Style for bill titles is roman type, title case

A bill is a draft Act introduced into parliament. A bill becomes an Act when the Governor-General gives assent to the bill after the Senate and House of Representatives agree on its content.

Write the titles of bills in roman type, not italics.

Bills have a:

• short title (its name), which includes the year
• long title (a description).

In general, use the short title. Use title case (maximal capitalisation). There is no comma between the title and year.

The long title uses sentence case.

Lower case is correct, unless the reference is to a specific bill

Always use an initial capital for the word ‘Bill’ when you write about a specific bill: ‘the Bill’, ‘this Bill’.

If you are writing about 2 or more bills, use the lower case: ‘the bills’, ‘these bills’.

If you write about a bill or bills generally, use the lower case: ‘a bill’, ‘some bills’.

For bills, people are unlikely to find the lower case forms confusing. If there’s any chance the text is unclear to readers, use a capital ‘B’.

The basic unit of a bill is a clause (cl)

Bills contain clauses, which become sections when bills become Acts. Clauses can be divided into subclauses, then into paragraphs and then into subparagraphs. Use lower case for these units of a bill unless they begin a sentence.

Long bills have clauses grouped into parts, divisions and subdivisions. Always use an initial capital for these units, for example ‘Part 1’.

Bills often contain schedules. These are not units but are components of bills, Acts and some delegated legislation.

Units below clause level

Commonwealth bills refer to units below clause level using the smallest unit of text. This is a convention used by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel in legislative drafting. Some jurisdictions cite at clause level.

Whether to cite at clause level or below will depend on the context for your content. You can choose which method to follow.

Content that discusses the operation and effect of certain subclauses, paragraphs and subparagraphs will cite at the smallest unit level. A general discussion about the provisions of a bill will cite at clause level.

Follow in-house style. Otherwise, be guided by the type of content you’re writing, and its purpose and audience.

Shortened forms for units

The shortened forms of ‘clause’ and ‘clauses’ are ‘cl’ and ‘cls’. Write them in lower case and without a full stop.

The shortened forms of ‘subclause’ and ‘subclauses’ are ‘subcl’ and ‘subcls’.

The other units of bills mentioned above are also found in Acts.

You can use both the long and shortened forms of units for in-text citation and notes. To decide which to use, think about the type of content, its users and the amount of legal material cited in it. If the long form better helps people understand the text, use it.

Explanatory material titles use roman type, title case

Explanatory material includes explanatory memoranda and explanatory statements.

An explanatory memorandum is a document tabled in parliament with a bill. It explains the objective of a proposed law and how it will operate. The Australian Government has provided explanatory memoranda with all government bills since 1982.

An explanatory statement is a similar document that accompanies delegated legislation such as regulations and determinations.

Write titles in roman type. Use title case for the titles of explanatory material.

Don’t use capitals for ‘explanatory memoranda’ and ‘explanatory statements’ when writing about explanatory material in the general sense.

For content that mentions explanatory material often, use these shortened forms:

• EM (explanatory memorandum)

• EMs (explanatory memoranda or memorandums)

• ES (explanatory statement or statements).

Write them in parentheses at first mention and use the shortened form after that.

Write the titles of explanatory material as in-text citations to give context.