Contribute to our Journals
We welcome contributions from all tax practitioners and specialists on relevant and timely issues for our journals Taxation in Australia, The Tax Specialist and Australian Tax Forum.
If you would like to contribute to one of our journals please contact our Publisher at publisher@taxinstitute.com.au or call (02) 8223 0000.
Contributions to Taxation in Australia should be relevant to readers whose tax work is mainly in the context of general accounting or law practice.
Preference is given to 'how to' articles with a strong practical approach to mainstream tax issues and professional development. Comprehensive technical details and discussion should be excluded where they are not essential to the reader’s understanding of the issue. Case citations or other references, if essential, must appear within the text.
Articles are generally between 2,000 and 4,000 words. We would suggest that lengthy articles be restructured by authors into two or three self-contained parts over two or three months.
Copy deadline for articles is the 5th of the month preceding month of publication, ie 5 February for the March publication.
Articles for The Tax Specialist are generally between 5,000 and 7,000 words (including reference notes, which are published at the end of the article). Shorter or longer articles may be accepted at the Publisher’s discretion.
Copy deadline for articles is the 5th of the month preceding month of publication, ie January 5 for the February publication. This journal is bi-monthly and is published in February, April, June, August and October.
Articles submitted for publication in Taxation in Australia or The Tax Specialist are reviewed as to their suitability and the writer advised by email or phone on acceptance. Articles should be typed and supplied preferably via email as a word attachment. You should also provide biographical details to feature at the end of the article.
Articles submitted to Australian Tax Forum should be between 3,000 – 20,000 words in length. This journal is a refereed journal that publishes scholarly works on all aspects of taxation. All articles are subject to peer review (double-blind refereed) by specialists in their field. For Australian authors, this publication satisfies the description as a refereed journal in current Department of Education, Science and Training categories.
General guidelines
Articles printed in journals are unlike those prepared as academic papers; they follow different styles and conventions. Where possible, avoid long sentences and paragraphs – particularly when writing for Taxation in Australia. Subheadings should be short and concise enough to fit on one line (no more than 28 letters). We would ask that you use no more than three subordinate levels of sub-heading, and no heading numbering.
Table and charts that are too wide to be accommodated in the text are usually placed separately in the page to which reference to them has been made. Emphasised words or passages of text are set in bold type, not italicised or underlined or printed in capital letters. Quotations are set a half point smaller than the body type and indented from the left and right sides of the column.
Both Taxation in Australia and The Tax Specialist conform to international typesetting and standard English punctuation, grammar and editing conventions.
House styles are used for some abbreviations and technical terms where there is no international convention or common style.
Australian Tax Forum conforms to international typesetting and standard English punctuation, grammar and editing conventions.
House styles are used for some abbreviations and technical terms where there is no international convention or common style (please see the Style Guide below).
Style guide
FOOTNOTING
- We use footnotes rather than endnotes.
- Footnotes should be maximum 200 words in length. If a footnote is longer, please attach it as an appendix.
- The Harvard style of citation is not employed.
LEGISLATION AND RULINGS
- Legislative documents take a capital initial (the Bill, the Act, the Explanatory Memorandum).
- At first mention the name is given in full (Taxation Laws Amendment Bill No.4, Explanatory Memorandum, Consultative Document). Following references should be the ‘the Bill’ or ‘Bill no.4’, the EM or the CD.
Acts are referred to in full and italicised in the first instance – the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 – and are afterwards referred to by their initials without italics or full stops – the FBTAA. - Parts of an Act are given in full at first instance – Part IIIA, Division 4 and subsequently referred to as ‘the Part’ or ‘the Division’.
- The name of an ATO Ruling or Determination is given in full only if absolutely necessary to the thrust of the article – TR 97/17: Income tax and fringe benefits tax: entertainment by way of food or drink (Note sentence capitalisation). Otherwise – TR 97/17, TD 92/101 etc.
CASE LAW
- References to specific court or tribunal cases are given in full at first instance (including citation in The Tax Specialist only): FC or T v Cooling (1990) 90 ACT 4472. The second reference should be to Cooling’s Case and thereafter Cooling.
- General references to unnamed courts or tribunals do not need capitalisation – the courts, the tribunals etc.
- Use of a judge’s title is unnecessary. Refer to Hope CJ, Micawber J, or Faith, Hope and Charity JJ. Refer to a group of unnamed judges or law lords as their Honours, their Lordships.
- Technical legal terms are not italicised.
ABBREVIATIONS
- Use the full name of a specific court in the first instance – the Full Bench of the Federal Court and thereafter the Court or the Full Court.
- Use Administrative Appeals Tribunal in the first instance, then AAT.
- Identify members of a specific tribunal of the AAT in a particular case by name and position – CJ Bannon, QC, Deputy President; BJ McMahon, QC, Senior Member); thereafter as the Tribunal.
- Use company names in full in the first instance – the Bagabones Co. Pty Ltd – and Bagabones thereafter.
- Use Section 51 to start a sentence, otherwise s 51; sub-sec 160M(6); s 50 and 51, sub-s 160M(6) and (7).
- Use paras for paragraphs.
- Spell out numbers one to nine, use digital for 10 and up.
- Millions and parts of a million are 1 million, 1.5 million etc.
- Use digits for percentages – 1 per cent (not one or %) except in tables and formulae.
- Dates are day, month, year – 30 June 1998.
- Periods are 1994-97 not 1994/97.
- If fractions are unclear (3/4 instead of ¾) - please write them out in full.
- Examples from ITAA 97.
- The following terms are commonly abbreviated in the body of an article:
section = s - sections = ss
- subsection = sub
- subsections = subs
- division = div
- divisions = divs
- subdivision = subdiv
- subdivisions = subdivs
- paragraph = para
- paragraphs = paras
Exceptions
The above terms will be written out in full in the following circumstances:
- where the term is preceded by an article (eg. 'in the subsection', 'this subdivision...').
- where the term occurs at the start of a sentence (eg. 'Paragraph 3 clearly states...').
- where the term occurs in a heading or running head/foot.
SPELLING
Spelling must always take into account Australian spellings where there is a discrepancy. For example adviser (not advisor), judgment (not judgement). Where in doubt, please consult the Macquarie Australian Dictionary.
