AGLC explained
Note: Different units at Deakin use different referencing styles. Check your unit assessment information to find which style you are required to use.
Deakin guide to AGLC (PDF, 528.1 KB)
Last updated: 6 March 2024
- Overview
- Footnotes
- Quotation style
- Bibliography
- Repeat citations
- Brackets
- Group author
- Pinpoint references
- Legal abbreviations
Overview
The Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC) is a legal citation style used in Australia. It consists of:
- A superscript (raised) number in the body of the text that refers to a footnote at the bottom of the page.
- Footnotes provide the bibliographic details of a source and are numbered consecutively throughout a paper or chapter.
- A bibliography is a full list of sources cited and sources consulted in preparing a paper. The list is divided into sections by source type, and then ordered alphabetically according to the family name of the first-listed author.
This guide is based on the Melbourne University Law Review Association’s Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed, 2018), which has further details on how to reference sources.
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
- an author's given name should be provided before the family name
- 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'
- authors’ initials are not spaced and there are no full stops after initials
- all titles have the first letter of significant words capitalised
- titles of journals, books, cases and Acts 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: See AGLC rule 1.1.5.
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
- single quote 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 the 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, such as parliamentary debates, parliamentary committee reports or Royal Commission reports
- newspaper articles
- television or radio transcripts
- press releases
- legal encyclopedias
- loose-leaf (or legal commentary) 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.)
- 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: the only examples of bibliography entries provided are in the following sample bibliography. 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(1) Environmental and Planning Law Journal 34
Boros, Elizabeth, 'Virtual Shareholder Meetings: Who Decides How Companies Make Decisions' (2004) 28(2) Melbourne University Law Review 265
Cryer, Robert et al, An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure (Cambridge University Press, 2007)
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, WS, 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 'n' are used for repeat citations of the same work.
Using '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 '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 instance.
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.
Using 'n'
Use 'n' to refer to a source that has been cited in a previous footnote other than the immediately preceding footnote. (However, 'n' is required when referring to an immediately preceding footnote that lists more than one source.)
Include 'n' and its number in a round bracket.
Shortened form of case name (n number of first footnote) pinpoint (if different from first citation).
4 Dallas Buyers Club LLC v iiNet Ltd (2015) 245 FCR 129 (‘Dallas Buyers Club’).
…
7 Dallas Buyers Club (n 4) 132 [7].
When multiple works by the same author are being referred to, a shortened form of the title can be used in subsequent footnotes.
Author's Surname, 'Shortened Title' (n number of first footnote) pinpoint (if different from first citation).
48 Kim Rubenstein, 'Meanings of Membership: Mary Gaudron's Contributions to Australian Citizenship' (2004) 15 Public Law Review 305.
...
62 Rubenstein, 'Meanings of Membership' (n 48) 307–11.
Brackets
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 on the use of brackets in reported decisions, see AGLC rule 2.2.1.
Note that square brackets are also used for:
- additions and alterations to quotes in text
- pinpoint references of paragraphs
- distinguishing cases where there is more than one hearing of the same matter (see AGLC rule 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 rule 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 can be provided at the end of both footnotes and bibliography entries.
See AGLC Appendix C for a full list of abbreviations used in pinpoint references for legislative materials.
Pages
Pages are indicated by the page number only (do not use 'p.' or 'pp.').
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
Paragraphs are indicated by the paragraph number in square brackets.
4 Cartwright v Cartwright [2007] NTSC 32, [10].
Sections
Sections are indicated by an 's' followed by a space and the section number. A sub-section is indicated by 'sub-s'.
5 Banking Act 1959 (Cth) s 5.
Chapters
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 commas. Consecutive pinpoint references are separated by a dash.
7 Fair Trading (Reinstatement of Regulations) Act 2008 (Tas) ss 4(2)(a)–(b), 5(b).
For further information on pinpoint references see AGLC rules 1.1.6–1.1.7; 3.1.4
Legal abbreviations
Legal abbreviations provide a short-hand way to cite and identify legal publications and courts.
In the AGLC see the following rules on abbreviations used in citations:
- Law report abbreviations – 2.2.3 and Appendix A
- Unique court identifiers (for medium neutral citations) – 2.3.1 and Appendix B
- Jurisdictions – 3.1.3
- Abbreviations used in pinpoint references – 3.1.4 and Appendix C.
This Deakin Library guide to legal abbreviations provides a list of the most commonly used abbreviations for law reports, journal titles and medium neutral citations.