Library Guides: APA 6th referencing style: Government legislation

About referencing legislation

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association refers to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation for referencing legislation. However, this does not cover Australian materials.

For Australian legislation, the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (3rd ed.) has been used. The examples for this guide are based on this format.

Act

Elements of the reference																														Short Title of the Act - italicised Year - italicised (Jurisdiction abbreviation) s. Subdivision number - if applicable. Retrieved from http://www.xxxxxx Long title should only be used if there is no short title.
In-text reference																														(Major Events Act 2014 (Qld) s. 3) Major Events Act 2014 (Qld) states that .... EndNote: In Edit & Manage Citations, choose Exclude Year in Formatting. Then in Suffix field, type space (Qld) and OK.
Reference list																														Major Events Act 2014 (Qld). Retrieved from https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/inforce/current/act-2014-060
EndNote reference type																														Electronic Book Add Act title Year to Title field Add Jurisdiction abbreviation to Year field

Bill

Elements of the reference																														Short Title of the Bill Year (Jurisdiction abbreviation) s. Subdivision number - if applicable. Retrieved from http://www.xxxxxx Long title should only be used if there is no short title
In-text reference																														Healthy Futures Commission Queensland Bill 2017 (Qld) s. 23 As found in the Healthy Futures Commission Queensland Bill (2017, s. 23) ..... EndNote: In Edit & Manage Citations, add comma space s. 23 in Suffix box. Convert to Plain Text as last step. Edit in-text reference to remove quotation marks and add brackets around jurisdiction.
Reference list																														Healthy Futures Commission Queensland Bill 2017 (Qld) s. 23. Retrieved from https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/bill.first/bill-2017-007
EndNote reference type																														Web page Add jurisdiction abbreviation to Year field Add section to Edition field

Parliamentary debates (Hansard)

Elements of the reference																														Jurisdiction. Parliamentary debates. Chamber. Day Month Year. Volume. Retrieved from http://xxx.xxxxx
In-text reference																														(Commonwealth, 2010) Go to "dit and Management Citations in Word and add , Year to Suffix text box
Reference list																														Commonwealth. Parliamentary debates. Senate. 2 February 2010. 1. Retrieved from http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/chamber/hansards/2010-02-02/toc_pdf/7347-8.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf#search=%222010s%202010%22
EndNote reference type																														Unpublished work. Add Chamber to Department field Add Day Month Year to Date field Add Volume number to Place Published field

Australian jurisdiction abbreviations

Jurisdiction																																																		Abbreviation
Commonwealth																																																		Cth
Australian Capital Territory																																																		ACT
New South Wales																																																		NSW
Northern Territory																																																		NT
Queensland																																																		Qld
South Australia																																																		SA
Tasmania																																																		Tas
Victoria																																																		Vic
Western Australia																																																		WA

Source: (Melbourne University Law Review Association & Melbourne Journal of International Law, 2010, p. 65).