaties – 'above n' is never used for these primary sources. Refer to AGLC section 1.4.2 for further details.
Ibid
Use 'Ibid' in a footnote where the immediately preceding footnote refers to the same work. The exception to this rule is if a footnote lists more than one source (in this case use 'above n').
If a footnote is to the same work and to the same pinpoint reference, simply use 'Ibid'. The pinpoint reference does not need to be repeated in this case.
If a footnote is to the same work but to a different pinpoint reference, use 'Ibid' followed by the pinpoint reference.
1 Joycey Tooher and Bryan Dwyer, Introduction to Property Law (LexisNexis Butterworths, 5th ed, 2008) 38.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid 52–3.
Above n
Use 'above n' to refer to a source that has been cited in a previous footnote other than the immediately preceding footnote. (However, 'above n' is required when referring to an immediately preceding footnote that lists more than one source.)
Author, above n number of first citation, pinpoint (if different).
4 The Financial Ombudsman Service, 'Insurance Policy Excesses and Financial Difficulty' (2010) 3 Circular Edition <http://fos.org.au/circular3/Excesses.html>.
…
7 The Financial Ombudsman Service, above n 4.
When multiple works are referred to by the same author, then a shortened form of the title can be used.
Author's Surname, 'Title' (shortened, if necessary), above n number of first citation, pinpoint (if different).
48 Kim Rubenstein, 'Meanings of Membership: Mary Gaudron's Contributions to Australian Citizenship' (2004) 15 Public Law Review 305.
...
62 Rubenstein, 'Meanings of Membership', above n 48, 307–11.
Square and round brackets in citations
Volumes of law report series use either square or round brackets around the year.
Square brackets are used where law report series are organised by year.
34 Beattie v Ball [1999] 3 VR 1.
If the law report series is organised by volume number, the year in which the decision was handed down (or often the year in which the case was reported) is provided in round brackets.
91 Hollis v Vabu Pty Ltd (2001) 207 CLR 21.
For further information see AGLC sections 2.2–2.3.
Note that square brackets are also used for:
- additions and alterations to quotes
- pinpoint references of paragraphs
- distinguishing cases where there is more than one hearing of the same matter (see AGLC section 2.1.13).
Group author
For sources authored by a body (for example a non-government organisation or a government department), place the name of the body in the author position.
If a government department is the author and the jurisdiction is not evident by the name, the abbreviated jurisdiction should be included in parentheses. See AGLC section 3.1.3 for a list of abbreviations.
5 Department of Defence (Cth), 'Highest East Timorese Honour for Army Officers' (Media Release, MSPA 172/09, 22 May 2009).
If an individual on behalf of the body is the author, both the individual and the body should be included.
17 Gillian Triggs, Australian Human Rights Commission, Human Rights, Refugees and Asylum Seekers, 2013.
Pinpoint references
A pinpoint reference within a footnote directs the reader to a particular place in the cited work. For sources such as cases, books or journal articles, a pinpoint reference might refer the reader to a particular chapter, page or paragraph. For legislative materials, pinpoint references can also refer to parts, sections, clauses or divisions. A pinpoint reference is provided at the end of both footnotes and bibliography entries.
See section 3.1.4 of the AGLC for a full list of abbreviations used in pinpoint references for legislative materials.
Pages are indicated by the page number only (do not use 'p' or 'pg').
1 Victoria Park Racing and Recreation Grounds Co Ltd v Taylor (1937) 58 CLR 479.
2 William Gough, 'Securities over Debts' in Gregory Burton (ed), Directions in Finance Law (Butterworths, 1990) 220, 223.
3 Joycey Tooher and Bryan Dwyer, Introduction to Property Law (LexisNexis Butterworths, 5th ed, 2008) 91–2.
Paragraphs are indicated by the paragraph number in square brackets.
4 Cartwright v Cartwright [2007] NTSC 32 (9 May 2007) [10].
Sections are indicated by an 's' followed by a space and the section number.
5 Banking Act 1959 (Cth) s 5.
Chapters are indicated by 'ch' followed by a space and the chapter number.
6 James Edelman and Elise Bant, Unjust Enrichment in Australia (Oxford University Press, 2006) ch 4.
Multiple pinpoint references are separated by a comma. Consecutive pinpoint references are separated by a dash.
