• Australian Guide to Legal Citation Quick Guide (PDF 156 KB)
• The Australian Guide to Legal Citation - Fourth Edition (PDF 2.2 MB) is the reference manual for legal citation in Australia. AGLC4 erratum. Certain errors have been identified in the fourth edition of the AGLC4. Authoritative corrections can be found in the AGLC4 erratum.
• This Library guide provides basic information on footnotes and bibliographies using the AGLC (4th edition).
• The Academic Referencing Tool (ART), available on the La Trobe University Library's website, provides detailed examples for a number of referencing styles including AGLC4 (Law). Please note: if you experience difficulties with the flash version, try the HTML version.

Acts

Short title Year (Jurisdiction) Pinpoint reference

Example: Legal Practices Act 1996 (Vic) s 37

Bills

Short title Year (Jurisdiction)

Example: Anti-terrorism Bill 2004 (Cth)

Treaties

Treaty title, Parties names, Date Opened for Signature or Signed, Treaty Series, Date of Entry into Force

Example: Security Treaty between Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America [ANZUS], opened for signature 1 September 1951, [1952] ATS 2 (entered into force 29 April 1952)

Author, Title (Publisher, Edition, Year of publication), Page, paragraph or chapter reference.

Author names in Footnote: first name, last name   

Author names in Bibliography: last name, first name

Authored book

Example:

Chisolm, Richard and Nettheim, Garth, Understanding Law: An Introduction to Australia's Legal System (LexisNexis Butterworths, 7th ed, 2007)

Edited book

Example:

Kinley, David (ed), Human Rights in Australian Law: Principles, Practice and Potential (Federation Press, 1998)

Chapter in an edited book

Example:

Morgan, F, 'The Extent and Location of Crime', in Goldsmith, Andrew, Israel, Mark and Daly, Kathleen (eds), Crime and Justice: an Australian Textbook in Criminology (Lawbook, 2nd ed, 2003), 11

Author, 'Title' (Year) Volume Journal Title, First page number of the article, Cited page.

Journal article with continuous voluming - use round brackets for the year

Example:

Bagaric, Mirko, 'Active and Passive Euthanasia: Is there a Moral Distinction and Should there be a Legal Difference?' (1977) 5 Journal of Law and Medicine, 143.

Journal article with no continuous voluming - use square brackets for the year

Example:

Lee, HP, 'The High Court and Implied Fundamental Guarantees' [1993] Public Law 606.

Note - an article should be cited as above regardless of retrieval method (ie. print or electronic) UNLESS the article is ONLY available in electronic form. If paragraph numbers are available, these may be referred to and enclosed in square brackets.

Journal article only available on the internet (no print equivalent)

Example:

Rimmer, Matthew, 'Daubism: Copyright Law and Artistic Works' (2002) 9(4) eLaw Journal: Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law [58] <http://www.murdoch.edu.au/elaw/issues/v9n4/rimmer94.html>

Author, Title (Full date of last update), Website name <URL>

A Document published on the internet

Example:

Board of Examiners, Admission Requirements (18 February 2010), Council of Legal Education    <http://www.lawadmissions.vic.gov.au>

Secondary source-Law Reform Agency report

Name of law reform commission, Title, Report/Discussion Paper No (Year).

Example:

Australian Law Reform Commission, Essentially Yours: the Protection of Human Genetic Information in Australia, Report No 96 (2003).

Secondary source-Legal Encyclopaedia

Publisher, Title of Encyclopaedia, (at Full Date of last update) Title # Name of title, 'Chapter # Name of chapter' [Paragraph #].

Example:

LexisNexis, Halsbury's Laws of Australia, (at 15 March 2010) 85 Conflict of Laws, 'I General' [85].

Secondary source-Commentary (Loose-leaf service)

Publisher, Title of service, volume #, (at most Recent Service Number), Pinpoint

Example:

Bourke, J P, Bourke's Criminal Law, Victoria, vol 1 (at Service 95) [3.120]

Online service - volume numbers are not applicable

Example:

Thomson Reuters, Lawyers Practice Manual, Victoria (at March 2010) [1.1.401

You must reference your sources whenever you quote or paraphrase.

Quotations are covered in AGLC4 Rule 1.5

Quotation example:

Groves’ analysis of the OG judgment that ‘disclosure of academic misconduct should not be limited to formal disciplinary findings or proceedings.' 1

Paraphrase example:

Groves argues that the decision in the OG case applies to situations beyond university study. 1