AGLC4
Using AGLC4
The AGLC4 (Australian Guide to Legal Citation 4th edition) is the official legal citation guide in Australia and is widely used by legal practitioners, law students and academics. The AGLC4 is the required referencing style for students enrolled in law programs within RMIT’s Graduate School of Business and Law.
The AGLC4 is a footnote referencing style. Superscript numbers 1,3,6 represent in-text citations, and the details are included in a footnote at the end of each page. Where a bibliography is required, it should list all the citations used and other sources that were relied upon, organised alphabetically in sections and placed at the end of your document.
The AGLC4 style is a collaboration between the Melbourne University Law Review and the Melbourne Journal of International Law. The official AGLC4 publication, which this guide is based on, is freely available to view and download from the publisher’s website (click on Download the view-only PDF version option).
Important: this is a guide only. To avoid losing marks, confirm referencing requirements with your educators.
The AGLC4 style consists of:
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Footnotes to provide information about sources used in your work.
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Within the text of your work, footnote numbers (using a superscript) are positioned after punctuation.
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Footnotes appear at the end of each page of your work.
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Use a full stop at the end of each footnote.
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Separate multiple sources in a footnote with a semicolon (;).
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A Pinpoint is the particular page, paragraph or chapter number from which you have sourced information.
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The first time a source is cited, it is cited in full. Thereafter, it is appropriate to use either 'ibid' or 'n'. See AGLC section 1.4.
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If a bibliography is required it should be provided at the end of the paper. Give details of each source mentioned in the text, as well as details of other sources consulted in preparing the paper.
In-text example
Recent developments in Australian law following the decision of the High Court in IceTV Pty Ltd v Network Nine Australia Pty Ltd illustrate a fundamental shift in the approach of courts regarding the importance and form of authorship.1
Footnote example
1 IceTV Pty Ltd v Nine Network Australia Pty Ltd [2009] HCA 14.
Pinpoint references
A pinpoint reference within a footnote directs the reader to a particular place in the cited work:
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For sources such as cases, books or journal articles, a pinpoint reference might refer the reader to a particular chapter, page or paragraph.
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For legislative materials, pinpoint references can also refer to parts, sections, clauses or divisions.
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A pinpoint reference is provided at the end of the footnote.
See section 3.1.4 of the AGLC4 (opens in a new tab) for a full list of abbreviations used in pinpoint references for legislative materials.
Repeat citations
When a source is cited more than once in a paper the full bibliographic details should only be provided in the first instance.
The terms 'Ibid' and 'n' are used for repeat citations of the same work. In some circumstances, 'above (n)' or 'below (n)' are used to direct the reader to a specific part or reference within a text.
Using 'Ibid'
Use 'Ibid' in a footnote where the immediately preceding footnote refers to the same work. The exception to this rule is if a footnote lists more than one source (in this case use 'n'). If a footnote refers to the same work and to the same pinpoint reference, simply use 'Ibid'. The pinpoint reference does not need to be repeated in this case. If a footnote refers to the same work but to a different pinpoint reference, use 'Ibid' followed by the pinpoint reference.
1 IceTV Pty Ltd v Nine Network Australia Pty Ltd [2009] HCA 14.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid HCA 15-16.
Using 'n'
Use ‘n’ to refer to a source that has been cited in a previous footnote other than the immediately preceding one.
If citing a source that has already been referred to then a shortened form of the citation should be provided (e.g. shortened author name or title), along with the footnote number (n) in parentheses. Also include the pinpoint if different from the first citation.
1 IceTV Pty Ltd v Nine Network Australia Pty Ltd [2009] HCA 14.
...
4 IceTV (n 1) HCA 17.
Note: If referring to a specific part/s or reference/s within a text then use 'above (n)' or 'below (n)' where appropriate. See AGLC section 1.4.2 for further details.
5 See above n 1 and accompanying text.
6 See below n 7 Part II(A).
If a bibliography is required list all works referred to both in footnotes and in the body of your assignment, as well as all works consulted in writing your assignment.
The bibliography is divided into sections as outlined in AGLC 1.13:
A. Articles/Books/Reports
B. Cases
C. Legislation
D. Treaties
E. Other
Note: Organise items alphabetically under each heading.
