AGLC4 Rule 3.1.4: Statutes (Acts of Parliament): Pinpoint References

A pinpoint to an Act combines an abbreviated designation with a number. The listed abbreviations are used in text and in citations alike, unless the pinpoint opens a sentence. Subsections are bracketed directly after the section number, only the highest level abbreviation is used, combined designations take no commas, and decimal or hyphenated numbers are reproduced whole.

AGLC4 page 69

Formatting

  • The abbreviation and the number are separated by one space, and the abbreviation has no full stop.
  • The abbreviations apply in running text as well as in citations; the designation is written out in full only when it begins a sentence.
  • Plural designations take the plural abbreviation shown in the table.
  • The word item, used for an entry in a table or schedule or a numbered paragraph of an amending Act, is always written in full.
  • A numbered or lettered subsection is placed in round brackets immediately after the section number, with no space between them.
  • Where a section and its subsection are cited together, only the abbreviation of the highest level (s) is used, not sub-s.
  • A subsection mentioned on its own, without its section number, takes sub-s followed by the bracketed number.
  • Several designation and number pairs that together make one pinpoint are separated by spaces only, with no commas.
  • Part, chapter and similar numbers are written in the form the Act uses, whether Roman or Arabic numerals.
  • With decimal numbering the whole decimal number is given, preceded by the abbreviation for the lowest level actually cited.
  • Where a taxation statute joins a division number and a section number, they are linked with a hyphen, not an en dash.
  • The most specific suitable pinpoint is chosen, and the part, division or chapter is not added in front of a section because section numbering usually runs through the whole Act.
  • In court rules whose continuous numbering includes the order number, only the decimal rule number is given, and the order is cited alone only when the whole order is meant.
  • In court rules not numbered that way, both the order and the rule within it are given, and abbreviations are repeated in lists where needed to avoid ambiguity.

Examples

Quoted from the Guide, page 69
  1. 11
    Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 (Cth) pt 3A div 2.
  2. 12
    Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) ch 2 pt 1 div 4.
  3. 13
    Crimes at Sea Act 1999 (Vic) sch 1 cl 2.
  4. 14
    Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Amendment Act 2006 (Cth) sch 1 item 46.
  5. 15
    Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) s 20-110(1)(a).
  6. 16
    Gambling Regulation Act 2003 (Vic) s 3.2.1.
  7. 17
    Succession Act 2006 (NSW) pt 2.3.

In the text

She drew attention to sub-s (1).9 Subsection (1) provides that ‘a registered trade mark is personal property’. The judge referred to s 8(3) in argument.10 [Not: … sub-s 8(3) …]

Quoted from the Guide, page 70

Not

Quoted from the Guide, page 69
  • ‘s 3 (a)’
    no space may come between the section number and its bracketed subsection
  • ‘sub-s 31(1)’
    when the section number is given, the abbreviation for the highest level, s, is used
  • ‘pt III, div 2’
    combined designations forming a single pinpoint take no comma
  • ‘ch 2.3.5’
    the abbreviation must be that of the lowest level cited
  • [Not: s5(1)]
    a space is required between the abbreviation and the number
  • [Not: s 2 (3)]
    the subsection bracket attaches directly to the section number
  • [Not: pt 2 s 13]
    a section is cited on its own, without the part that contains it
  • [Not: … sub-s 8(3) …]
    with the section number present, s is used rather than sub-s

Forms in the rule

Quoted from the Guide, page 69
  • ‘s 3(a)’
  • ‘s 31(1)’
  • ‘pt III div 2’
  • Chapter. Part. Section
  • ‘s 2.3.5’
  • ‘pt 3 div 7’
  • ‘s 58’
  • ‘s 26-52(6)(c)’
  • ‘r 8.01’
  • ‘ord 8’
  • ‘ord 9 r 4’
  • s 2
  • s 108AB
  • sub-s (3)
  • pt V
  • s 5(1)
  • s 2(3)
  • ch III
  • s 14(1)(a)
  • s 28(1)(a)(i)
  • pt 7 div 3 sub-div 8
  • s 13
  • cl 14(3)(a)
  • Actions under Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) pt VA have been rare.
  • She drew attention to sub-s (1).9 Subsection (1) provides that ‘a registered trade mark is personal property’. The judge referred to s 8(3) in argument.10

Abbreviations for pinpoint designations in Acts, singular and plural

Quoted from the Guide, page 69
DesignationAbbreviationPluralAbbreviation
AppendixappAppendicesapps
ArticleartArticlesarts
ChapterchChapterschs
ClauseclClausescls
DivisiondivDivisionsdivs
ParagraphparaParagraphsparas
PartptPartspts
ScheduleschSchedulesschs
SectionsSectionsss
Sub-clausesub-clSub-clausessub-cls
Subdivisionsub-divSubdivisionssub-divs
Sub-paragraphsub-paraSub-paragraphssub-paras
Subsectionsub-sSubsectionssub-ss

See also

Check your footnotes against these rules

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Formats, examples, passages, tables and the forms marked Not are quoted from the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed, Melbourne University Law Review Association, 2018), with the page of the Guide they appear on. Titles, summaries and explanations are our own.