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AGLC4 at a glance
All citations go in footnotes. Every footnote ends with a full stop.
| Source | AGLC4 format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Reported case | Case Name (Year) Volume Report Series Page, Pinpoint (Judge) | Commonwealth v Tasmania (1983) 158 CLR 1, 291 (Deane J). |
| Unreported case | Case Name [Year] Court Identifier Number [Paragraph] | Quarmby v Keating [2009] TASSC 80 [11]. |
| Act | Title Year (Jurisdiction) Pinpoint | Evidence Act 1977 (Qld) s 8. |
| Book | Author, Title (Publisher, Edition, Year) Pinpoint | DJ Gifford and Kenneth H Gifford, How to Understand an Act of Parliament (Lawbook, 8th ed, 1994) 45. |
| Journal article | Author, 'Title' (Year) Volume(Issue) Journal Starting Page, Pinpoint | Andrew Kenyon, 'Problems with Defamation Damages?' (1998) 24(1) Monash University Law Review 70, 74. |
| Same source as the previous footnote | Ibid Pinpoint | Ibid 375. |
| Source cited in an earlier footnote | Short form (n Footnote Number) Pinpoint | Burchfield (n 1) 375. |
Every example on this page is a real, published source. The case, legislation, book, chapter and article examples are the ones used in the University of Queensland Library's AGLC4 guide, which reproduces the rule numbers and page references from the printed guide; Mabo v Queensland [No 2] is cited as the Australian Law Reform Commission cites it.
Where AGLC5 stands
The 4th edition, published in 2018, is the current AGLC. The Melbourne University Law Review and the Melbourne Journal of International Law have an AGLC5 committee preparing a fifth edition, which sought feedback from legal academia, the profession and the public before preparing the edition for publication. No publication date is given on Melbourne Law School's AGLC5 page (checked 21 September 2026; the live page would not load for us, so this is based on the Internet Archive's copy of it). Keep using AGLC4 unless your law school tells you otherwise.
What Is AGLC?
The Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC) is Australia's standard legal citation system, published by the Melbourne University Law Review and Melbourne Journal of International Law. Now in its 4th edition (2018), AGLC provides comprehensive rules for citing Australian legal materials, international sources, and secondary literature.
AGLC uses a footnote system where superscript numbers in the text correspond to citations at the bottom of each page. An optional bibliography appears at the end of the document.
Footnote Basics
AGLC citations appear in footnotes, not in the main text. Key formatting rules:
- Footnote numbers appear as superscript after the punctuation of the relevant text (rule 1.1.2, p 2)
- Every footnote ends with a full stop (rule 1.6.1, p 22); full stops are not used in abbreviations or after initials
- Pinpoint references direct readers to specific pages or paragraphs
- Use "ibid" when citing the same source as the immediately preceding footnote
Citing Cases
Reported Cases
The standard format for reported Australian cases:
Format: Party A v Party B (Year) Volume Report Series Starting Page
Examples:
¹ Commonwealth v Tasmania (1983) 158 CLR 1, 291 (Deane J).
² R v Tang (2008) 237 CLR 1.
³ Bakker v Stewart [1980] VR 17, 22 (Lush J).
Where the report series is organised by year, the volume year goes in square brackets (Bakker v Stewart [1980] VR 17); otherwise the year goes in round brackets. Where you give a pinpoint, name the judge in round brackets after it. Common Australian report abbreviations include CLR (Commonwealth Law Reports), ALR (Australian Law Reports) and FCR (Federal Court Reports). HCA, TASSC and QSC are court identifiers used in medium neutral citations, not report series.
A case decided before native title, cited as the Australian Law Reform Commission cites it in Report 126:
⁴ Mabo v Queensland [No 2] (1992) 175 CLR 1, 55–57.
Unreported Cases (Medium Neutral Citations)
An unreported judgment is cited with its medium neutral citation and a paragraph pinpoint in square brackets (rule 2.3, p 54):
⁵ Quarmby v Keating [2009] TASSC 80 [11].
⁶ Sheehy v Hobbs [2012] QSC 333 [46].
Many pre-1990s unreported judgments have no medium neutral citation. For those, give the court, the judge and the date instead:
⁷ [Case Name] ([Court], [Judge], [Full Date]).
Citing Legislation
Acts of Parliament
Format: Title of Act Year (Jurisdiction) pinpoint
Examples:
⁸ Evidence Act 1977 (Qld) s 8.
⁹ Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 34.
Jurisdiction abbreviations: Cth (Commonwealth), NSW, Vic, Qld, WA, SA, Tas, ACT, NT.
Regulations and Rules
¹⁰ Childrens Court Rules 2016 (Qld) reg 2.
