About

About the Australian Guide to Legal Citation ('AGLC')

The fourth edition of the AGLC is the product of collaboration between the Melbourne University Law Review and the Melbourne Journal of International Law. The AGLC provides Australia with a uniform system of legal citation. The first edition of the AGLC was published by the Review in 1998, a second edition was published in 2002, and a third edition was published in 2010. The fourth edition has been recently published in 2018.

The AGLC outlines established citation practices and indicates preferred approaches where no particular approach has been widely adopted. It is designed for academics, legal practitioners, law students and the judiciary, and is a valuable tool for legal writing and research. The AGLC is laid out in a manner that is easy to read and includes a detailed index and helpful examples. As well as providing a set of citation principles for Australian material, the AGLC includes suggestions for citing material from Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

To obtain the AGLC, either:

  1. Order a copy; or
  2. Download the view-only PDF version; or
  3. Purchase a copy from a retailer.

NB: the view-only PDF version does not contain the appendices.

The Fourth Edition of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation ('AGLC4')

The fourth edition of the AGLC refines the enduring foundations laid down by the previous editions of the AGLC and builds upon the existing rules to ensure the ongoing relevance of the AGLC in today’s ever-changing legal landscape.

AGLC4 adds clarity to rules and includes more examples to address frequently asked citation queries. Several of the existing rules have been consolidated into general rules that apply for numerous source types, to streamline the citation process and improve consistency. A new introductory chapter for secondary sources has been created to list general rules that pertain to all secondary sources. Finally, several new rules have been added to address source types that were not previously covered by the AGLC. Important inclusions are:

  • alterations to how subsequent references are made to previously cited sources, including to which source types subsequent reference can be made;
  • amendments to the rule for short titles and a new rule for abbreviations and defined terms;
  • additional guidance for subsequent references within the same footnote;
  • new rules for citing concurring, dissenting, joint and separate judgments;
  • a simplified rule on where to include issue numbers/identifiers for journal articles;
  • a new rule for citing forthcoming and advance journal articles, and an updated rule for citing online journal articles;
  • new rules for citing intellectual property materials, constitutive documents of a corporation, periodicals, newsletters, magazines, films, television series, podcasts and social media posts;
  • an updated approach and additional explanation for citing United Nations materials, as well as updates to the rules for international tribunals;
  • an expansion of the rule for supranational materials beyond European materials; and
  • additional explanation and examples for ordering sources within a bibliography.

A document outlining the major substantive changes between AGLC3 and AGLC4 can be found here.

The Third Edition of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation ('AGLC3')

The third edition of the AGLC can be ordered from the link above, or a view-only PDF version can be found here.

Feedback

When using the AGLC, you may become aware of instances where the AGLC does not adequately address a citation issue, or there exists inconsistency between AGLC rules. The Editors welcome suggestions and feedback with the details of any problems you have encountered so that they can be addressed in the next edition of the AGLC.

Feedback can be sent by emailing us your suggestion(s) with the subject line 'AGLC Feedback'.