Announcing the finalists for the 2015 Plain English Awards

19 October 2015

Announcing the finalists for the 2015 Plain English Awards

The list of finalists for the 2015 Plain English Awards is now out. Judges had 140 entries to read through, and a hard job choosing between them. Any individual or organisation that made the finalist list should be very proud to be there.

2015 is the tenth year of the WriteMark Plain English Awards. The Awards celebrate clear, concise documents and websites — and the people and organisations who create them.

This year’s entries demonstrate the ever-increasing commitment to plain English in New Zealand. More and more businesses and government departments are beginning to understand the benefits of communicating well. Clear writing shows respect for audiences and readers, and builds goodwill. It also helps organisations save both time and money.

‘Writing information in plain English makes clients happy and helps your bottom line. More than that, it helps people understand their rights and responsibilities as citizens and consumers,’ says Gregory Fortuin, Chair of the WriteMark Plain English Awards Trust.

This year, we’ve been pleased to see entries from people and organisations who’ve never entered before. We’ve also seen some organisations become finalists in multiple categories. This shows a real commitment to clear communication.

As ever, the public has been keen to get involved. We’ve received plenty of nominations for both the Best Plain English Communication and the Worst ‘Brainstrain’ Communication.

First prize in the premier Champion category of the Awards is $10,000 worth of plain English consultancy from sponsor Write Limited. Winners will be announced at the Awards ceremony in Wellington on Thursday, 19 November. The finalists are:

Plain English Champion — Best Organisation

ANZ
Castalia Strategic Advisors

Plain English Champion — Best Individual or Team

ANZ — Cushla Scholfield
ANZ – Wealth team
Careers NZ — Online Content team

Plain English Champion — Best Project

ANZ
Mercer
Ministry of Social Development

Best Plain English Document — Public Sector / Non-Government Organisation (NGO)

Commerce Commission — Borrowing money or buying goods on credit: Know your rights
Inland Revenue — Our Organisation 2015–2017
Ministry of Social Development — Protect Your Future with an Enduring Power of Attorney
Quitline — Quit smoking resource for pregnant women
Wellington City Council — Get prepared for an emergency

Best Plain English Document — Private Sector

ANZ — Home Loan Agreement
ANZ Investments — KiwiSaver Scheme Investment Statement
Beef + Lamb — 2015 Sheepmeat and Beef Levy Referendum, levy proposal, pocket guide and team guide
Moneta Media — Juno (Spring 2015)

Best Plain English Website — Public Sector / Non-Government Organisation (NGO)

Govt.nz/Department of Internal Affairs — www.govt.nz
Inland Revenue — www.ird.govt.nz/property
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment —www.tenancy.govt.nz

Best Plain English Website — Private Sector

ANZ — www.anz.co.nz/about-us/corporate-responsibility/community/microsite/financial-hardship/home/
St Mary’s Early Childhood Education Centre —www.stmaryschildcare.org.nz
Woods the Creative Agency — www.enzedexotics.com

Best Plain English Sentence Transformation

ANZ — sentence from ANZ Guarantee
Saunders Robinson Brown — sentence from Agreement for sale and purchase of land
Statistics NZ — sentence from Commuting patterns in greater Christchurch: Trends from the Census of Population and Dwellings 2006 and 2013

Best Plain English Technical Communicator

Sarah Wilcox, Descipher
Victoria Anderson, NZ Defence Force
Emma Adcock, OSPRI
Meredith Evans, Synlait Milk

Best Plain English Annual Report

ANZ — ANZ KiwiSaver Scheme Annual Report
Mercer — 2015 Mercer KiwiSaver Scheme Annual Report
Watercare Services Limited — Watercare Annual Report 2014

Best Plain English Legal Document

ANZ — Home Loan Agreement
ANZ — ANZ Guarantee
OnePath Life (NZ) Limited — ANZ Life and Living Insurance — Policy Document
TVNZ — House Rules

Best Plain English Turnaround

OSPRI — Can’t contact letter
OSPRI — NAIT tutorial video — registering animals
OSPRI — Preparing for TB testing

People’s Choice — Best Plain English Communication
ACC — www.findsupport.co.nz
ANZ — Investment Statement for the ANZ KiwiSaver Scheme
Westpac — www.westpac.co.nz/home-loans/

People’s Choice — Worst ‘Brainstrain’ Communication
Funds Administration NZ Limited — Lifestages KiwiSaver Scheme Investor Update
Hamilton City Council — Digital Hamilton: Enabling development of a great New Zealand City
NZ Police — Vetting Service — Request and Consent Form

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