AGLC4 Rule 3.1.5: Multiple Pinpoint References

When several provisions are cited, the list opens with the plural abbreviation of the highest level cited. Consecutive provisions form a span joined by an en dash, separate provisions are divided by commas and never by and, and alphanumeric or decimal section numbers are written out in full at both ends of a span or list.

AGLC4 page 71

Formatting

  • The plural abbreviation of the highest level cited comes first, and it is plural even when every item is a subdivision of one section.
  • Consecutive pinpoints are joined by an unspaced en dash, following rule 1.1.7.
  • Non-consecutive pinpoints are separated by a comma and a space, and the word and never joins the last two, following rule 1.1.6.
  • Where later items are subdivisions of a section already named, the section number is not repeated; only the bracketed subdivision follows the comma.
  • Consecutive subdivisions are shown as a span rather than listed individually.
  • Bracketed subsection or paragraph numbers keep their own brackets at each end of a span.
  • Plain numeric spans of section numbers are shortened as rule 1.10.1 directs for number spans, so the teens keep both digits.
  • Alphanumeric section numbers and decimal numbers are never shortened: the full number is written at each end of a span and for each item in a list.
  • Where each item in a list is a combined designation, the complete pinpoints are separated by commas.

Examples

Quoted from the Guide, page 71
  1. 19
    Juries Act 2003 (Tas) ss 29(2)(a)–(b), (8)(b).
  2. 20
    Gas Supply Act 2003 (Qld) ch 2 pt 1 div 3 sub-div 2, ch 3 pt 1.
  3. 21
    Unlawful Assemblies and Processions Act 1958 (Vic) ss 5–6, 10–12, 26–9. [Not: … 26–29.]
  4. 22
    Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic) ss 28F–28G. [Not: … ss 28F–G.]
  5. 23
    See Gambling Regulation Act 2003 (Vic) s 3.2.1. Sections 3.2.1–3.2.2 allow the Commission to authorise gambling. [Not: … Sections 3.2.1–2 allow the …]

Not

Quoted from the Guide, page 71
  • ‘ss 2A–D’
    an alphanumeric section number must be written in full at the end of a span
  • ‘ss 3A, C’
    each alphanumeric section in a list is written in full
  • [Not: s 6(7)(b)–(d)]
    several pinpoints take the plural abbreviation
  • [Not: cls 3(a), (b), (c)]
    consecutive items are shown as a span rather than listed one by one
  • [Not: ss 92(1), (4) and (7)]
    the last two items are separated by a comma, not by and
  • [Not: ss 8(2), 8(5)(a)–(b)]
    the section number is not repeated for a later subsection of the same section
  • [Not: ss 5, 7, 9 and 28]
    items in a list are separated by commas only
  • [Not: … 26–29.]
    a plain numeric span is shortened like other number spans
  • [Not: … ss 28F–G.]
    an alphanumeric section is written in full at the end of the span
  • [Not: … Sections 3.2.1–2 allow the …]
    a decimal section number is written in full at the end of the span, in text as in citations

Forms in the rule

Quoted from the Guide, page 71
  • ‘sub-ss (2)–(3)’
  • ‘paras (3), (5)’
  • ‘ss 2A–2D’
  • ‘ss 3A, 3C’
  • divs 2–3
  • ss 42–9
  • ss 12–17
  • sub-ss (2)–(7)
  • sub-paras (4)–(7)
  • ss 114–18
  • cls (1)–(3)
  • ss 5–7, 11–13
  • ss 198(1), 198AB
  • ss 6(7)(b)–(d)
  • cls 3(a)–(c)
  • ss 92(1), (4), (7)
  • ss 8(2), (5)(a)–(b)
  • ss 5, 7, 9, 28
  • HSI, as an ‘interested person’, sought a declaration and injunction against Kyodo for contravening ss 229–30 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth).
  • Unpublished works are dealt with in sub-ss (2)–(3).18

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.