THEUNIVERSITYOFQUEENSLAND

TCBEIRNESCHOOLOFLAW
AGUIDETOCITATIONOFSOURCESINASSIGNMENTS

A.

BASICPRINCIPLES...................................................................................................................2

B.

FOOTNOTES............................................................................................................................2
1.
2.
3.
4.

C.

SPECIFICTYPESOFSOURCES...................................................................................................4
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

D.

WHENTOFOOTNOTE[AGLC31.1.1]......................................................................................................2
FORMATANDCONTENT.........................................................................................................................3
PLACEMENT[AGLC31.1.2]...................................................................................................................3
SUBSEQUENTREFERENCES[AGLC31.4]...................................................................................................3
(a) Immediatelyfollowing..........................................................................................................3
(b) Otherthanimmediatelyfollowing........................................................................................4

CASELAW[AGLC32]...........................................................................................................................4
LEGISLATION[AGLC33]........................................................................................................................6
JOURNALARTICLES[AGLC34]................................................................................................................6
BOOKS[AGLC35]................................................................................................................................7
BOOKCHAPTERS[AGLC35.5]...............................................................................................................8
NEWSPAPERARTICLES[AGLC36.5]........................................................................................................8
INTERNETMATERIALS[AGLC36.15].......................................................................................................8
BIBLIOGRAPHIES.....................................................................................................................9

A.

BASICPRINCIPLES

The Australian Guide to Legal Citation (3rd ed) (AGLC3) is the standard for citation of
sourcesforthepurposesofassessmentwithintheLawSchool.
ThisGuideshouldbereadinconjunctionwiththeAGLC3.WhereanythinginthisGuide
isinconsistentwiththeAGLC3,thelattershallprevail.
WherethereisnothingineitherthisGuideortheAGLC3whichprovidesamethodof
citingaparticulartypeofsource,youshoulddeviseamethodofcitationforthatsource
whichisconsistentwiththegeneralschemeoftheAGLC3.

B.

FOOTNOTES

1.

WhentoFootnote[AGLC31.1.1]
Youmust,asageneralrule,supportstatementsoflegalpropositionswithappropriate
authority.Whenassertingthataparticularpropositionissettledlaw,youshoulduseprimary
sources(i.e.casesandlegislation)ratherthansecondarysources(e.g.journalarticles,
textbooks).Wherethelawisunclearorindispute,youmayusesecondarysourcestosupport
anargumentinfavourofonepropositionoranother.Rememberthatsecondarysources
provideinformationoropinionsaboutwhatthelawisoroughttobe,buttheyarenotsources
oflawinthemselves.Moreover,statementsmadebyalecturerinthecourseLearningGuide
orinclasshavenoauthorityindependentlyoftheprimaryandsecondarysourcesuponwhich
thelecturerhasrelied.LearningGuidesandlecturesaremeanttoguideyouthroughthe
primaryandsecondarysources.Theyarenotasubstituteforengagingwiththeprimaryand
secondarysourcesdirectly.
Whereveryourargumentreliesuponmaterialinaprimaryorsecondarysource,youshould
makeafootnotereferencetothesource.Somepropositionsoflawaresowellestablishedor
sobasicoraxiomaticthatareferencetoasourceisnotrequired.
Example:
Apromisesetforthinadeedisenforceableatcommonlawatthesuitofapartytothe
deed,notwithstandingtheabsenceofconsideration.
However,ifyouuseanotherpersonsideas,opinionsortheoriesyoumustcitethesource.
WHENINDOUBT,CITETHESOURCE.
Ofcourse,ifyouuseaformofwordswhichyouhavefoundinaprimaryorsecondarysource,
youmustindicatewhichwordshavebeentakenfromthatsourcebytheuseofquotation
marks,andcitethesourceusingapinpointreference[AGLC31.1.5].
Wheretwoormoresentencesconstitutewhatis,ineffect,asinglepropositionandthat
propositionisdrawnfromorinspiredbythesamepage(orparagraph)ofthesamesource,it
issufficienttoinsertonefootnoteonlyattheendofthelastrelevantsentence.

2.

FormatandContent
Footnotesshouldcontainsufficientinformationaboutthecitedsourcetoenablethereaderto
retrievethesource,ifthereaderchoosestodoso.Itisalsodesirablethatthereaderisableto
formapreliminaryjudgementaboutthecurrency,relevanceandweightofthesource.
Therefore,footnotereferencesshould,asageneralrule,containthefollowinginformation:

the authors name or, if no author is named, the name of the organisation which
producedthepublication,e.g.AustralianLawReformCommission;
thetitleofthesource;
theyearinwhichthesourcewasproducedorpublished;
the title of any larger work or publication in which the source was found (where
applicable);
the place of publication (if this is not apparent from the other information in the
footnote)

Whereafootnotereferstomorethanonesource,youmustseparatethecitationsofthe
sourcesbysemicolons.
YoumustnumberfootnotessequentiallyusingArabicnumbers(i.e.1,2,3).Ifyouare
preparingaworkwithmultiplechapters,e.g.athesisforaresearchhigherdegree,youmust
recommencethenumberingoffootnotesatthebeginningofeachchapter.
ExamplesoffootnoteformatsforspecifictypesofsourcesappearinSectionCbelow.
3.

