LibGuides: APA7: Legal Materials

Legal Materials

In-text referencing

In the case of Mabo v. Queensland (1988), the judgement...

This was disputed by council for the plaintiff (Lessard v. Schmidt, 1972)...

Reference List

Case Name (Year) Volume number Report series Starting page number.

Case Name [Year] Report series Starting page number.

Mabo v. Queensland (1988) 166 CLR 186.

Springfield v. Registrar of Births Deaths and Marriages (General) [2011] VCAT 130. http://www6.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/vic/VCAT/2011/130.html

Notes

For in-text citations, cite the name of the case in italics and the year of the decision.

For legal cases, the details which must be included are:

Year - If the volumes of the law report are organised by year, put the relevant year in square brackets [ ]. If the reports are organised by volume number (i.e. the year is not an essential part of the citation of the relevant law report), put the year the case was decided in parentheses (i.e. round brackets) ( ). Note that some reports have changed from one system to the other. For example, for volumes of the Victorian Reports prior to the year 2000, put the year in square brackets; from 2000 onwards use round brackets.
Volume number - As noted, many reports are organised by volume number. However, even where a law report series is organised by year, some years may have two or more volumes per year. For example, [1996] 2 VR is the second volume of the Victorian Reports for the year 1996.
Report series - Use the abbreviation for the name of the report series, not the full title. The report itself should indicate the relevant abbreviation. Lists of report series and their abbreviations are to be found in Appendix A to the AGLC and in Peter Butt (ed) Butterworths Concise Australian Legal Dictionary (LexisNexis Butterworths, 3rd ed, 2004), Appendix B.
Page - Put the page at which the case report begins.
It is optional to add a URL to the end of the reference.
For detailed guidelines, the APA style guide refers readers to The Bluebook: A uniform system of citation (Bluebook, 2015), however this does not cover Australian law and cases.
In Australia, the following is used as a standard for Legal Referencing: Australian Guide to Legal Citation (Melbourne University Law Review Association, 4th ed, 2018). AGLC should also be consulted when referencing international legal documents.

Source: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed., pp. 355-368); Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed.)

In-text referencing

Queensland's Anti-Discrimination Act (1991, s.15) stated that ...

According to the Commonwealth Copyright Act (1968) ...

Reference List

Short Title of Act Year (Jurisdiction abbreviation) section if relevant.

Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).

Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld) s. 15.

Short Title of Bill Year (Jurisdiction abbreviation).

Liquor Control Reform Amendment (Licensing) Bill 2009 (Vic). https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/bills/liquor-control-reform-amendment-licensing-bill-2009

Notes

For in-text citations, cite the name of the case in italics and include the year passed.

For Acts, the details which must be included are:

Title of the Act - Put in italics.
Year - Put in italics.
Jurisdiction - Use abbreviation and round brackets: (Cth) for Commonwealth or the (State abbreviation).
Pinpoint - Identify the particular section, paragraph, part, schedule, etc.
It is optional to add a URL to the end of the reference.
The year is written in italics as it is considered to be part of the title of the Act.
When referring to a specific section of the legislation, use s. (meaning 'section').
For detailed guidelines, the APA style guide refers readers to The Bluebook: A uniform system of citation (Bluebook, 2015), however this does not cover Australian law and cases.
In Australia, the following is used as a standard for Legal Referencing: Australian Guide to Legal Citation (Melbourne University Law Review Association, 4th ed, 2018). AGLC should also be consulted when referencing international legal documents.

Source: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed., pp. 355-368); Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed.)

In-text referencing

Section 14 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations 2020(NSW)…

or (Education and Care Services National Regulations 2020(NSW) s 14)

Reference List

Title of regulation year(jurisdiction) URL

Education and Care Services National Regulations 2020(NSW). https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/sl-2011-0653

Notes

For in-text citations cite the name of the regulation and the year it passed in italics as well as the Jurisdiction and the section of the legislation you are referring to.

For Acts, the details which must be included are:

Title of the Act - Put in italics.
Year - Put in italics.
Jurisdiction - Use abbreviation and round brackets: (Cth) for Commonwealth or the (State abbreviation).
It is optional to add a URL to the end of the reference.
The year is written in italics as it is considered to be part of the title of the Act.
When referring to a specific section of the legislation, use s. (meaning 'section').
For detailed guidelines, the APA style guide refers readers to The Bluebook: A uniform system of citation (Bluebook, 2015), however this does not cover Australian law and cases.
In Australia, the following is used as a standard for Legal Referencing: Australian Guide to Legal Citation (Melbourne University Law Review Association, 4th ed, 2018). AGLC should also be consulted when referencing international legal documents.

In-text referencing

(United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989)

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)

Reference List

Name of Treaty or Convention, Month Day, Year, Source or URL

Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, July 27, 1929, 75 U.N.T.S. 135

Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, December 11, 11997. http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.pdf

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, November 20, 1989, http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx

Notes

A Treaty or Convention is a formal agreement to a standard of behaviour between Sovereign States or International organisations
May be called a Treaty, a Pact, a Protocol, an Understanding or an Agreement
The reference should include the name of the treaty or convention, when it was signed, and the URL if available.

Source: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed., pp. 355-368); Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed.)