Note that details provided in the bibliography are almost identical to details provided in the footnotes, with the following exceptions:
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Invert the first author’s first name and family name and separate these with a comma.
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Pinpoint references are not included; however, note that the starting page number for journal articles and cases is not a pinpoint and remains part of the citation.
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There is no full stop at the end of a bibliography entry.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A Articles/Books
Bodkin, Colin, Patent Law in Australia (Thomson Reuters, 2nd ed, 2014)
Meagher, Dan, ‘Digital Sampling/Remix Culture Forum’ (2012) 17(2) Deakin Law Review 307
B Cases
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship v SZIAI [2009] HCA 39
Roadshow Films Pty Limited v iiNet Limited (2012) 248 CLR 42
Walton v Gardiner (1993) 112 ALR 289
C Legislation
Copyright Act 1968 (Cth)
Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic)
D Other
Board of Examiners, Admission Requirements (18 February 2010) Council of Legal Information <http
AGLC4
Case law
| Case name | Year | Volume | Report series | Starting page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Village Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Ltd | (2012) | 286 | ALR | 466 |
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Party names are italicised.
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Where parties are individuals, given names and initials are omitted.
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Where a party is a business corporation or firm, abbreviations such as Co (company), Ltd (Limited), and Pty (proprietary) are used.
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Where the Crown is the first named party, Rex (the 'King') or Regina (the 'Queen') is abbreviated to 'R'.
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Where the Crown is the respondent 'The King' or 'The Queen' is written in full.
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Law report series are abbreviated.
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The first page of the case should appear after the series details.
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A full stop is used at the end of a footnote.
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A full stop is not used in a bibliography.
Footnote examples
| Type | Footnote example |
|---|---|
| Individual party names | 1 Smith v Smith [1948] 2 ALR 475. |
| Company party names | 1 Village Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Ltd (2012) 286 ALR 466. |
| The Crown as the first party | 1 R v Milat (2005) 157 A Crim R 565. |
| The Crown as respondent | 1 Smith v The Queen [2010] NSWCCA 325. |
Bibliography examples
| Type | Bibliography example |
|---|---|
| Individual party names | Smith v Smith [1948] 2 ALR 475 |
| Company party names | Village Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Ltd (2012) 286 ALR 466 |
| The Crown as the first party | R v Milat (2005) 157 A Crim R 565 |
| The Crown as respondent | Smith v The Queen [2010] NSWCCA 325 |
Pinpoint references
A pinpoint reference is a reference to a specific page, paragraph or other section of a decision:
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A pinpoint reference to a page should appear as a number – do not use 'p' or 'pg'.
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A pinpoint reference to a paragraph should appear as a number in square brackets '[ ]'.
Example of a pinpoint reference to a page
1 Village Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Ltd (2012) 286 ALR 466, 3.
Example of a pinpoint reference to a paragraph
1 Village Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Ltd (2012) 286 ALR 466, 488 [95].
Law report abbreviations
Legal abbreviations for Australian and international law reports, law journals, legal organisations, courts, etc. can be accessed via the Monash University website (opens in a new tab).
Legal abbreviations for English language legal publications, from the British Isles, the Commonwealth and the United States can be accessed via the Cardiff University database (opens in a new tab).
| Case name | [Year] | Court | Judgement no. | Full date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rowland v Alfred Health | [2014] | FCA | 2 | (15 January 2014) |
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Unreported decisions utilise a 'medium neutral citation' that does not depend on a publisher or medium.
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The party names are listed first and italicised.
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The year is enclosed in square brackets '[ ]'.
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Court identifiers are abbreviated. For example, FCA is used for Federal Court of Australia and HCA for the High Court of Australia.
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Judgement numbers are commonly used, these are applied by the relevant court.
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The full date of the judgement is in parentheses '( )'.
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A full stop is used at the end of a footnote.
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A full stop is not used in a bibliography.