Placement[AGLC31.1.2]
TheAGLC3statesthatordinarilyfootnotereferencesshouldbeplacedaftertherelevant
punctuation.Thisisparticularlyappropriatewherethewholeoftheprecedingsentencerefers
toorisdrawnfromorinspiredbythesource.
Example:
Copehasnotedthatfiduciaryrelationshipswhichariseoutofjointventureagreements
are likely to be more limited in scope than those which are associated with
partnerships.1

MalcolmCope,EquitableObligations:Duties,DefencesandRemedies(Lawbook,2007)
80.
4.

SubsequentReferences[AGLC31.4]
(a)

Immediatelyfollowing
Wherereferencestothesamesourceappearinconsecutivefootnotes,thesecond
footnoteshouldusetheexpressionIbid.Wherethesecondfootnotereferstothe
samepage(orparagraph)asthefirstfootnote,Ibidissufficient.Wherethesecond
footnotereferstoadifferentpage(orparagraph)inthesamesource,thesecond
3

footnoteshouldrefertothenewpageorparagraphnumber,asthecasemaybe.
(Whetheryoushouldrefertopagesorparagraphsdependsuponthewaythatthe
particularsourceisorganisedseeSectionCbelow.)Ibidshouldbecapitalisedwhenit
appearsatthebeginningofafootnote.ThereisnoneedtoitaliciseIbid,eventhough
ithasaLatinorigin.
(b)

Otherthanimmediatelyfollowing
Abovenshouldbeusedwhereasourcehasbeencitedinapreviousfootnoteother
thantheimmediatelyprecedingfootnote,orintheimmediatelyprecedingfootnote
whereitisnottheonlysourceinthatfootnote.
Examples:

MalcolmCope,EquitableObligations:Duties,DefencesandRemedies(Lawbook,
2007)153.
2
Ibid154.
3
KeechvSandford(1726)SelCasTKing61;25ER223.
4
Cope,aboven1,156.
Wheremorethanoneworkbythesameauthorisreferredtointhefootnoteinwhich
thesourcesarefirstmentioned,thesourcesmaybedistinguishedinsubsequent
footnotesbyincludinganabbreviatedversionofthetitleinthereference,e.g.Cope,
EquitableObligations,aboven1,157.
Abovenshouldnotbeusedforcasesorlegislationorsomeotherspecificmaterials
[AGLC31.4.2].Subsequentreferencescanuseashortenedversionofthecasename
[seeAGLC32.14];howeverlegislationshouldbecitedinfullinallsubsequent
references[AGLC33.9].
C.

SPECIFICTYPESOFSOURCES

1.

CaseLaw[AGLC32]
Whereacaseisreportedinaprintlawreportsseries,thecitationshouldconsistof:

thecasename,initalics,orifyouareunabletoitalicise,underlined;
the year in brackets parentheses, i.e. (2008), for reports which have sequential
volumenumbersandsquarebrackets,i.e.[2008],wheretheyearisneededinorderto
locatethecorrectvolume;
therecognisedabbreviationofthenameoftheseriesoflawreports.
thepagenumberatwhichthereportofthecasecommences;
thepinpointpagenumber,separatedfromthecommencingpagenumberbyacomma
(onlywhenreferringtoaspecificstatementinthejudgment);
thenameofthejudgeinparentheses(optional);and
thenameofthecourt(whenthisisnotapparentfromthecitationofthecaseorhas
notbeenstatedinthemaintext).
4

Whereacasehasbeenreportedintheauthorisedreportsforthatcourt,youshouldusethat
citationinpreferencetoanyothercitationwhichyoumayhave[AGLC32.3.1].Foracomplete
listofauthorisedreports,consultAppendixCofLayingDowntheLaw,7thedbyCooketal.
Example:
MuschinskivDodds(1985)160CLR583,620(DeaneJ).
Whereacaseisnotreportedinprintreportsoryouareunabletogetaccesstoaprintversion
ofthereport,themediumneutralcitation,whichisusedinrelationtotheelectronic
reportingofthecase,maybeused.
Example:
FarahConstructionsPtyLtdvSayDeePtyLtd[2007]HCA22[181].
Notethatthisformathasajudgmentnumber,ratherthanacommencingpagenumber,and
pinpointreferencesaretobemadeusingtheparagraphnumberinsquarebrackets.
WhereanEnglishcasewasoriginallyreportedinthesocallednominatereports,thereference
shouldincludethecitationofthecaseinboththenominatereportseriesandtheEnglish
Reports.
Example:
KeechvSandford(1726)SelCasTKing61;25ER223.
Notethecorrectformsforreferringtoparticularcategoriesofjudges:
Writing
LordHailshamofStMaryleboneLC

