Wikipedia:WikiProject Australia/Conventions

The following guidelines apply to articles on Australia-related topics under the purview of WikiProject Australia.

For general conventions, see Manual of Style.

People
Usually, a biographical article should be named in the way the name of the person who is the article's subject usually appears in English-language publications in Australia.

Sports
Use soccer instead of association football; the other main codes in Australia are Australian rules football; Rugby league; and Rugby union.

Currency
For currency values in articles on Australian topics, the Australian dollar is considered the default where an unprefixed dollar sign is used e.g. $123.45. However, the first appearance of a dollar amount should be specified as A$ (e.g. A$123.45) for the benefit of international readers.

Currencies of other nations within Australian articles should always be identified, especially other national dollars (e.g. New Zealand or the United States), to avoid confusion (e.g. US$45.67).

For Wikipedia articles not specifically on Australian subjects, the Australian dollar should normally be identified as A$123.45. The ISO 4217 abbreviation (AUD) should be restricted to special cases, such as tables in which different national currencies are consistently listed using ISO 4217. Avoid use of other prefixes such as AU$ since there is no consensus for these. Do not use the abbreviation AUD$ as AUD in the ISO 4217 standard already means "Australian dollar" which would make AUD$ redundant ("Australian dollar dollar").

The AUD template (A$ redirects there) is useful for currency formatting and includes a descriptive link to the Australian dollar article.

Dates
Dates are indicated with the day before the month (International format), that is, "9 August" and "9 August 1965". Therefore, in accordance with Manual of Style (dates and numbers), in articles:
 * dates should be set out with the day before the month; and
 * the parameter "df=yes" ("df" standing for "day first") should be used with the templates Birth date and age, Birth year and age, Death date and age, Death year and age, and related templates.
 * the dmy template is used to inform bots and human editors as to the article's date format.

Deaths
Cultural sensitivities are often raised involving indigenous Australians with respect to publication of the names or images of dead people.

Wikipedia's content disclaimer, however, cautions that "[a]rticles may contain audio, visual, or written representations of people or events which may be protected by some cultures." Therefore no special restrictions are placed on images or references to deceased persons in Australian articles, other than those which generally apply in Wikipedia. Such representation, however, is subject to due respect and common sense.

Measurements
Modern Australian measurements should be set out using the International System of Units (SI or metric system). Measurements in the Imperial system may be provided in parentheses after the metric measurement as can be done conveniently using the Convert template.

Articles on historic subjects pre-dating SI/metric usage may use units as provided by sources, with conversion to modern units. Units in quotations should remain intact. Generally, use common sense.

For general guidance on representing measurement, see WP:UNITS.

Places
For articles on Australian communities, use Infobox Australian place for the article's infobox template. Do not use the generic Infobox Settlement as this is not tailored for Australia's unique geography and government situation.

See also WikiProject Australian places for further resources and guidance.

Pronunciation
If a subject has both an international and local pronunciation, the lead paragraph can include both using the IPAc-en and IPA templates respectively.

This wiki-code:


 * Cairns (, locally )

will show the following:


 * Cairns (, locally )

Note that pronunciations should be supported by references, particularly dictionaries such as Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Macquarie Dictionary (at least Fourth Edition, 2005). References were omitted in the above examples for clarity, but may be found at the Cairns, Queensland article.

Seasons
Seasons in Australia, and generally the Southern Hemisphere, differ significantly from seasons in the Northern Hemisphere. Therefore, caution should be taken when editing to ensure that times of year are not misunderstood by Wikipedia's international audience.

Neutral or calendar-based wording should be used, unless the season is clearly identified in its context or as a quotation. Alternatives are to specify the month(s) ("March to May" instead of Australian "autumn" or northern "spring"), or relative location in a year ("mid-2005" instead of Australian "winter 2005", or northern "summer 2005").

Also see WP:SEASON for further background.

Spelling
Spelling used on Australian-related articles should follow Australian English practice.

The Australian English template may be used on talk pages of Australian articles, especially in cases where editors require guidance on the applicable spelling conventions.

See also Manual of Style.

Times
The following time zones apply in mainland Australia:

Times of Australian events should be specified in the applicable local time using the time zone abbreviation from the above table e.g. 14:30 ACST. Time zone abbreviations may link to Time in Australia for reference. A UTC equivalent may follow in brackets e.g. 23:15 AEDT (12:15 UTC).

Daylight Time does not apply to the Northern Territory, Queensland or Western Australia. Generally, where Daylight time is applicable, it is in effect from early October until early April.

For time zones of surrounding islands and external territories, see Time in Australia.

See also Manual of Style (dates and numbers).