Footnote examples
| Type | Footnote example |
|---|---|
| Individual party names | 1 Stanford v Stanford [2012] HCA 52 (15 November 2012). |
| Company party names | 1 Trusted Cloud Pty Ltd v Core Desktop Pty Ltd [2015] FCA 33 (3 February 2015). |
| The Crown as the first party | 1 R v Coulter [2014] VSC 42 (27 February 2014). |
| The Crown as respondent | 1 [2015] VSCA 5 (5 February 2015). |
Bibliography examples
| Type | Bibliography example |
|---|---|
| Individual party names | Stanford v Stanford [2012] HCA 52 (15 November 2012) |
| Company party names | Trusted Cloud Pty Ltd v Core Desktop Pty Ltd [2015] FCA 33 (3 February 2015) |
| The Crown as the first party | R v Coulter [2014] VSC 42 (27 February 2014) |
| The Crown as respondent | Picone v The Queen [2015] VSCA 5 (5 February 2015) |
Pinpoint references
A pinpoint reference is a reference to a specific page, paragraph or other section of a decision:
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A pinpoint reference to a page should appear as a number – do not use 'p' or 'pg'.
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A pinpoint reference to a paragraph should appear as a number in square brackets '[ ]'.
Example of a pinpoint reference to a page
1 Stanford v Stanford [2012] HCA 52 (15 November 2012) 22.
Example of a pinpoint reference to a paragraph
1 Stanford v Stanford [2012] HCA 52 (15 November 2012) [12].
Law report abbreviations
Legal abbreviations for Australian and international law reports, law journals, legal organisations, courts, etc. can be accessed via the Monash University website (opens in a new tab).
Legal abbreviations for English language legal publications, from the British Isles, the Commonwealth and the United States can be accessed via the Cardiff University database (opens in a new tab).
AGLC4
Legislation
| Title | Year | Jurisdiction | Pinpoint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copyright Act | 1968 | (Cth) | s 1 |
- Both the title of the act and the year in which the act was passed appear in italics.
- The jurisdiction is abbreviated and within parentheses '( )'.
- Regulations, rules and orders should be cited in the same manner as primary legislation: title; year; jurisdiction (in parentheses).
- Both the title of the act and the year in which the regulation was passed appear in italics.
Footnote example
1 Climate Change Act 2010 (Vic).
Bibliography example
Climate Change Act 2010 (Vic)
Pinpoint references
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A pinpoint reference is a reference to a specific page, paragraph or other section of an Act, or regulation.
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Pinpoint references should appear as abbreviations and a number separated by a space.
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Where referencing a section, separate the relevant reference with a space with an 's' but do not use a full stop.
Pinpoint example
Climate Change Act 2010 (Vic) pt 3 div 2 s 16
Abbreviations for Australian jurisdictions
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Commonwealth – Cth
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Australian Capital Territory – ACT
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New South Wales – NSW
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Northern Territory – NT
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Queensland – QLD
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South Australia – SA
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Tasmania – Tas
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Victoria – Vic
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Western Australia – WA
AGLC4
Books and e-books
These rules apply when referencing both printed books and e-books.
| Author | Title | Publication details | Pinpoint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathew Rimmer, | Intellectual Property and Biotechnology: Biological Inventions | (Edward Elgar, 2008) | 120-123 |
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The name of the author should appear exactly as it does in the source.
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If the publication is authored by a body (government department, corporation etc.) use that as the author.
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The title of the book should appear in italics as it does on the title page.
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A brief version of the publisher’s name should appear in parenthesis followed by publication year.
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Where there are multiple editions of a book an edition number should be included after the publisher’s name (i.e. 3rd).
Footnote example
1 Mathew Rimmer, Intellectual Property and Biotechnology: Biological Inventions (Edward Elgar, 2008).
Pinpoint example
1 Mathew Rimmer, Intellectual Property and Biotechnology: Biological Inventions (Edward Elgar, 2008) 120-123.
Bibliography example
When the citation appears in a bibliography, list the family name first. Sources should be listed in alphabetical order by family name.
Rimmer, Mathew, Intellectual Property and Biotechnology: Biological Inventions (Edward Elgar, 2008)
Other examples
Use of edition number
Colin Bodkin, Patent Law in Australia (Thomson Reuters, 2nd ed, 2014)
Corporate author
Australian Law Reform Commission, Family Violence: a Legal Response: Summary Report (Australian Law Reform Commission, 2010)
These rules apply when referencing both printed books and e-books.
| Author | Title | Publication details |
|---|---|---|
| Geoffrey A Manne and Joshua D Wright, | Competition Policy and Patent Law under Uncertainty Regulating Innovation | (Cambridge University Press, 2011) |
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Where there are two or three authors, the names of all authors should be included and the word 'and' should separate the names of the last two authors.