Speech
The Lord Chancellor, Lord Hailsham of St
Marylebone/MyLord/HisLordship
LordWilberforce/MyLord/HisLordship
LadyHale/MyLady/HerLadyship
ChiefJusticeGleeson/HisHonour
The Master of the Rolls, Lord Denning / My
Lord/HisLordship
LordJusticeDanckwerts/HisLordship
LadyJusticeArden/HerLadyship
PresidentMcMurdo/HerHonour
JusticeofAppealWilliams/HisHonour
TheViceChancellor,SirRobertMegarry/His
Lordship
JusticeBeatson/HisLordship
JusticeKiefel/HerHonour

LordWilberforce
BaronessHale
GleesonCJ
LordDenningMR
DanckwertsLJ
ArdenLJ
McMurdoP
WilliamsJA
MegarryVC
BeatsonJ
KiefelJ

Whereacaseisreferredtoaspartofthetext,thecasenameshouldbeomittedinafootnote
citationifthecasenameappearsinfullinthesentenceaccompanyingthefootnote[AGLC3
2.1.15].

Example:
InThomasvMowbray,1thecontrolorderregimeestablishedundertheschedule
survivedaconstitutionalchallenge.
1

(2007)233CLR307.

However,ifthecasenamedoesnotappearinfullinthetext(becauseitisadefinedshort
titleinaccordancewith[AGLC32.1.14])thenthefullcasenamemustbeincludedinthe
footnote.
Example:
InAlKateb,severalHighCourtJusticesdiscussedtheroleofinternationallawin
Australianconstitutionalinterpretation.1
1

AlKatebvGodwin(2004)219CLR562.

2.

Legislation[AGLC33]
Thecitationshouldconsistof:

theshorttitleoftheActorRegulations(or,ifthereisnoshorttitle,thelongtitle),in
italicsor,ifyouareunabletoitalicise,underlined;
theyearinitalicsorunderlined;
therecognisedabbreviationoftherelevantjurisdiction,inparentheses;and
thepinpointreferencetotherelevantsectionorsubsection(ifapplicable).

Example:
AgriculturalChemicalsDistributionControlAct1966(Qld)s3
Whereyouarereferringtoalegislativeprovisioninthetextofyourwork,youshouldwriteas
youwouldspeak.
Example:
INCORRECTTrustsAct1973(Qld)s58statesthat
CORRECTSection58oftheTrustsAct1973(Qld)statesthat
3.

JournalArticles[AGLC34]
Youmustincludethefollowinginformation:

theauthorsnameasitappearsatthebeginningofthearticle;
thetitleofthearticle;
the year in brackets parentheses, i.e. (2008), for reports which have sequential
volumenumbersandsquarebrackets,i.e.[2008],wherethevolumesaredesignatedby
yearratherthanvolume;
thevolumenumber(ifapplicable);

where the page numbers are not numbered continuously throughout the entire
volume,therelevantissuenumber,inparentheses;
thefulljournaltitle,initalicsor,whereyouareunabletoitalicise,underlined;
thepagenumberatwhichthearticlecommences;and
anyapplicablepinpointreference,separatedfromtheotherinformationbyacomma.

Examples:
RB Grantham and CEF Rickett, Property Rights as a Legally Significant Event [2003]
CambridgeLawJournal717.

RichardNolan,PropertyinaFund(2004)120LawQuarterlyReview108.

Vincent P Bantz, Rachel Baird and Anthony E Cassimatis, After 60 Years The United
NationsandInternationalLegalOrder(2005)24UniversityofQueenslandLawJournal
259,261.

JeremyShearmur,FreeSpeech,OffenceandReligion(2006)22(2)Policy21,24.
4.

Books[AGLC35]
Inaccordancewiththeprinciplethatthereadershouldbeabletolocatethesourceusingthe
citation,thecitationforabookshouldincludethefollowinginformation:

thename(s)oftheauthor(s)astheyappearonthetitlepageofthebook,i.e.whether
youusethefullfirstnameorinitialsonly(separatedbyaspace,notafullstop)depends
uponwhatappearsonthetitlepage;
thetitleofthebook,initalicsor,ifyouareunabletoitalicise,underlined;
thepublishersname;
wherethereismorethanoneeditionofthebook,therelevantedition;
theyearofpublication;and
a pinpoint reference to a page number (if applicable), separated from the other
informationbyacomma(unlessitfollowsaclosedparenthesis).

