Subject guides: Chicago 18th (B) Author-Date: Government sources

Government sources

Government departments may be cited under their acronym in-text (in capitals with no punctuation). Alphabetise under that abbreviation (rather than the spelled-out name) in the reference list. See Chapter 10 of the manual for further guidance on acronyms.
Government documents commonly include a catalogue number. It can be omitted if not available.
A government organisation may be both the author and the publisher of a document.
Abbreviations to Australian states and territories follow the Australia Post Address Presentation Standards on page 24.

Government documents with no personal author

In-text citation

Format

(Organisation Acronym Year, Pages)

Example

(AIHW 2003, 20)

Reference list

Format

Acronym (Organisation Name). Year. Title of Work: Subtitle. Catalogue Number. Publisher. DOI/URL if online.

Example

AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare). 2003. Young Homeless People in Australia 2001-02: A Report from the SAAP National Data Collection. AIHW cat. no. HOU 87. AIHW. https://aihw.gov.au/getmedia/71203167-30cc-4bdb-a9ff-d4cef1c785af/yhpa01-02.pdf.aspx?inline=true.

Government documents with personal authors

In-text citation

Format

(First Author Surname and Second Author Surname Year, Pages)

Example

(Smith and Brown 2023, 5)

Reference list

Format

First Author Surname, First Name, and Second Author Full Name. Year. Title of Work: Subtitle. Catalogue Number. Publisher/Organisation. DOI/URL if online.

Example

Smith, John and Leo Brown. 2023. Impact of climate change on coastal regions. Report No. 5472. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. https://www.environemnt.gov/report5472.

Tips

For information on listing multiple authors see advice on the in-text and reference list pages.

Australian Bureau of Statistics

In-text citation

Format

(Organisation Acronym Year, Pages)

Example

(ABS 2012, 5)

Reference list

Format

Acronym (Organisation Name). Year. Title of Work: Subtitle. Catalogue Number. Publisher. DOI/URL if online.

Example

ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics). 2012. Australian Social Trends, December 2012. Cat. no. 4102.0. ABS. http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features1Dec%202012?OpenDocument.