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If there are more than three authors, list the first named author followed by 'et al'.
Footnote examples
Edited book
1 Belinda Bennett (ed), Globalization and Health (Springer, 2008).
Book with three authors
1 Damien J Cremean, Michael H Whitten and Michael F Sharkey, Brooking on building contracts: the law and practice relating to building and engineering agreements (LexisNexis Butterworths, 5th ed, 2014).
Book with four or more authors
1 Patrick Thomas George et al, Social Media and the Law (LexisNexis Butterworths, 2010).
Pinpoint example
1 Belinda Bennett (ed), Globalization and Health (Springer, 2008) 21.
Bibliography example
When the citation appears in a bibliography, list the family name first. Sources should be listed in alphabetical order by family name.
Bennett, Belinda (ed), Globalization and Health (Springer, 2008)
These rules apply when referencing both printed books and e-books.
| Author | Chapter title | in Author | Title | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Gough, | 'Securities over Debts' | in Gregory Burton (ed), | Directions in Finance Law | (Butterworths, 1990) |
When citing chapters in a book list the author and enclose the title of the chapter in single inverted commas - do not italicise the title.
Details of the book follow the same conventions for books with a single or multiple authors.
Footnote example
1 William Gough, 'Securities over Debts' in Gregory Burton (ed), Directions in Finance Law (Butterworths, 1990).
Pinpoint example
1 William Gough, 'Securities over Debts' in Gregory Burton (ed), Directions in Finance Law (Butterworths, 1990) 223.
Bibliography example
When the citation appears in a bibliography, list the family name first. Sources should be listed in alphabetical order by family name.
Gough, William, 'Securities over Debts' in Gregory Burton (ed), Directions in Finance Law (Butterworths, 1990)
| Publisher | Title | Date | Title no. and name | Chapter no. and name | Paragraph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LexisNexis, | Halsbury's Laws of Australia | (at 1 June 2011) | 90 Constitutional Law, | '6 Limitations on Legislative Powers' | [90-2226] |
Footnote example
1 LexisNexis, Halsbury's Laws of Australia (at 1 June 2011) 90 Constitutional Law, '6 Limitations on Legislative Powers' [90-2226].
Bibliography example
LexisNexis, Halsbury's Laws of Australia (at 1 June 2011) 90 Constitutional Law, '6 Limitations on Legislative Powers'
AGLC4
Articles
| Author | Title | Year | Vol. & Issue | Journal | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Meagher, | 'Digital Sampling/Remix Culture Forum' | (2012) | 17 (2) | Deakin Law Review | 307 |
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The name of the author appears first.
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The title appears within single quotation marks (un-italicised).
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The year appears in parentheses '( )'.
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For journals organised by volume number, the volume number should follow the year.
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The full title of the journal as it appears on the title page should appear in italics.
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The number of the first page of an article should follow the title of the journal. No punctuation should separate the starting page from the title.
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Do not use abbreviations for titles (use 'Australian Law Review' not ALR).
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Articles from electronic journals should only be cited where a printed edition does not exist.
Footnote example
1 Dan Meagher, 'Digital Sampling/Remix Culture' (2012) 17(2) Deakin Law Review 307.
Pinpoint example
1 Dan Meagher, 'Digital Sampling/Remix Culture' (2012) 17(2) Deakin Law Review 307, 22.
Bibliography example
Meagher, Dan, 'Digital Sampling/Remix Culture' (2012) 17(2) Deakin Law Review 307
| Two authors | Title | Year | Vol. & Issue | Journal | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samantha Joseph and Erin Mackay, | 'Moral Rights and Indigenous Communities' | 2006 | 3 | Art and Law | 6 |
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When citing the names of the authors, they should appear in the exact order as they are listed in the source material.
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Where there are two or three authors, the names of all authors should be included and the word 'and' should separate the names of the last two authors.
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Where there are more than three authors, the family name of the author appearing first on the source should be included, followed by 'et al'.
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The title appears within single quotation marks (un-italicised).
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The full title of the journal should appear as it does on the title page in italics.
Two or three authors
Footnote example
1 Benjamin Hayward, John Morss and Oscar Roos, 'Beyond the Separation of Powers: Judicial Review and the Regulatory Proscription of Terrorist Organisations' (2010) 35 (1) University of Western Australia Law Review 81.
Pinpoint example
1 Benjamin Hayward, John Morss and Oscar Roos, 'Beyond the Separation of Powers: Judicial Review and the Regulatory Proscription of Terrorist Organisations' (2010) 35 (1) University of Western Australia Law Review 81, 83.
Bibliography example
Hayward, Benjamin, Morss, John and Roos, Oscar, 'Beyond the Separation of Powers: Judicial Review and the Regulatory Proscription of Terrorist Organisations' (2010) 35 (1) University of Western Australia Law Review 81
Three or more authors
Footnote example
1 Gary Edmond et al, 'Law’s Looking Glass: Expert Identification Evidence Derived from Photographic and Video Images' (2009) 20 Current issues in Criminal Justice 337.
Pinpoint example
1 Gary Edmond et al, 'Law’s Looking Glass: Expert Identification Evidence Derived from Photographic and Video Images' (2009) 20 Current issues in Criminal Justice 337, 338.
Bibliography example
Edmond, Gary et al, 'Law’s Looking Glass: Expert Identification Evidence Derived from Photographic and Video Images' (2009) 20 Current issues in Criminal Justice 337
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Online journal articles should be cited in the same way as printed articles wherever possible. If volume, issue or starting page numbers are not available, use other identifiers such as article numbers.
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Pinpoint references should appear after the article number/identifier, preceded by a comma, and a space. The article number/identifier should appear as it does in the source.
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Journal articles that have a volume and issue number have page ranges (start and end pages) that are numbered sequentially throughout the entire issue (e.g. 70-84, 85-102, 103-115).
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If the online journal article, which could be a PDF or other digital document, has no volume and issue number, the article has a page range that typically starts at 1 and ends on the last page (e.g. 1-12). There is no issue sequential page numbering. In such cases, pinpoints should refer to a position (actual page number) within the page range (e.g. 7).
Format
Author(s), 'Article title' (Year) Volume(Issue) Journal Title Article number/Identifier: Page range, Pinpoint.
Footnote example
1 Luigi Alberto Franzoni, 'Efficient Liability Law with Costly Insurance' (2026) 85 International Review of Law and Economics 106310: 1-8.
Pinpoint example
1 Luigi Alberto Franzoni, 'Efficient Liability Law with Costly Insurance' (2026) 85 International Review of Law and Economics 106310: 1-8, 4.
Bibliography example
Franzoni, Alberto 'Efficient Liability Law with Costly Insurance' (2026) 85 International Review of Law and Economics 106310
| Author | Title | Newspaper | Place and Date | Pinpoint |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laura Tingle | 'Norway fund ponders dumping coal', | The Australian Financial Review, | (Sydney, 24 February 2015) | 8 |
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The title of the article should appear un-italicised within single quotation marks.
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The title of the newspaper should be italicised.
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The place of publication is in parentheses '( )'.
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The full date is noted.
Footnote example
1 Laura Tingle, 'Norway fund ponders dumping coal', The Australian Financial Review, (Sydney, 24 February 2015).
Pinpoint example
1 Laura Tingle, 'Norway fund ponders dumping coal', The Australian Financial Review, (Sydney, 24 February 2015) 8.
Bibliography example
Tingle, Laura, 'Norway fund ponders dumping coal', The Australian Financial Review, (Sydney, 24 February 2015)
AGLC4
Online sources
| Author | Document title | Website name | Document type | Full date | URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board of Examiners, | 'Admission Requirements', | Council of Legal Information | (Web page, | 18 February 2010) | <http |
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A source should only be cited like this if it does not exist in published form.
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The author's name should be included if available on the webpage or document.
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The title of the page or document cited should be included after the author’s name.
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Where available, the full date of the last update of the page or document should be included.
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The name of the general website where the document resides should be included if available.
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The website address (URL) should be enclosed within '< >' symbols.
Footnote example
1 Board of Examiners, 'Admission Requirements', Council of Legal Information (18 February 2010) <http
://www.lawadmissions.vic.gov.au>.
Bibliography example
Board of Examiners, 'Admission Requirements', Council of Legal Information (18 February 2010) <http
://www.lawadmissions.vic.gov.au>
AGLC4
Audio visual material
| Title | (Production Company, Year) | Pinpoint |
|---|---|---|
| A Few Good Men | (Castle Rock Entertainment, 1992) | 1:15:25 |
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The same convention applies for both film and sound recordings.
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List the title first in italics.
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Enclose the name of the production company and year of the recording in parentheses '( )'.
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Pinpoint references should be at the point of time of the recording, and appear in the following format - hours: minutes: seconds.
Footnote example
1 A Few Good Men (Castle Rock Entertainment, 1992).
Pinpoint example
1 A Few Good Men (Castle Rock Entertainment, 1992) 1:15:25.
Bibliography example
A Few Good Men (Castle Rock Entertainment, 1992)
| Broadcaster | Title of segment | Name of program | Full date | Name of speaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC Radio National, | 'Using evidence obtained in search warrants', | The Law Report, | 3 February 2015 | (Damian Carrick) |
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List the name of the broadcaster first.
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Enclose the title of the segment in single quotation marks.
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Italicise the name of the program.
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List the full date of the program.
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The name of the speaker should be included in parentheses '( )'.
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A URL may be included after the speaker’s name where the transcript is available online.
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The webpage address (URL) should be enclosed within ‘< >’ symbols.
Footnote example
1 ABC Radio National, 'Using evidence obtained in search warrants', The Law Report, 3 February 2015, (Damian Carrick) <http
://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lawreport/surfers-paradise/6028122#transcript>.
Bibliography example
ABC Radio National, 'Using evidence obtained in search warrants', The Law Report, 3 February 2015, (Damian Carrick) <http
://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lawreport/surfers-paradise/6028122#transcript>
AGLC4
Other sources
You should include the use of scholarly sources in your written assessments to adhere to best academic integrity practice. Citing yourself as an authority on your own opinion should be avoided.
Note: Check first with your lecturer, or teacher, if it is permissible to cite your previously submitted work.
Remember that when submitting work, you will be asked to agree to the Assessment Declaration (opens in a new tab).
The publication, Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed, 2018) does not provide guidelines on how to cite your own work. The following examples show how to cite your own work that you have previously submitted for assessment.
If you cite or quote your own previous work, treat yourself as the author and the title of your previous assessment as an unpublished paper.
Note: If your original work contained citations from other sources, you would need to include those same citations in the new work as well.
Include the following details:
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Student name
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'Title of previous work'
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Unpublished paper
-
University
-
Month Year
Footnote example
For example, if Geoffrey Smith wanted to cite a paper they wrote at RMIT University in 2019, their footnote reference may look like this:
1 Geoffrey Smith, 'Australia's copyright law reforms' (unpublished paper, RMIT University, October 2019).
Pinpoint example
1 Geoffrey Smith, 'Australia's copyright law reforms' (unpublished paper, RMIT University, October 2019) 5.
Bibliography example
Smith, Geoffrey, 'Australia's copyright law reforms' (unpublished paper, RMIT University, October 2019)
AGLC4
Indigenous knowledges
When acknowledging sources created by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, it is recommended that the Nation/Country/Language Group is included after the author’s or creator’s name. This is based on guidance from the Indigenous Referencing Guidance for Indigenous Knowledges published in 2023 by the Indigenous Archives Collective.
The guidelines licensed under a CC-BY-NC-SA licence allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for non-commercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. This license also applies to this guide.
It is advised to attribute a Nation/Country/language group to an author who has self-identified. This information can be located, for example, in a biographical note to an article or on a personal website.
For more information on how to critically evaluate information sources, visit the IKAT Toolkit.
Note: Guidance from First Nations Communities is welcome, especially from the people of the Woi Wurrung and Boon Wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands RMIT conducts their business. If you would like to send any comments regarding this guide, please use our EasyCite feedback form.
AGLC4
AI-generated content
Please note that the guidelines on how to reference AI tools have been updated in February 2026.
Using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in learning and research, including assessment tasks
The educators within your courses can tell you if you are able to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools in your assessment tasks, including how you can use the tools and what tools you can use. If you use any AI tools, you must appropriately acknowledge and reference the use of these tools and their outputs. Failure to reference the use of these tools can result in academic misconduct.
Please confirm with your course educator before using any AI tools in your assessment tasks.
Current Australian copyright law relating to AI-generated content
The Australian Copyright Act does not explicitly mention AI-generated content; however the Act can give some guidance as to what copyright protects and how copyright is infringed. Copyright protection in Australia is free and automatic as soon as content is in a material form (e.g. a text is written, a song is recorded or an artwork is painted). It does not need to be registered, applied for or paid for. To be protected content must be original and be made by a human author. If a work is not created by a human author, it is not protected by copyright. A work created solely by AI is not created by a human and does not qualify for Copyright protection in Australia. Due to the prompts and training data, it can be unclear who owns the copyright in outputs from generative AI tools. For more information, see the RMIT Copyright library guide.
Acknowledging the use of AI tools
In some assessment tasks, you may be able to use AI tools for background research, to generate an outline for your essay or report, or to get feedback on your writing and structure. In such cases, you are using AI tools in the process of creating the work but you are not included AI-generated content in your final work. For this type of AI use, you need to include an acknowledgement of what AI tools were used and how they were used within the body or methods section of your work. If you include any AI-generated outputs in your work (including text, images or code) you need to include a citation and a reference - see the referencing guidelines below for more details.
The advice below is based on the current (September 2025) advice from the APA 7th style manual editors, as the other style manual editors do not provide specific advice for acknowledging the use of AI tools.
In your acknowledgement, include the following: How you used the AI tool, the name of the AI tool and the creator.
In your bibliography, include an entry for the AI tool (see the citing and referencing AI-generated content for this format).
Format for the acknowledgement:
I used [tool used] (Creator, year) to [explain how tool was used]
Example acknowledgements:
I used ChatGPT (OpenAI, 2026) to provide topic suggestions for my research project.
I used the Writing Help persona in Val (RMIT, 2026) to provide feedback on my assignment draft.
Citing and referencing AI-generated content
The Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC), 4th edition guide does not contain any guidelines for referencing AI-generated content, and the style guide does not include guidelines for referencing software. According to the University of Western Australia Library 1, the editors of Melbourne University Law Review (the creators of the AGLC4 guide) recommend the following as interim advice:
AI-generated content should be referenced as Written Correspondence (as per Rule 7.12). Discursive text (e.g. explanations) may be included in the footnote (see Rule 1.1.5 for further information on Discursive Text). An Appendix may be included to provide comprehensive information about the prompts and outputs. You may be required to produce any prompts and outputs. Please ensure that you save all prompts and outputs so that you can access them if needed. Include both the company name and the AI tool name in the footnote and bibliography entry.
Footnote template and example - shareable URL:
1 Output from [tool name], [company name] to [your name], [full date] <shareable URL (if available)>.
1 Output from ChatGPT, OpenAI to Mike Smith, 28 January 2026 https://chatgpt.com/share/123456789123456789.
Footnote example with discursive text - appendix:
2 Output from Val, RMIT to Mike Smith, 27 January 2026. The output was generated in response to the prompt, 'Explain the history of Hansard': see Appendix A.
Bibliography template:
[Tool name], [Company name] to [your name], Output, (full date) <shareable URL (if available)>
Bibliography examples:
OpenAI, ChatGPT to Mike Smith, Output, 28 January 2026 https://chatgpt.com/share/123456789123456789
RMIT, Val to Mike Smith, Output, 27 January 2026
AI-generated images
The AGLC4 does not provide specific guidance on AI-generated images. The advice below is based on the guidance from the University of Western Australia Library 1.
AI-generated images that you have created:
AI-generated images don't need to include a footnote. Include the image in your work with a figure number and caption stating that the image was generated using an AI tool, along with the prompt used.
Caption template:
Figure number: Description.
Example:
Figure 1: Image generated using Adobe Firefly from the prompt 'a law student at university'.
AI-generated images from published sources:
Include the image with a figure number and a caption. In the caption, include a description of the image as well as a note number. Include a corresponding footnote with details of the publication and include the publication in the bibliography.
1 University of Western Australia Library, Referencing Style – AGLC4: Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) (Web Page, 15 September 2025) https://guides.library.uwa.edu.au/AGLC4/Gen_AI.
2 Ibid.