7 Fair Trading (Reinstatement of Regulations) Act 2008 (Tas) ss 4(2)(a)–(b), (4), 5(b).
For further information on pinpoint references see section 1.1.5 of the AGLC.
Legal abbreviations
Legal abbreviations provide a short-hand way to cite and identify legal publications and courts. This Deakin Library Resource Guide provides a list of the most commonly used abbreviations for law reports, journal titles and medium neutral citations, as well as important links to the Deakin Library catalogue.
In the AGLC see the following sections on abbreviations used in citations:
- 2.8.1 – Unique court identifiers (for medium neutral citations)
- 3.1.3 – Jurisdictions
- 3.1.4 – Abbreviations used in pinpoint references
Cases
Reported
- Case name: full name of case in italics.
- Year: Volumes of law report series are organised either by year or by volume number. For volumes of law report series organised by year, square brackets are used around the year. If the law report series is organised by volume number, the year in which the decision was handed down (or often the year in which the case was reported) is provided in round brackets.
- Volume number
- Abbreviation of report series: Report series have abbreviations that are used in citations. For instance, Commonwealth Law Reports will always appear as CLR in a citation. Learn more about abbreviations in the Deakin Law Library Guide.
- First page of case
- Pinpoint: if required. Refer to the page or paragraph number.
Case Name (year) or [year] Volume number Abbreviation of report series First page of case, pinpoint.
17 Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (NSW) v Mimer (Ion 145) Pty Ltd (1991) 24 NSWLR 510.
23 Breen v Williams (1995) 186 CLR 71, 113.
34 Beattie v Ball [1999] 3 VR 1.
Unreported – Medium neutral citation
Medium neutral citation is a citation system that does not depend on the publisher or the medium of the source. This style is allocated by the court.
Cite unreported cases only if no reported version is available.
- Case name: full name of case in italics.
- Year: in square brackets
- Unique court identifier: See section 2.8.1 of the AGLC for a list of unique court identifiers.
- Judgement number
- Full date: Day month year
- Pinpoint: if required. Refer to the paragraph number, not the page number.
Case name [year] Unique court identifier Judgement number (day month year) pinpoint.
13 Minister for Immigration and Citizenship v SZIAI [2009] HCA 39 (23 September 2009) [27].
For more information about medium neutral citations see 2.8.1 of the AGLC.
For information about unreported cases without a medium neutral citation see section 2.8.2 of the AGLC.
Legislative materials
Acts
The year of the Act appears in italics following the title.
The jurisdiction is included in brackets.
For more information on abbreviations used in pinpoint references see section 3.1.4 of the AGLC.
Title of Act year (Abbreviation of jurisdiction) pinpoint.
3 Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic) s 74.
5 Banking Act 1959 (Cth) s 5.
38 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 (Cth) pt 3A div 2.
Bills
Bills are cited in similar way to Acts but the title is not italicised. The year of the bill follows the title.
Pinpoints are often to clauses or subclauses. For more information on abbreviations used in pinpoint references see section 3.1.4 of the AGLC.
Title of Legislation year (Abbreviation of jurisdiction) pinpoint.
51 Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009 (Cth) cl 83.
Explanatory memoranda
Explanatory memoranda are also known as explanatory statements or explanatory notes in different jurisdictions and should be cited appropriately for each jurisdiction. Pinpoints are usually to pages, or pages and paragraphs.
Explanatory memorandum/statements/notes, Citation of Bill pinpoint.
13 Explanatory memorandum, Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Bill 2006 (Vic).
27 Explanatory notes, Adoption Bill 2009 (Qld) 5–6, 29.
Books
Books – general principles
- Author names should be provided as they appear in the publication. Initials should be spaced and without full stops.
- Capitalise the first letter of each word in titles except articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (and) and prepositions (by, for, with). Italicise book titles and place chapter titles within single quote marks.
- Provide the publisher, the edition number (other than the first edition) and the year together in round brackets.
- Pinpoints are usually to chapters, pages or paragraphs.
- If an e-book is also available in print, cite as a print book source. If an e-book is not available in print, then cite as you would other internet sources.
Books – one to three authors
First Author, Second Author and Third Author, Title of Book (Publisher, edition number, year) pinpoint.