Examples:
EISykesetal,GeneralPrinciplesofAdministrativeLaw(Butterworths,4thed,1997)107.

Mark Aronson, Bruce Dyer and Matthew Groves, Judicial Review of Administrative
Action(LawBook,4thed,2009).
Notethatiftherearemorethanthreeauthors,onlythefirstnamedauthoriscited,followed
bythenotationetal.[AGLC31.14.2].Thereisnoneedtoitaliciseetal,eventhoughthe
phrasehasaLatinorigin.
Whereabookhasnumberedparagraphs,thepinpointreferencemaybetoaparagraph
numberratherthantoapagenumber,ifthisismoreconvenient.Youmustplacethe
paragraphnumberinsquarebrackets.
7

5.

BookChapters[AGLC35.5]
Youmustinclude,inadditiontothecitationofthebook,thenameoftheauthorofthe
chapter,thetitleofthechapter,thepagenumberofthebookatwhichthechapter
commencesandanyrelevantpinpointreference.
Example:
LionelSmith,TracinginAndrewBurrowsandLordRodgerofEarlsferry(eds),Mapping
theLaw:EssaysinMemoryofPeterBirks(OxfordUniversityPress,2006)119,123.

6.

NewspaperArticles[AGLC36.5]
Theessentialinformationisthenameoftheauthor,thetitleofthearticle,thetitleofthe
newspaper,theplaceofpublication(inparentheses),thedateandthepagenumber.
Example:
Ashley Midalia, Jury Fails Again to Reach Verdict, The Australian Financial Review
(Sydney),19December2007,3.
Ifyouobtainthearticlefromtheinterneteditionofthenewspaper,includetheUniform
ResourceLocator(URL)inlieuofthepagenumber.

7.

InternetMaterials[AGLC36.15]
Donotciteinternetmaterialsiftheworkisaccessibleinpublishedform.Youshouldexercise
carefuljudgementaboutwhetheryoushoulduseinternetmaterialsasasourceatall.
Rememberthatpracticallyanyonecanplacematerialontheinternetoreditmaterialon
certainwebsites(e.g.Wikipedia).Itisimportanttothinkaboutwhatitisthatmakesthe
sourceauthoritativeinrelationtothematterforwhichthesourceiscited.Youshould
considerwhether,forexample:

theauthorhasareputationasanexpertinthefield;
thewebsiteisarecognisedrepositoryofinformationofaparticulartype,e.g.AustLIIor
QueenslandParliamentaryCounselwebsite;
theinformationcomesfromanarticleinareputablejournalwhichisavailableonlyin
electronicformat;or
thesourceisagovernmentdepartmentorotherauthoritativeorganisation.

Thecitationshouldincludesufficientinformationtoenableareadertoformajudgement
abouttheauthoritativenessofthesource.Certainly,youshouldincludeasmuchofthe
followingmaterialasisavailable:

theauthorsname,ifknown;
thetitleofthedocumentortherelevantsectionorpagewithinthewebsite,insingle
invertedcommas,i.e.likethetitleofajournalarticleorbookchapter;
the website name (i.e. the homepage name), if this is different from the name of the
document,sectionorpage,initalicsorunderlined,i.e.likethetitleofabook;
8

apinpointreference,ifrelevantandfeasible;
theUniformResourceLocator(URL)totherelevantpageorsection,enclosedin<>.

Thedateofpublicationisaparticularproblem.Ifthematerialbeingcitedisanarticleinan
electronicjournaloranotheracademicpaperwhichisonlyavailableonlineandbearsa
particulardate,thenyoushouldplacethedateinparenthesesafterthetitleofthedocument.
Iftheinformationistakenfromagovernmentorotherpublicinformationwebsite(and,
accordingly,maybeupdatedfromtimetotime)youshouldincludethedateofthelastupdate
ofthewebpage[seeAGLC36.15.3].
Examples:
AustralianElectoralCommission,HowtheHouseofRepresentativevotesarecounted,
Australian Electoral Commission, <www.aec.gov.au/Voting/counting/index.htm> (at 17
December2007).

NicoleeDixon,AnexcisebyanyothernameisstillanexciseNationalLawReview1,
(1997)<http://pandora.nla.gov.au/npharch/01998Mar
19//http://www.nlr.com.au/ARTICLES/001/001EXCIS.HTM>.
D.

BIBLIOGRAPHIES
Unlessyouarespecificallyrequestedtodoso,youdonothavetoprovideaseparate
bibliography.
Whereabibliographyisrequired,itshouldlistallsourceswhichwererelieduponinthe
readingandresearchstageoftheassignmentprocess,evenifthosesourceswerenotusedin
thetextorinfootnotes.Abibliographyenablesthemarkertogainanideaofthebreadthand
depthofresearchundertakenfortheassignment.
Fortheformatofbibliographies,seeAGLC31.16.