Style for case names is title case, not always italics

A case is a matter to be settled at law. It is also an instance or the process of making a claim in a court of law. Legal authorities are published sources of legal reasoning, doctrine and rulings made by courts and similar bodies.

The people or organisations named in the case are known as ‘parties’. Capitalise the names of the parties but use a lower case ‘v’ between the party names. There is no full stop after ‘v’.

Case names have this basic form: Party v Party.

Write the name of the case in italics. This rule is for case names that are mentioned briefly in general content.

Use roman type for cases in reference lists and other long lists. Blocks of italics are difficult to read.

Always write the names as they appear in your source.

The abbreviated title is in italics

Cases are often known by an abbreviated title. On first mention of the case name, follow it with the abbreviated title in parentheses. For in-text references, write this title in italics and use title case (maximal capitalisation). You can then use the abbreviated title throughout the content.

Do not capitalise ‘the case’ or ‘this case’.

The full citation gives users detail they might need

Most government writing about cases requires a full citation. Citations show people where to find the published authorised judgments and decisions of courts, commissions and tribunals. They also tell people who made the decision and what year it was made.

Citations can be in text or in notes, depending on organisational style and the format of the content.

Decisions are either reported or unreported

Reported decisions are published in authorised law reports (a report series). For example:

• Commonwealth Law Reports (CLR) contain authorised reports of High Court decisions.
• Federal Court Reports (FCR) contain authorised reports of the Federal Court.
• Industrial Reports (IR) contain decisions of the Commonwealth Fair Work Commission.

Always cite an authorised report if it is available.

Unreported decisions are published in report series from the legal authorities themselves. For example:

• High Court of Australia (HCA)
• Federal Court of Australia (FCA)
• Fair Work Commission (FWC).

The abbreviations for the report series of reported and unreported decisions are different. Some unreported decisions are published in a report series later on. This is why the same case might have 2 or more citations.

Use parentheses (round brackets) for reported decisions that use consecutive volume numbers for the whole series. This means you don’t have to use the year to find the volume on the shelf.

Use square brackets for reported decisions that use the year as a volume number. This means you must look for the year first, then for volume 1, 2 and so on. Other years would also have a volume 1.

The authorised report of a case might have been published some time after the decision was handed down.

Unreported decisions are always in square brackets. There is no volume number, as the case is not part of an authorised report series. The legal authority publishes the report in its own series.

Civil and criminal case titles have different elements

Civil and criminal cases have specific citation elements. They differ.

In civil case titles, the ‘v’ is pronounced ‘and’. In criminal case titles, the ‘v’ is pronounced ‘against’.

For civil case titles, specify the first plaintiff and defendant

Civil cases usually involve a dispute between organisations or individuals. The plaintiff is the person or organisation who files a complaint with the court. The other party is the defendant.

Most citations use only family names. Corporation names are usually given in full, although abbreviations are acceptable.

Usually, citations use only the name of the first-mentioned party on each side of a case.

Other parties are sometimes noted by the phrases:

• ‘and Others’ or ‘& Ors’
• ‘and Another’ or ‘& Anor’.

In civil cases, use sentence case and italics for ‘Re’ and ‘Ex parte’ 

Sometimes the title of cases includes the terms ‘Re’ and ‘Ex parte’. Use sentence case and write both in italics.

‘Re’ means ‘in the matter of’ and that is how it is said. ‘Re’ in the title of a civil case means the court acts in a particular way – for example, in an advisory capacity.

‘Ex parte’ means an application brought before the court by one party without the other party having to be notified – for example, when one party applies for an injunction.

For criminal case titles, list all defendants

Criminal cases are usually initiated by the Commonwealth or state (for the Crown) against people or organisations (the defendants) who are alleged to have committed an offence under criminal law.

List the names of all defendants separated by a comma.

If prosecuting, the Crown is signified by an ‘R’ without a full stop. This is a Latin abbreviation for ‘Rex’ or ‘Regina’, meaning ‘King’ or ‘Queen’.

If the Crown is the respondent in a criminal appeal, reverse the parties and write ‘Appellant v The King’ (not ‘R’). If the Crown is the appellant, ‘The King’ is the first party cited.

'The King' or 'The Queen' in the title is always retained as first published. The title does not change when the monarch changes.

Subsequent citations in notes use the first party

When citing cases using notes, always use a full citation as the first citation. After that, you can use the name of the first party, followed by the case citation.

Pinpoint citations use ‘at’ for page and paragraph numbers

If you use notes, write pinpoint page numbers for the citation using ‘at [page number]’.

You can follow the page number with the number of the relevant paragraph as it appears in the judgment. Write the paragraph number in square brackets.

Use a comma to list separate pinpoint citations.

Decisions can differ between judges or magistrates

Identify the judicial officer whose judgment you are citing. Cite the case fully and add ‘per [name] [judicial office abbreviation]’.

Use these abbreviations:

• J (Justice)
• JJ (Justices)
• CJ (Chief Justice)
• ACJ (Acting Chief Justice)
• FM (Federal Magistrate)
• JA (Justice of Appeal)
• DCJ (District Court Judge).

Titles for Commonwealth tribunal decisions are in italics

Write the title of all tribunal decisions in italics.

Tribunals are adjudicative institutions with powers to:

• review government and administrative decisions
• make administrative decisions
• investigate matters
• settle claims and disputes.

Most tribunals are established by Acts of parliament which set out their powers, functions and operations. Acts give tribunals the legal authority to make decisions. There are tribunals in each state and territory. 

Under the Constitution, only federal courts have the judicial power of the Commonwealth. Commonwealth tribunals exercise administrative rather than judicial power.

Federal courts cannot review administrative decisions made by government, so parliament often gives this power to a tribunal.

The president and members of a tribunal can be judges. For example, the President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal is a judge of the Federal Court of Australia.

Find the decision title on the tribunal website or an alternative 

Decisions are published on tribunal websites, on the Federal Court of Australia’s website or on AustLII.

There are a large number of Commonwealth tribunals, including:

• the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT)
• the Australian Competition Tribunal
• the Copyright Tribunal of Australia
• the Defence Force Discipline Appeal Tribunal
• the Fair Work Commission
• the National Native Title Tribunal.

The AAT has an authorised report series – the Administrative Law Decisions (ALD). The AAT’s unauthorised report series, AATA, is available on AustLII.

The Fair Work Commission also has an authorised report series – the Industrial Reports (IR). Unauthorised reports are available on the commission’s website.

Always cite the authorised report if it has been published and you have access to it.

Titles for Tax Commissioner rulings have unique elements

The Commissioner of Taxation has the power to make rulings – public, private and oral – that interpret the laws administered by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

Public rulings comprise rulings and determinations and are legally binding advice. Draft and final public rulings are published on the ATO Legal Database.

The full titles of public rulings have 3 elements that appear in a set order:

1. a ruling or determination type – for example, ‘Goods and Services Tax Ruling’
2. a number – for example, ‘GSTR 2019/1’
3. a title in italics – for example, Goods and services tax: supply of anything other than goods or real property connected with the indirect tax zone (Australia).

Write the full title at first mention.

Specify whether it’s a ruling or determination in all subsequent mentions

For subsequent mentions, write the type of ruling or determination or write the number.

Use an initial capital when you refer to specific rulings.

In notes, cite the title, source and paragraph numbers

If you use notes, cite the ATO Legal Database as the source.

For pinpoint citations, use paragraph numbers for public rulings (rather than page numbers). Write the paragraph number in square brackets preceded by the words ‘para’ or ‘paras’.

For subsequent notes for the same public ruling, cite the number (and paragraphs for a pinpoint citation).