8 W S Weerasooria, Bank Lending and Securities in Australia (Butterworths, 1998) 230.
31 Edward I Sykes and Sally Walker, The Law of Securities (Lawbook, 5th ed, 1993) 39.
49 E L G Tyler, P W Young and Clyde Croft, Fisher and Lightwood's Law of Mortgage (LexisNexis Butterworths, 2nd Australian ed, 2005).
Books – four or more authors
Provide the name of the first-listed author only, then 'et al'.
First Author et al, Title of Book (publisher, edition number, year) pinpoint.
14 Robert Cryer et al, An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure (Cambridge University Press, 2007) 87.
Chapter in an edited book
Begin the footnote with the author of the chapter and also provide the name of the editor of the book.
Author, 'Title of Chapter' in Editor (ed), Title of Book (publisher, edition number, year) first page of chapter, pinpoint.
12 William Gough, 'Securities over Debts' in Gregory Burton (ed), Directions in Finance Law (Butterworths, 1990) 220, 223.
Legal encyclopedias
Provide the date of the last update, if available, or else the date of retrieval.
Publisher, Title of Encyclopedia, volume number (at date of last update or date of retrieval) Title number Name of Title, 'Chapter number Name of Chapter' [paragraph].
38 LexisNexis, Halsbury's Laws of Australia (at 1 June 2011) 90 Constitutional Law, '6 Limitations on Legislative Powers' [90-2226].
Read more about legal encyclopedias in this Deakin Library Guide.
Periodicals
Periodicals – general principles
- Author names should be provided as they appear in the publication. Initials should be spaced and without full stops.
- Capitalise the first letter of each word in titles except articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (and) and prepositions (by, for, with). Italicise journal titles and place titles of articles within single quote marks.
- If there is continuous pagination within the volume of a journal, the issue number may be omitted.
- Provide the first page of the article.
- Pinpoint references are usually to pages.
- If an article is available in both print and online formats, cite the print version. If citing the online version, the date of retrieval is not given.
Journal article – one to three authors
First Author, Second Author and Third Author, 'Title of Article' (year) volume(issue) Journal Title first page of article, pinpoint.
48 Sharon Rodrick, 'Forgeries, False Attestations and Impostors: Torrens Systems Mortgages and the Fraud Exception to Indefeasibility' (2002) 7 Deakin Law Review 97, 106.
62 Penny Carruthers, Kate Galloway and Natalie Skead, 'Teaching Property Law in Australia in the Twenty-First Century: What We Do Now, What Should We Do in the Future?' (2012) 21(1) Australian Property Law Journal 57.
Journal article – four or more authors
Cite the first-listed author only, followed by 'et al'.
First Author et al, 'Title of Article' (year) volume(issue) Title of Journal first page of article, pinpoint.
1 Judy Allen et al, 'Privacy protectionism and health information: Is there any redress for harms to health?' (2013) 21 Journal of Law and Medicine 473, 474.
Online journal article
Articles from electronic journals should only be cited where a print edition of the journal or the article cited does not exist.
A date of retrieval is not required.
Author, 'Title of Article' (year)volume (issue) Title of Journal first page of article, pinpoint <URL>.
4 Kate Lewins, 'What's the Trade Practices Act Got to Do with It? Section 74 and Towage Contracts in Australia' (2006) 13(1) eLaw Journal: Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law 58, 59 <https://elaw.murdoch.edu.au/archives/issues/2006/1/ eLaw_Lewins13_2006_05.pdf>.
Newspaper article
Author, 'Title of Article', Newspaper (Place of Publication), day month year, pinpoint.
8 Jamie Walker and Rachel Baxendale, 'Outlaw Bikies Face Nationwide Curbs', The Australian (Sydney), 31 October 2013, 5.
If an article appears in a named section of a newspaper and the section is independently paginated, the name of the section should be included in italics before the title of the newspaper.
10 'Little Corporate Appeal in Green Bottom Line', Business, The Age (Melbourne), 6 June 2005, 4.
Newspaper article – online or database
Electronic newspaper articles should only be cited where an identical print edition of the newspaper or the article cited does not exist. A date of retrieval is not required.
Author, 'Title of Article', Newspaper (online), day month year, pinpoint <URL>.
