By following APA 7th referencing, you ensure appropriate credit is given to the work of others, formatted consistently and clearly.
There are two steps to referencing:
In-text citations: Briefly pinpoint the source of paraphrased or quoted material within the body of your assignment.
Reference list: Details in full the sources referred to in-text, placed on a separate page at the end of your assignment.
For complete citation and reference formats, please refer to the appropriate resource type tabs within this guide.
| Style rule | Example | |
| In-text citations |
1 - 2 authors list all authors. 3 or more authors list first author followed by et al. |
(Meeking & Kovaci, 2024). (Low et al., 2021). |
| Secondary source citations |
Include year of both the original author (if known) and source. |
(Mindum, 2016, as cited in Low et al., 2021). |
You must reference all materials according to the specific source type (e.g. book, article, webpage etc.). Each will differ slightly with its own requirements, formats and rules.
Refer to the following quick guide for a summary of referencing formats/examples of common source types.
| Style rule | Example | |
| Reference list |
See formatting reference list tab for detailed guidance. Overview of formatting:
|
| Style rule | Example | |
| 1-20 authors |
List all authors in reference. |
Robbins, S., Judge, T., Edwards, M., Saniford, P., Fitzgerald, M., & Hunt J. (2020). Organisational behaviour (9th ed.). Pearson Education. |
| 21 or more authors |
Include first 19 authors, an ellipsis (...), and then the final name. |
Wiskunde, B., Arslan, M., Fischer, P., Nowak, L., Van den Berg, O., Coetzee, L., Juárez, U., Riyaziyyat, E., Wang, C., Zhang, I., Li, P., Yang, R., Kumar, B., Xu, A., Martinez, R., McIntosh, V., Ibáñez, L. M., Mäkinen, G., Virtanen, E., . . . Kovács, A. (2019). Indie pop rocks mathematics: Twenty One Pilots, Nicolas Bourbaki, and the empty set. Journal of Improbable Mathematics, 27(1), 1935–1968. https://doi.org/10.0000/3mp7y-537 |
| Government agency as author |
When numerous layers of government agencies are listed as the author of a work, use the most specific agency as the author in the reference. The names of parent agencies appear after the title as the publisher. Write government agency names out in full, do not abbreviate. |
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (2017). 2017 foreign policy white paper [White paper]. Australian Government. https://www.fpwhitepaper.gov.au/foreign-policy-white-paper Fair Work Commission. (2020, December 31). Disputes at work: Anti-bullying. Commonwealth of Australia. https://www.fwc.gov.au/disputes-at-work/anti-bullying Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. (2024). COVID-19 guidance for nurses and midwives. Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Statements/COVID19-guidance.aspx |
| Style rule | Example | |
| Organisation/Corporate author name | Entire name is capitalised and written out in full, do not abbreviate. |
World Health Organization |
| Organisation/Corporate author same as publisher | Do not repeat, leave publisher name blank. |
Cancer Council. (n.d.). Facts and figures: Cancer statistics in Australia. https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/what-is-cancer/facts-and-figures |
| Style rule | Example | |
| URLs |
Format as per hyperlink default:
|
https://www.fwc.gov.au/disputes-at-work/anti-bullying
|
| DOIs |
Format as https://doi.org/xx.xxxx |
https://doi.org/10.0000/3mp7y-537 |