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Submissions

The focus of the Queensland Law Journal (QLJ) is upon articles of direct relevance to the practice of law in Queensland.

Articles of this character are considered for publication by the Editorial Committee, who may seek guidance from specialist reviewers.

Articles may be submitted for consideration to the Editorial Committee at [email protected].

Submission Requirements

  1. (Original and Lawful) Submissions must be an original work by the author, who is lawfully entitled to publish the work and to authorise its publication in the QLJ. Submissions which have been published elsewhere, including online, may be accepted at the discretion of the Editorial Committee.
  1. (Length) Submissions should generally be between 5,000-12,000 words (excluding footnotes). This range is for guidance only.
  1. (Style) All submissions should conform to the latest version of the Queensland Reports Style Guide. An abridged version of that guide is set out below. Compliance with this guide is of great assistance, as it saves time and effort in the sub-editing process, as we seek to present the text of the Queensland Reports and the Queensland Law Journal in a consistent style.
  1. (Title and Name of Author) The article should be given a brief title, followed by the name of the author or authors expressly without title or embellishment (eg “Jane Smith”). The author’s name should then be followed by a dagger footnote (viz “✝”), at which a brief description of the author can be added (eg “Judge of Appeal, Supreme Court of Queensland”) together with any reference to the genesis of the paper (eg “This paper was delivered at …”) and any necessary acknowledgement (eg “I gratefully acknowledge the assistance of….”).
  1. (Publication Agreement) If a submission is accepted for publication, the author will be asked to enter a standard publishing agreement with the ICLRQ. This agreement will include permission for the submission to be edited, as required, to bring the submission into conformity with the standard style of the Queensland Law Journal. It will also include a grant to the ICLRQ of a non-exclusive perpetual royalty-free licence throughout the world to do any act comprised in the copyright (whether now existing or created in the future) subsisting in the publication for the term of that copyright and any renewals, revivals and extensions of that copyright.

Queensland Law Journal Style Guide – A Brief Summary

  1. (Font) Submissions should be prepared in Word format, using Times New Roman 12 point font and 1.5 line spacing.
  1. (Text) Submissions should be prepared in paragraphs, but without paragraph numbering. Case and legislation names may be cited in-text, although the case citation should appear in a footnote immediately following the case name.
  1. (Footnotes) Footnotes, rather than endnotes, should be used. They should be numbered consecutively.
  1. (Headings) To provide articles with an attractive framework, the use of headings is encouraged. However, only three levels of headings should be used. The first level of headings should appear in capitals, bold and centred. The second level of headings should appear in ordinary text, bold, and left-aligned. The third level of headings should appear in ordinary text, italics and left-aligned. A numbering system for the headings may be used. No footnotes should be attached to headings.
  1. (Case Citations - General) The citation of cases should follow the style used in the Queensland Reports. Where a case is reported in a set of authorised reports, it should be cited by reference to the authorised report alone (eg “(1909) 8 CLR 330”). Where a case does not appear in the authorised reports, but is otherwise reported, it should be cited by reference to a generalist set of reports alone (eg “(2008) 217 FLR 10”), or otherwise by reference to a specialised set of reports (eg “(2018) 125 ACSR 513”). For unreported cases, the medium-neutral citation should be used when available (eg “[2020] QCA 1”) or otherwise an unreported citation “(Supreme Court, Brisbane, Philippides J, 22 August 2014, unreported)”.
  1. (Case Citations – Multiple Parties) Where there is more than one party on either side of the record the words “and Another” or “and Others” or any variant of these such as “& Anor” or “& Ors” are not used (eg Aurizon Network Pty Ltd v Glencore Coal Queensland Pty Ltd (2019) 1 QR 392 is used, rather than Aurizon Network Pty Ltd v Glencore Coal Queensland Pty Ltd & ors (2019) 1 QR 392.)
  1. (Case Citations – Criminal Matters) Where the Sovereign is the first-named party in criminal cases, “R v” should always be used, even if the case name uses “The King/Queen v” (eg R v Mullen (1938) 59 CLR 124, even though it is cited in the Commonwealth Law Reports as “The King v Mullen”). If the Sovereign is referenced in the second part of the case name, the reference is not abbreviated (eg Andelman v The Queen (2013) 38 VR 659 is to be used, rather than Andelman v R (2013) 38 VR 659). The exception to this is where a criminal appeal from the Queensland Court of Appeal is cited – which will always be cited as “R v” (eg R v McNeish (2019) 2 QR 355 is used, even though the second named party was the appellant).
  1. (Case Citations - Commonwealth and States) Where the Commonwealth is a party to a case, “The” should not precede “Commonwealth” (eg Wilkie v Commonwealth (2017) 263 CLR 487, rather than “Wilkie v The Commonwealth”). Where a State or Territory is a party to a case, the style adopted in the particular report being cited is to be followed (eg Akiba v Queensland (2018) 263 FCR 409 and State of Queensland v Seltsam Pty Ltd (2019) 2 QR 495).
  1. (Case Citation – Identifying Court) Identifying the court or judicial officer after a case citation is optional. For example, it would be acceptable to use “Anderson v Pickles Auctions Pty Ltd (No 1) (2023) 13 QR 286, 295 [50] (Cooper J)” or “Anderson v Pickles Auctions Pty Ltd (No 1) (2023) 13 QR 286, 295 [50] per Cooper J”.
  1. (Case Citation - Pinpoint References) Where a reported version of a case uses both paragraphs and page numbers, both should be included in the pinpoint citation (eg “Main Camp v Australian Rural (2002) 20 ACLC 726, 732–733 [22]–[23]”). Pinpoint citations should be preceded by a comma, not “at” (eg “Bampton v Vourlides [2024] QCA 44, [23]”, rather than “Bampton v Vourlides [2024] QCA 44 at [23]”)
  1. (Case Citations – Subsequent References) References to a case in a subsequent footnote should not use “n”, “(n )” or “supra” etc. The full citation should be given. Where a case is to be cited multiple times, a short title can be provided for the case which can be used in subsequent citations (eg “Wells v Queensland Police Service [2024] QDC 38 (“Wells”)”, then subsequently “Wells, [15]”).
  1. (Legislation Citation) Queensland legislation is to be cited with the title in italics, the year not in italics, and “(Qld)” removed (eg “Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999”, rather than “Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld)”). Legislation from other jurisdictions are to be cited in the same way, although the jurisdiction which the legislation is from is to be included (eg “Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)”).
  1. (Textbooks) The following style applies in the citation of textbooks. The author should be first identified by initials (without full stops) and surname, followed by a comma. The title of the work follows in italics. Then follows in parentheses: the edition of the work (where there is a second or further edition), the publisher, and the year of publication of the cited edition. A comma precedes the page or paragraph referred to, without using “p” or “at” as the indication of a page or paragraph. For example: “S Derrington and J Turner, The Law and Practice of Admiralty Matters (2nd ed, Oxford University Press, 2007), 123 [6.19]”.
  1. (Journal Articles) The following style applies in the citation of journal articles. The author or authors are first identified by initials (without full stops) and surname, followed by a comma. The title follows in italics and inverted commas. Then follows the citation of the relevant journal (which should be abbreviated if it has a designated or well-known abbreviation). A comma precedes the page or paragraph referred to without using “p” or “at” as the indication of a page or paragraph. For example, J J Spigelman, “Principle of Legality and the Clear Statement Principle” (2005) 79 ALJ 769. 770.