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Australian Guide to Legal Citation

This guide will help you understand how to reference in the AGLC style

Other secondary sources

Note about secondary sources

If you can not find a specific rule in the AGLC to match the secondary source you are citing, find the closest rule and adapt it, making sure to follow the 'general rules'.

Dictionaries, encyclopedias and commentaries

See 7.6
  • Only include definition number if the dictionary includes multiple definitions for the term
Print dictionaries
Dictionary Title | (Edition, | Year) | 'entry' | (def | definition number).

 

Online dictionaries
Dictionary Title | (online at | Date of retrieval) | 'entry' | (def | definition number).

 

Examples

Australian Law Dictionary (3rd ed, 2017) 'academic misconduct'.

Encyclopaedic Australian Legal Dictionary (online at 15 February 2019) 'academic misconduct' (def 2).

See 7.7
  • The format below is for online legal encyclopedias. To cite a printed version of a legal encyclopedia, See 7.7
Publisher, | Title of Encyclopedia | (online at | Date of retrieval) | Title number | Name of Title, | 'Chapter number | Name of Chapter' | [Pinpoint].

 

Examples

Westlaw AU, The Laws of Australia (online at 27 February 2019) 17 Family Law, '17.7 Parenting Orders and Related Matters' [17.7.170].

LexisNexis, Halsbury's Laws of Australia (online at 27 February 2019) 10 Administrative Law, '2 Access to Court' [10-12010].

See 7.8
  • Pinpoints will be to paragraphs. If a paragraph symbol is used '¶' (often in CCH), put this instead of the square brackets
  • The format below is for online legal commentaries. To cite a printed version of a commentary, See 7.8
Publisher, | Title | (online at | Date of retrieval) | [Pinpoint].

 

Examples

CCH Australia, Australian Family Law and Practice Premium Commentary (online at 28 February 2019) ¶14-780.

LexisNexis, Court Forms, Precedents and Pleadings Queensland (online at 1 March 2019) [36,015].

Westlaw AU, Federal Administrative Law (online at 1 March 2019) [OMB0.70].

Internet materials, newspaper articles, press and media releases

See 7.15
  • Only use this rule if it does not exist in a published form and no other rule in the AGLC applies to it
  • Include the author only if an author is indicated on the webpage being cited (person or body)
  • Where the author and web page title are the same, leave out the author field
  • The date should be, in order of precedence:
    • Full date of web page's last update
    • Full date of creation
    • As much of the date that appears (eg year)
    • Where no date is indicated, leave out the date field
  • Web pages usually won't have pinpoints
Author, | 'Document Title', | Web Page Title | (Document type, | Full date) | Pinpoint <URL>.
 
Examples

'Accessing Law Reports and Cases: Full-text A-Z List', Bond University Library (Library Research Guide, 6 March 2019) <https://bond.libguides.com/law-primary-resources/full-text>.

'How to Study: Tips and Tricks for Acing Law School', Survive Law (Blog Post, 27 February 2019) <https://www.survivelaw.com/single-post/2019/02/27/How-to-Study>.

'About the House of Representatives', Parliament of Australia (Web Page) <https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives/About_the_House_of_Representatives>.

Lachlan McKnight, 'Observations on NewLaw in Australia in 2018', LawyersWeekly (Web Page, 28 December 2018) <https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/newlaw/24712-observations-on-newlaw-in-australia-in-2018>.

Queensland Government, 'Wellness Planning Resources', Healthier Happier Workplaces (Web Page, 2019) <https://workplaces.healthier.qld.gov.au/public-resources>.

See 7.11
Printed newspapers
Author, | 'Title', | Newspaper | (Place of publication, | Full date) | Pinpoint.

 

Electronic newspapers
  • Only include a pinpoint if article has numbered pages or paragraphs
Author, | 'Title', | Newspaper | (online, | Full date) | Pinpoint <URL>.

 

Examples

Michael Pelly, 'Law Council "Very Troubled" by Circuit Court Judge's Rulings', The Australian Financial Review (Sydney, 27 February 2019) 3.

Jodie Stephens, 'Setback for BuzzFeed in Husar Case', The Australian (online, 22 February 2019) <https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/mp-wants-part-of-buzzfeed-defence-rejected/news-story/c2fe34f2e43cc42ec13b18cfddabc3b2>.

See 7.4
  • Where the author is the same as the body, leave out the body field
  • Only include a document number if it appears on the release
  • A URL may be included where this would aid its retrieval
Author, | 'Title', | (Release type, | Document number, | Body, | Full date) | Pinpoint.

 

Examples

Jackie Trad and Di Farmer, 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leaders Partner with the Queensland Government to Close the Gap and Reduce Numbers of Children in Care' ('Media Statement, Queensland Government, 26 March 2019).

