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Australian Guide to Legal Citation 4th Edition

Guidance on using the Australian Guide to Legal Citation referencing style

Subsequent or repeated references

Subsequent or repeated references

See AGLC Part I — General Rules > rule 1.4


After initially citing a source in full in the Australian Guide to Legal Citation ('AGLC') style, use Ibid or an n cross-reference for subsequent references to that same source.

Ibid

Ibid

A shortened version of ibidem, ibid means 'in the same place'.1 Use ibid to refer the reader back to the immediately preceding footnote, unless the preceding footnote contains multiple sources. It is not necessary to repeat the pinpoint reference if it is exactly the same. If referring to the same source but a different page/section, then you must add the new pinpoint reference.

The AGLC rule for using ibid can be found at 1.4.3.
 

Examples

1 David Hamer et al, Laying Down the Law (LexisNexis, 12th ed, 2024) 602.

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid 598.

n [footnote number] cross reference

n [footnote number] cross reference

An n footnote number cross reference refers the reader to the footnote where the citation can be found in full. It is not used to refer to immediately preceding footnotes, except where the immediately preceding footnote contains multiple sources. See AGLC rule 1.4.1 for further information.

The subsequent reference includes the

  • author/s surname or assigned short title if appropriate (refer to the 'Short Titles' section further down this page)
  • the footnote number of the previous reference for the source, preceded by n
  • a pinpoint, if this differs from the previous footnote.
     

Examples

Footnotes 6, 8, 10, 11 and 12 show the n cross reference format.


4 Anthony Marinac et al, Learning Law (Cambridge University Press, 2nd ed, 2021) 345.

5 Jay Sanderson, Drossos Stamboulakis and Kim Kelly, A Practical Guide to Legal Research (Lawbook, 5th ed, 2021) 45.

6 Marinac et al (n 4).

7 Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co [1893] 1 QB 256, 265 (‘Carlill’).

8 Sanderson, Stamboulakis and Kelly (n 5) 80.

9 Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 (Cth) s 19 ('ADJR Act').

10 Marinac et al (n 4) 370.

11 Carlill (n 7) 260.

12 ADJR Act (n 9) s 11.

Consider using the cross-reference feature in Microsoft Word to link to the original footnote number.

Microsoft Word cross-references

Using Microsoft Word cross-references

In a subsequent footnote reference in your Word document, you can insert a cross-referenced number to the initial citation, eg Marinac et al (n 4) 370. The advantage of cross-referenced numbers is that they automatically update to reflect changes to the number of the initial footnote. This avoids needing to manually update the footnote number if you add/delete/move footnotes in your document.

To insert a cross-reference within a subsequent footnote reference in Word:

  1. Insert a footnote. Type in the first part of the citation you wish to cross reference (eg author last name/s or short title), then (n  and a space
  2. Select the References menu > Cross-reference
  3. Change the Reference type drop down to Footnote (and untick 'insert as hyperlink')
  4. For the Insert reference to option: select Footnote number
  5. For the Which footnote option: select the footnote where you first cited the resource
  6. Select Insert and then Close.

Word will update the cross-reference, as necessary, when you access the print preview screen or print the document. Alternatively, select the footnotes and press F9 to force updating.

Word will not update cross-references if you change the content of the full initial footnote that your cross-reference is based on.

Short titles

Short titles

Assign a short title (shortened form of the title or source) to use for subsequent n references to a source without an author/s, such as legislation or case law. When a short title is first cited, it should be introduced in both the text of the document and in the footnotes. Use the format ('Short Title') but note that the short title is only italicised if the title of that type of source normally appears in italics. For more information and examples see AGLC rule 1.4.4.
 

Examples

Examples of using two of these short titles in an n cross reference are shown in the 'n [footnote number] cross reference' section above.

13 Commonwealth v Tasmania (1983) 158 CLR 1 (‘Tasmanian Dam Case’).

14 Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 (Cth) s 19 ('ADJR Act').

15 Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co [1893] 1 QB 256, 265 (‘Carlill’).

16 ‘The Right to Vote is Not Enjoyed Equally by all Australians’, Australian Human Rights Commission (Web Page, February 2010) <https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/publications/right-votenot-enjoyed-equally-all-australians> (‘The Right to Vote’).