If I am listing the name of a government agency as publisher, should I separate out the name of the government?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook. For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook.

No. The rules for government agencies as described in the MLA Handbook (2.1.3) do not apply to the “Publisher” slot. List the publisher’s name (i.e., the government agency) as you see it in the source:

Australia’s Welfare, 2017. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2017.

Work Cited

MLA Handbook. 8th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2016.