Christian Porter, Kelly O'Dwyer and Stuart Robert, 'Improving Visibility of Superannuation Assets in Family Law Proceedings' (Media Release, Australian Government, 20 November 2018) <https://www.attorneygeneral.gov.au/Media/Pages/Improving-visibility-of-superannuation-assets-in-family-law-proceedings-20-nov-2018.aspx>.

Other Parliamentary Materials

Parliamentary debates (or 'Hansard'), See 7.5.1
  • Second reading speeches are sections of parliamentary debates and so should be cited using this rule
  • If a speaker's name is included, their first and last name should appear.
  • If relevant, the position of the speaker may be included after their name, after a comma and inside the brackets.
Jurisdiction, | Parliamentary Debates, | Chamber, | Full date of debate, | Pinpoint | (Name of Speaker).

 

Examples

Queensland, Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Assembly, 14 February 2019, 232 (Joe Kelly).

Commonwealth, Parliamentary Debates, Senate, 15 October 2018, 7050–8 (Kim Carr).

Written Submissions to Government and Parliamentary Inquiries, Committees and Agencies, See 7.5.2
  • If the author is subject to name suppression or is otherwise anonymous, no author should be included, unless otherwise identified (e.g. by a code name)
  • Where the government or parliamentary body does not allocate a submission number, leave that out
  • For submissions to parliamentary committees or inquiries, replace Body with Committee, Legislature
  • If the name of inquiry isn't included on the submission or evidence, leave that out
Author, | Submission No | Number | to | Body, | Name of Inquiry | (Full Date) | Pinpoint.

 

Examples

Mobil Oil Australia, Submission No 25 to Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Inquiry into the Price of Unleaded Petrol (27 July 2007).

Human Rights Law Resource Centre, Submission No 21 to Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Parliament of Australia, Inquiry into the Anti-Terrorism Laws Reform Bill 2009 (11 September 2009).

Anonymous 489, Submission to Royal Commission into Family Violence (29 May 2015).

More secondary sources

Reports and similar documents, See 7.1
  • If the report does not indicate an author (person or body), leave out the author field
  • Only include a document number if the report includes one
  • Include as much of the date as appears on the source. This may be day, month, year; month, year; or simply year
  • A URL may be included where this would aid its retrieval
Author, | Title, | (Document type/series | No | Document number, | Full date) | Pinpoint.

 

Examples

OECD, The Future of Education and Skills: Education 2030 (Report, 2018).

Bond University, 2017 Annual Report (Report, 2017).

Review of the Law of Negligence (Final Report, September 2002).

Administrative Review Council, Federal Judicial Review in Australia (Report No 50, September 2012) <https://www.arc.ag.gov.au/Publications/Reports/Documents/ARCReport50-FederalJudicialReviewinAustralia-2012.PDF>.

 

Research papers, theses and similar documents, See 7.2
  • The document type should appear as it does on the source (eg Research Paper, Conference Paper, Working paper, PhD Thesis, LLM Thesis)
  • Only include a document number if the document includes one
  • Include as much of the date as appears on the source. This may be 'day month year'; 'month year'; or simply 'year'
  • A URL may be included where this would aid its retrieval
Author, | 'Title' | (Document type/series | No | Document number, | Institution/forum, | Full date) | Pinpoint.

 

Examples

Diana Warren, 'Low Income and Poverty Dynamics(Social Policy Research Paper No 47, Australian Institute of Family Studies, Department of Social Services, 1 November 2017).

Richard Barrett, 'Contesting the Neutral Space: A Thematic Analysis of Military Humanitarianism' (Working Paper No 137, Land Warfare Studies Centre, 2010).

Annette Greenhow, 'The Interdisciplinary Nature of Concussion in Sport: Legal, Medical and Ethical Considerations' (Conference Paper, Australian and New Zealand Sports Law Association Conference, 23 October 2014).

Matthew D Raj, 'Victim Responses to Stalking: A Temporal Approach to Factors Affecting the Duration and Intensity of Being Stalked' (PhD Thesis, Bond University, 2017).

 

Speeches, See 7.3
  • Where a speech is a named lecture, replace 'Speech' with the lecture name
  • Where no institution or forum is indicated, replace with the city or town in which the speech was delivered
  • A URL may be included where this would aid its retrieval
Author, | 'Title', | (Speech, | Institution/forum, | Full date) | Pinpoint.

 

Examples

Nick James, 'Keys to Success for Tomorrow's Lawyers' (Speech, Bond Law Students' Professional Careers Conference, 9 November 2018) <https://research.bond.edu.au/en/activities/keys-to-success-for-tomorrows-lawyers>.

Jonathan Crowe and Zali Brookes, 'How Do We Think About Lolita? Difference, Alterity and Animal Liberation' (Speech, Australasian Society of Legal Philosophy Annual Conference, 6–8 July 2018).

David Robinson Simon, 'Meatonomics: The True Cost of Factory Farming' (Voiceless Animal Law Lecture Series, Griffith University, 10 May 2017).

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