Skip to Main Content

University Library

Referencing style - AGLC4: Legislation

This Guide provides basic information on formatting references according to the Australian Guide to Legal Citation 4. It also provides information on using AGLC4 with EndNote.

Legislation

Elements of an Act of Parliament

Example Casino Control Act 1991 (Vic) s 18
Element Title Year Jurisdiction Pinpoint
AGLC Rule 3.1.1 3.1.2 3.1.3 3.1.4 - 3.1.7

The table below includes examples of Legislation and the various elements to include and the formatting to use, to construct the citations correctly. 

 

Legislation

Material Type

(AGLC Rule)

Footnote Example

Bibliography Example

Australian Constitutions

(Rule 3.6)

1 Australian Constitution s 22.

Australian Constitution

Statutes (Acts of Parliament)

(Rule 3.1)

1 Criminal Code Act Compilation Act 1913 (WA) s 5 ('Criminal Code'). 

[Subsequent citation]

4 Criminal Code (n1) s 8. 

Note: A short title may be given to a portion of an Act, a piece of delegated legislation or a Bill. The short title should be placed after the pinpoint to the relevant portion. See Rule 3.5.

Criminal Code Act Compilation Act 1913 (WA)

 

1 Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) s 52.

Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth)
 

 1 Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 (Cth) sch 2A item 3.

Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 (Cth)

Bills

(Rule 3.2)

 1 Criminal Investigation (Identifying People) Amendment Bill 2012 (WA) cl 3. Criminal Investigation (Identifying People) Amendment Bill 2012 (WA)

Delegated Legislation (rules, regulations, orders)

(Rule 3.4)

1 Criminal Procedure Regulations 2005 (WA) reg 6A.

Criminal Procedure Regulations 2005 (WA)
 

1 Supreme Court Rules 1971 (WA) ords 5, 6.

Note: For further details on abbreviations see AGLC guide, Table 3.4

Supreme Court Rules 1971 (Cth)

Explanatory Memoranda

(Rule 3.7)

 1 Explanatory Memorandum, Conservation and Land Management Amendment Bill 2002 (WA). Explanatory Memorandum, Conservation and Land Management Amendment Bill 2002 (WA)

Gazettes

(Rule 3.9.1)

1 Western Australia, Western Australian Government Gazette, No 30, 28 February 2014, 526.

Western Australia, Western Australian Government Gazette, No 30, 28 February 2014

 

Common mistakes

When you cite Legislation, certain elements must be included in the citation, but it is very easy to overlook certain elements and make common mistakes. Here are some common mistakes that are made when citing Legislation: 

  • Not italicising the Title. Titles of Legislation must be italicised. See Rule 1.8.2 for more information. Always remember to italicise the Titles of any Legislation you are citing. NB: Except for Bills. The titles of Bills should not be italicised. See Rule 3.2
  • Not italicising the year. The year needs to be in italics as well!
  • Italicising the Jurisdiction. The jurisdiction does not need to be italicised. It needs to be placed in (brackets). For information Jurisdictions, please see Rule 3.1.3. 
  • Not including a space between the abbreviated designation and the number in the pinpoint - you must include a space between the abbreviation and the number - s 55. For more information on Legislation pinpoint references, please see Rules 3.1.4 and 3.1.5.  

CONTENT LICENCE

 Except for logos, Canva designs, AI generated images or where otherwise indicated, content in this guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence.