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APA7 Guide

In text citation

  • Bills and Acts are two common documents produced by parliamentary procedures. A Bill is a proposed new law or change to an existing law. Once the Bill has been passed by the Parliament it becomes an Act and is legally binding.
  • Page numbers are often not available. In these cases, list the section number you are referring to within the act instead. For an example see the direct quote below.
  • When first mentioning an Act you should state the full title in Italics in the sentence.
  • The title of a Bill is not written in italics.
  • The in-text citation should include the abbreviation for the Jurisdiction that created the Act or Bill. A full list of abbreviations can be found in the above section on Parliamentary debates.

Paraphrase

Template:

            (Name of Act, Jurisdiction abbreviation) or (Name of bill, Jurisdiction abbreviation)

            OR

            Name of act, (Jurisdiction abbreviation) or Name of bill, (Jurisdiction abbreviation)

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 (Cth) created a new Torres Strait Regional Authority.

The Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Emergency Leave) Bill 2020 (Cth) is Bill for an Act to change the law around leave in relation to residential care services.

Direct quote (section number/s must be included)

Template:

(Name of Act, Jurisdiction Abbreviation, Section number/s) or (Name of Bill, Jurisdiction Abbreviation, Section number/s)

            OR

Name of Act, (Jurisdiction Abbreviation, Section number/s) or Name of Bill (Jurisdiction Abbreviation, Section number/s)

For example:

“A Torres Straight Regional Authority is established” (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 (Cth), section 142).

Reference list

Template:

Short title of the Act or Bill (Jurisdiction abbreviation) Act number – if applicable. URL

For example:

Aboriginal and Torres Straight Island Act 2005 (Cth) no. 150. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00083