Government, Curriculum and Other Reports

You may need to consult more than one section to accurately represent the source used (eg. number of authors and source descriptions)

Report types include:

  • government (local, state, federal) reports
  • technical reports
  • annual reports
  • research reports
  • curriculum documents
  • policy documents

Reports form part of a body of literature often referred to as grey (gray) literature. They will differ according to the jurisdiction (for government reports), type and purpose of the report.

Downloaded PDF documents and reports can be referenced using the format for reports below.

Documents appearing in webpages should be referenced using the formats for webpages.

In-text citation examples

First use:

A report by the Department of Education (DoE, 2022, p.65) identified various factors......

OR

Various factors affecting outcomes were identified (Department of Education [DoE] , 2022, p.65).

Subsequent use:

...as identified in their study (DoE, 2022)

Reference list

Reference list template (print)

Organisation OR Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work. Publisher (if same as author omit from the reference).

Reference list example (print)

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development & Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority. (2011). Victorian early years learning and development framework: For all children from birth to eight years. 

Reference list template (retrieved online)

Organisation OR Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work. Publisher name. URL

Reference list example (retrieved online)

Department of Education. (2022). Belonging, being and becoming: The early years learning framework for Australia (Version 2.0). https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-01/EYLF-2022-V2.0.pdf

Make sure to look at the style notes

Tips for this reference type

In-text citation

  • If a work has three or more group authors, the in-text citation is shortened by including the name of  first group author plus "et al." in every citation.
  • For a work with one or two authors, include the author name(s) in every citation.
  • The same guidelines apply when any of the authors are groups.
  • Abbreviations: As with other abbreviations, provide the full name of the group on first mention, followed by the abbreviation.
  • If the group name first appears in a narrative citation, include the abbreviation before the year in parentheses, separated with a comma.
  • If the group name first appears in a parenthetical citation, include the abbreviation in square brackets, followed by a comma and the year.

Reference list

  • Format references to technical and research reports and other grey literature as you would a book retrieved online.
  • If the issuing organization assigned a number (e.g., report number, contract number, monograph number) to the report, give that number in parentheses immediately after the title.
  • Provide a description of the form inside [brackets] when it would assist the reader in identifying less typical types of sources (e.g., brochures, press releases, white papers, or fact sheets). Otherwise, omit this.
  • If the publisher has not been identified as the author, provide the publisher name behind the period of the title element, then the URL.
  • If the publisher has been identified as the author, provide the retrieval address from the publisher's website immediately behind the period of the title element. The publisher name, if stated as author does not get repeated.
  • In Australia, we often refer to Commonwealth reports by the name of the chairperson of the committee that published the report.
  • In the reference list entry, do not abbreviate the group author name. Instead, spell out the full name of the group as presented in the source.

Explore resources to help with reference management and enable you to effectively integrate and cite sources into your writing and assessment tasks.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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