General Notes:
Cite government documents or reports under the departments, units or agencies (i.e. 'corporate authors'), followed by the title of the document/report.
The publisher and author should be recorded as they appeared when the document was originally published, do not amend the name to their current title if the names have changed.
Include report or paper numbers (if available).
Include only the first place of publication if more than one is listed.
Some government documents may be assigned a DOI or "digital object identifier". If this is the case the DOI must be added to the reference. If no DOI is found, then the URL of the online publication site is included. Check the What are DOIs? page for more information.
The following is the general format of a reference to a government document or report.
Add DOI or URL to the end of citation for documents located online.
See the general rules for government documents for more details.
Citation No. Name of Government Agency. Document title: subtitle. Document No [Internet]. Place of Publication: Publisher; Year of publication [cited year month date]. Page No. DOI or URL
1. NSW Health, Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence. NSW mothers and babies report 2016 [Internet]. Sydney: NSW Health; 2017 [cited 2020 Jan 7]. 81 p. Available from: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/hsnsw/Publications/mothers-and-babies-2016.pdf
2. U.S. Government Accountability Office. Air force readiness: actions needed to rebuild readiness and prepare for the future. GAO-19-120T [Internet]. [Washington]: GAO (US); 2018 [cited 2020 Jan 8]. 28 p. Available from: https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-19-120T
Vancouver recommends using The Bluebook for citing legal documents. For citing the Australian cases, legislation and other legal materials, students may follow the Australian guide to legal citation (AGLC).
The following citation formats and examples for Legislation, Cases, and Parliamentary Debates, are mainly based on the AGLC 4th ed.
If the item cited is consulted online from an official source, add the URL to the end of the citation.
Citation Number. Short Title of Act Year of Act (Jurisdiction)
1. Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)
2. Evidence Act 1995 (NSW)
3. Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009 (Cth)
4. Habeas Corpus Act 2001 (NZ)
5. Public Health (COVID-19 Mandatory Face Coverings) Order (No 3) 2021 (NSW)
6. Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW)
7. Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth)
A citation of an Australian case should include the parties' names in italics, followed by the year of the report, volume number of the law report series, the abbreviation of the law report series, and the starting page of the case. The pinpoint page number/s may be cited in the text if needed.
Volumes of law report series are organised either by year or by volume number. Use square brackets when a law report series are organised by year and the year is essential to finding the case, e.g. Rowe v McCartney [1976] 2 NSWLR 72; use round brackets when a law report series are organised by volume number and the year is not essential to finding the case.
Note Number. Case Name (Year) Volume No Law Report Series Starting page
1. Alati v Kruger (1955) 94 CLR 216
2. Kemp v The King (1951) 83 CLR 341
3. Wentworth v Rogers [No 5] (1986) 6 NSWLR 534
4. Rowe v McCartney [1976] 2 NSWLR 72
A citation of Parliamentary debates (or Hansard) should include the Jurisdiction, followed by Parliamentary Debates, then Chamber, Full Date of Debate, and Name of Speaker. The pinpoint page number is an optional element and may be cited in the text or within the reference list entry as needed.
Citation Number. Jurisdiction, Parliamentary Debates, Chamber, Full Date of Debate, Pinpoint (Name of Speaker).
1. Commonwealth, Parliamentary Debates, Senate, 18 June 2008, 2642-4 (Bob Brown).
2. New South Wales, Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Assembly, 8 August 2018, 18 (Melinda Pavey, Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight).