AGLC Citation Generator

Your AGLC4 citations

Enter the case name and its law report, neutral citation or court details to see your footnotes.

How to Use the AGLC Citation Generator

1. 1. Choose what you are citing. A case, an Act or regulations, a journal article, a book or parliamentary debates.
2. 2. Enter the details. For a case, the name and the authorised report (or the neutral citation if it has no report). For an Act, the title with its year and the jurisdiction. For an article or book, the author, title, publication details and first page.
3. 3. Add a pinpoint. A page, a [paragraph] or both for a case; a section for an Act; a page for a book or article. Spans are shortened for you.
4. 4. Copy the footnote. Italics survive the paste into Word or Google Docs. Give the first footnote's number to get the later footnote, and use the bibliography line if your faculty asks for one.

AGLC4 or AGLC5: Which Edition?

The Australian Guide to Legal Citation is published by the Melbourne University Law Review Association with the Melbourne Journal of International Law, and Melbourne Law School makes the fourth edition (2018) available free at law.unimelb.edu.au/mulr/aglc. A fifth edition is in preparation — the Review's AGLC5 page describes a consultation that began in 2023 — but as far as we could find it had not been published when this page was last checked in October 2026. AGLC4 is therefore the current edition, and it is the one this generator follows. If your law school announces a switch, its guide takes precedence.

How AGLC4 Cites a Case

The case name is in italics, followed by the report. AGLC4 asks for the authorised report where there is one — CLR, FCR, VR, NSWLR — and never gives parallel citations, so a case with a CLR citation does not also carry its neutral citation. The year is in round brackets when the series is numbered by volume, (2009) 238 CLR 1, and in square brackets when the series is organised by year, [1980] VR 17. A case with no report is cited by its medium neutral citation, [2017] HCA 4, and one with neither by its court, judge and date in brackets.

A pinpoint follows a comma. Pages come first and paragraphs go in square brackets after them, as in 125–6 [365]; a span of pages is shortened to the digits that differ, but a span of paragraphs is written out, [50]–[59]. The judge goes in brackets after the pinpoint, and a short title in brackets after that.

AGLC4 Citation Examples

Cases

Pape v Federal Commissioner of Taxation, first cited in footnote 81 with a short title, then cited again; and the same case as a bibliography entry, which takes no pinpoint and no full stop.

A judgment cited by its medium neutral citation takes a paragraph pinpoint only, and one without a neutral citation gives the court, judge and date and then a page with no punctuation between.

Legislation

The title and year are in italics and the jurisdiction is in roman type in brackets: Cth, ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Tas, Vic, WA. The pinpoint is an abbreviation and a number, such as s 18C, and a short title is introduced after it. Regulations and rules are cited the same way.

Journal articles, books and Hansard

Authors' names appear as on the title page, with initials closed up and no full stops (HLA Hart). An article title is in single quotation marks and capitalised under rule 1.7; the journal is in full and in italics, with no comma before the first page. A book title is in italics, and the publisher, edition and year share one pair of brackets. Hansard gives the jurisdiction, Parliamentary Debates in italics, the chamber, the full date, a page and, if you like, the speaker.

Later Footnotes, Ibid and Short Titles

The first citation of a source is always given in full. After that, AGLC4 lets you use a short title or the author's surname with a cross-reference in brackets — Pape (n 81) — and a short title must be introduced in the first footnote, after any pinpoint and brackets. Ibid, capitalised at the start of a footnote, refers to the single source in the footnote immediately before, pinpoint included; do not repeat an identical pinpoint, and add a different one without a comma, as in Ibid 162. Do not use it if the previous footnote cites several sources. Spans of numbers are shortened (121–7, 436–62) except that a final pair from 10 to 19 stays whole (215–19).

Common Mistakes

• Giving a parallel citation. AGLC4 cites the authorised report only: (2016) 257 CLR 42, not also a neutral citation or ALR.
• Writing p or pg before a page. A pinpoint is a bare number; paragraphs are in square brackets and are not preceded by para.
• Putting the jurisdiction in italics. Italicise the title and year of an Act, not (Cth).
• Shortening a paragraph span. Write [50]–[59], not [50–9].
• Leaving the full stop off a footnote — or adding one to a bibliography entry.
• Using a short title you never introduced. Put it in brackets and quotation marks in the first footnote.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you cite a case in AGLC4?

Give the case name in italics, then the authorised report, a comma and the pinpoint: Pape v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (2009) 238 CLR 1, 125–6 [365] (Hayne and Kiefel JJ). Use round brackets round the year for a volume-numbered series and square brackets for a series organised by year. Do not add parallel citations.

How do you cite legislation in AGLC4?

Write the short title and year in italics, then the jurisdiction in brackets and the pinpoint: Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) s 18C. Subsections follow the section with no space, as in s 5(1). Regulations, rules and other delegated legislation are cited the same way, using reg, r and ord.

Is there an AGLC5?

Not yet. The Melbourne University Law Review has been consulting on a fifth edition since 2023, but as far as we could find it had not been published when this page was last checked in October 2026. AGLC4 (2018) is still the current edition, so use it unless your law school tells you otherwise.

How do you use ibid in AGLC4?

Ibid refers to the source in the immediately preceding footnote, and only if that footnote cites one source. Capitalise it at the start of a footnote. Leave out the pinpoint if it is the same as before; if it differs, add it with no comma, as in Ibid 162. If you need the source again after that, use a short title or surname with (n 1).

What is the difference between AGLC and OSCOLA?

Both are footnote styles. AGLC italicises Act titles and years and puts the jurisdiction in brackets, where OSCOLA sets Acts in roman type. AGLC cites the authorised report and no parallel citation, where OSCOLA gives the neutral citation and then the best report. AGLC writes Ibid with a capital, and OSCOLA's 5th edition no longer uses ibid at all.

How do you cite a journal article in AGLC4?

Author, ‘Title’ (year) volume(issue) Journal first page, pinpoint — for example Andrew Edgar, ‘Administrative Regulation-Making: Contrasting Parliamentary and Deliberative Legitimacy’ (2017) 40(3) Melbourne University Law Review 738, 747–9. A journal organised by year takes square brackets round the year and no volume.

Does AGLC4 need a bibliography?

Only where you are asked for one. It lists every source you relied on, in sections for articles, books and reports, cases, legislation, treaties and other sources. Each entry follows the footnote form without pinpoints, inverts the first author's name and has no full stop.