Delegated legislation follows the rule for Acts; only the pinpoint abbreviation changes (order: O, regulation: reg, rule: r).
Bills
Bills take the same elements as Acts, but the title and year are not italicised:
¹¹ Major Events Bill 2014 (Qld) cl 2.
Citing Secondary Sources
Books
Format: Author, Title (Publisher, Edition, Year) Pinpoint
Examples:
¹² DJ Gifford and Kenneth H Gifford, How to Understand an Act of Parliament (Lawbook, 8th ed, 1994) 45.
¹³ Michael Evans, Equity and Trusts (LexisNexis Butterworths, 2nd ed, 2009).
¹⁴ Bobette Wolski, David Field and John Bahrij, Legal Skills: A Practical Guide for Students (Lawbook, 2006).
Give authors' names as they appear on the title page, with no space between initials. The edition appears only when it is not the first.
Chapters in Edited Books
The chapter title goes in single quotation marks, followed by "in", the editors with "(eds)", and then the book:
¹⁵ Peter Millett, 'Proprietary Restitution' in Simon Degeling and James Edelman (eds), Equity in Commercial Law (Lawbook, 1994) 123, 138.
¹⁶ Anil Hargovan, 'Business Structures' in Jason Harris, Anil Hargovan and Michael Evans (eds), Australian Corporate Law (LexisNexis Butterworths, 2nd ed, 2009) 45.
Journal Articles
Format: Author, 'Title' (Year) Volume(Issue) Journal Name Starting Page, Pinpoint
¹⁷ Andrew Kenyon, 'Problems with Defamation Damages?' (1998) 24(1) Monash University Law Review 70, 74.
¹⁸ Gary Edmond, 'What Lawyers Should Know about the Forensic "Sciences"' (2015) 36(1) Adelaide Law Review 33, 34.
Give the full journal title in italics, omitting a leading "The", and leave no space between the volume and the issue number.
Short Citations and Ibid
Ibid
Use "ibid" when citing the same source as the immediately preceding footnote:
1 R W Burchfield, The New Fowler's Modern English Usage (Oxford University Press, 3rd ed, 1996) 374.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid 375.
Repeat the pinpoint only when it changes.
Subsequent References
For sources cited earlier (but not immediately preceding), use a shortened form:
1 R W Burchfield, The New Fowler's Modern English Usage (Oxford University Press, 3rd ed, 1996) 374.
2 Terry Hutchinson, Researching and Writing in Law (Lawbook, 2nd ed, 2006) 51.
...
7 Burchfield (n 1) 375.
"n" is not used for the immediately preceding footnote, except where that footnote contains several sources.
Bibliography Format
The bibliography lists the materials you relied on, under lettered sub-headings (rule 1.13, p 35). The first-listed author's name is inverted, entries are ordered by that surname (or by title), and entries do not end with a full stop.
Headings: A Articles/Books/Reports, B Cases, C Legislation, D Treaties, E Other.
Example entries:
A Articles/Books/Reports
Gifford, DJ and Kenneth H Gifford, How to Understand an Act of Parliament (Lawbook, 8th ed, 1994)
Kenyon, Andrew, 'Problems with Defamation Damages?' (1998) 24(1) Monash University Law Review 70
AGLC vs Bluebook
| Feature | AGLC | Bluebook |
|---|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Australia | United States |
| Case names | Italicized | Italicized |
| Legislation titles | Italicized | Regular text |
| Subsequent citations | Ibid, and (n X) cross-reference | Short form with supra |
| Current edition | 4th (2018) | See legalbluebook.com |
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Missing the closing full stop: every AGLC footnote ends with a full stop; bibliography entries do not
- Wrong jurisdiction abbreviation: use "Cth" not "C'th" or "Commonwealth"
- Forgetting pinpoints: Always include page or paragraph references when citing specific content
- Misusing ibid: Only use when the immediately preceding footnote cites the same source
- Incorrect italicization: Case names and legislation titles should be italicized; report series should not
References
- Melbourne University Law Review Association and Melbourne Journal of International Law, Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed, 2018) — the printed guide; we could not download it from Melbourne Law School's site, so the rules and examples on this page are taken from the library guide below, which gives the rule number and page in the printed guide for each one
- University of Queensland Library, Australian Guide to Legal Citation 4th edition, last updated 14 July 2026, accessed 21 September 2026
- James Cook University Library, Law Guide: Referencing, accessed 21 September 2026
- Australian Law Reform Commission, Connection to Country: Review of the Native Title Act 1993 (ALRC Report 126), "The framework: Mabo [No 2]", accessed 21 September 2026
- Melbourne Law School, AGLC5, read through the Internet Archive on 21 September 2026
