Works of art
Cite works of art using the author–date system. Attribute artwork with correct references to help people find the source and relevant information.
Cite works of art correctly
Works of art include:
Plays and poetry
Cite plays and poetry using the author–date system. Attribute works with correct references to help people find the play or poem.
Cite plays and poems correctly
You might need to refer to plays and poetry in information about events, in digital content and in other publications.
References to plays and poetry must be accurate and complete so that they:
Editing and proofreading
Editing and proofreading help ensure consistency so content meets user needs and expectations.
Editing is integral to clear content
Editing is part of the work of any team that creates and publishes content. Editing helps content meet user and business needs by ensuring it is:
- appropriate for the audience
- easily understood
- free from errors, consistent and complete.
Digital Service Standard requirements
You must make sure content is clear, accurate and consistent to meet the Digital Service Standard:
Documentary–note
The documentary–note system uses a symbol or number in the text to mark detailed references in footnotes or endnotes. Choose this system only if it best suits the mode of publishing content and user needs.
Place a reference marker in text, link it to details in a note
The documentary–note system uses:
- superscript reference markers – numbers or symbols – in the text
- footnotes or endnotes with the full information about the source.
Each note has the corresponding superscript reference marker before it. Users find the note by matching the number or symbol. In digital content, the reference markers can be hyperlinked to help users access the note.
Author–date
The author–date system includes details for author and date in the text with a full citation in a list of references. This system is suitable for most Australian Government content.
Include author and date in text, and list full details later
The author–date system uses:
- in-text citations with the author’s name and the date of publication
- an alphabetical reference list with the full information about the source.
People use the information from an in-text citation to find the corresponding reference in the list.
Legal material
There are different conventions for how to cite legal material. Follow one style consistently to help people read and use the information.
Cite legal material consistently and accurately
It’s important to cite legal sources in a consistent and accurate way across government.
The Style Manual gives common guidance for different types of legal material, including:
Ordinal numbers
Ordinal numbers, such as ‘first’, ‘second’ and ‘third’, show the order, position or importance of things in a list or sequence.
Use words for ordinals up to ‘ninth’ and numerals for ‘10th’ and above
Spell out ordinal numbers from ‘first’ to ‘ninth’. Use numerals for ordinals from ‘10th’ onwards.
Ordinals written as numerals always have a suffix:
- ‘-st’ (‘first’, ‘21st’)
- ‘-nd’ (‘second’, ‘32nd’)
- ‘-rd’ (‘third’, ‘103rd’)
- ‘-th’ (‘fourth’, ‘15th’, ‘55th’ and so on).
Don’t write suffixes in superscript. Superscript may not be accessible to people who use screen readers.
Awards and honours
Post-nominals and titles of status show the awards and honours an individual has. List them in the correct order.
Use post-nominals in the correct order
Post-nominals are the shortened forms for academic awards and civil and military honours.
There is an order in which to write the post-nominals.
In summary, the rule is to write the highest honour first. The order is:
Judiciary
Use the correct titles to refer to members of the judiciary.
Use the correct form to refer to judges and magistrates
Refer to judges of the following courts as ‘Justice’ and use the title ‘The Honourable’:
- High Court
- Federal Court
- Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1)
- supreme courts in the states and territories.
Use the titles ‘Your Honour’, ‘His Honour’ or ‘Her Honour’ for judges of:
Australian Defence Force
Use the correct title and style to refer to members of the armed services. This guidance is intended primarily for users outside the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force.
Use terminology correctly
Use the term ‘Defence’ when you mean both the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force (ADF). ‘Defence’ is used to represent the organisation as a whole.
‘Defence’ has an initial capital when it is part of a formal name or title. Use lower case for generic references.