56 Farrah Tomazin, 'Kinder Wages Breakthrough', The Age (online), 19 May 2009 <http://www.theage.com/au/national/education/kinder-wages-breakthough-20090519.bcwh.html>.
Newspaper article – no author
Begin the footnote with the title of the article.
10 'Little Corporate Appeal in Green Bottom Line', Business, The Age (Melbourne), 6 June 2005, 4.
Government documents
Law reform commission report
Where reports contain multiple volumes, include the volume number in the pinpoint reference.
Pinpoint references should be to page numbers where available. Paragraph numbers may be referred to in addition to page numbers or where page numbers are not available.
Name of Law Reform Commission, Title, Report No number (year) pinpoint.
12 Victorian Law Reform Commission, Civil Justice Review, Report No 14 (2008).
41 Australian Law Reform Commission, For Your Information: Australian Privacy Law and Practice, Report No 108 (2008) vol 1, 339 [7.7].
Parliamentary committee report
Where a committee is from one chamber and this is not evident, then the name of the chamber is added before the committee name, as in the addition of 'Senate' in the example below.
Pinpoint references should be to page numbers where available. Paragraph numbers may be referred to in addition to page numbers or where page numbers are not available.
Committee, Legislature, Title (year) pinpoint.
11 Law Reform Committee, Parliament of Victoria, Inquiry into Alternative Dispute Resolution and Restorative Justice (2009) 26.
39 Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee, Parliament of Australia, Administration and Operation of the Migration Act 1958 (2006) 280–1 [9.30]–[9.38].
Parliamentary debate
For parliamentary debates (or 'Hansard'), speakers' titles such as 'Senator' need not be included; however, if the position of the speaker within the ministry or shadow ministry is relevant, it may be included.
Jurisdiction, Parliamentary Debates, Chamber, day month year of debate, pinpoint (Name of Speaker).
2 Commonwealth, Parliamentary Debates, Senate, 18 June 2008, 2642–4 (Bob Brown).
78 Victoria, Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Assembly, 4 May 2006, 1289–95 (Rob Hulls, Attorney-General).
Royal commission report
Where commissioned by multiple jurisdictions, include all relevant jurisdictions in alphabetical order.
Where reports contain multiple volumes, include the volume number in the pinpoint reference.
Pinpoint references should be to page numbers where available. Paragraph numbers may be referred to in addition to page numbers or where page numbers are not available.
Jurisdiction, Name of Royal Commission, Title (year) pinpoint.
12 Commonwealth, Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, National Report (1991) vol 5, 31 [36.3.12].
Other sources
Internet sources
A source should be cited as an internet source only if it does not exist in print form.
Where available, the full date of the last update of the webpage should be included. Where the full date is not provided, include as much of the full date as available.
The date of retrieval is not included in the citation.
Where the full URL is very long, and as long as the document can be easily located, you may provide the URL of the home page.
Author, Title of Document/Webpage (day month year, if provided) Website name if different from author's name, pinpoint <URL>.
1 International Whaling Commission, IWC Information (4 August 2010) <http://www.iwcoffice.org/commission.iwcmain.htm>.
2 Internet Patent News Service, Patent Database, Patenting Arts and Entertainment <http://www.patenting-art.com/database/dbase1-e.htm>.
Media release
Author (jurisdiction), 'Title' (Media Release, Document Number if provided, day month year) pinpoint.
5 Department of Defence (Cth), 'Highest East Timorese Honour for Army Officers' (Media Release, MSPA 172/09, 22 May 2009).
A URL may be included where it assists with retrieval.
Author (jurisdiction), 'Title' (Media Release, Document Number if provided, day month year) pinpoint <URL>.
12 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, 'ACCC Accepts a Variation to the Digital Radio Access Undertakings' (Media Release, 19 December 2013) < http://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-accepts-a-variation-to-the-digital-radio-access-undertakings>.
Television and radio transcripts
Provide the name of the speaker being cited in the transcript.
Broadcaster, 'Title of Segment', Name of Program, day month year of broadcast (Speaker) <URL>.
33 ABC Radio National, 'States Legislators Vying to Pass Same-Sex Marriage Laws', The Law Report, 29 October 2013 (Kim Healy) <http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lawreport/states-legislators-vying-to-pass-same-sex-marriage-lawsstates-l/5050426#transcript>.