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This guide has now been superseded. 

If you are required to use 'Harvard' style referencing please check with your subject coordinator as to which version of Harvard to use.

The  Australian Government Style Manual (Author-Date) is the updated version of what has been traditionally called Harvard in Australia.

If you are a subject coordinator / lecturer, we would encourage you to investigate other Author-Date styles that have more up to date and comprehensive manuals:

Why?  

If you go to the Harvard University Library website, you will find an answer to the following question: What is the Harvard system for citing references?

Essentially, it explains that Harvard is not a style of its own.  It is just another name for an Author-Date system of referencing.

In Australia, universities and other education institutions base their 'Harvard' (Author-Date) style of referencing on the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts' (DCITA) Style Manual: for Authors, Editors and Printers (6th edition) by Snooks & Co, published by John Wiley & Sons in 2002. 

Until recently, Style Manual: for Authors, Editors and Printers (2002) had not been updated in many years which is why each university and educational institution in Australia has a slightly different version of the 'Harvard' style. There are simply not enough examples in the 2002 edition to account for all the different types of resources and as a result, interpretations of how to reference in the 'Harvard' style varies widely.

In 2020, Style Manual: for Authors, Editors and Printers (2002) was replaced by the Australian Government Style Manual - a digital edition with ongoing updates. The Author-Date style that the Australian Government Style Manual uses is very different to the 2002 version and the ongoing updates mean that an La Trobe University version would be difficult to maintain.