Finalists announced in the 16th Plain English Awards

The past year has been one in which many individuals and organisations have been hard at work adapting to their new normal. Many people have been busier than ever, getting used to an ever-changing work environment.

That’s why organisers of the annual Plain English Awards are excited to announce a stellar line-up of finalists this year. This included, for the first time, entries from Australia. Organisers feel this shows that, despite their busyness, people still care about clear communications.

This year’s Plain English Awards finalists are listed below.

Plain English Champion — Best Organisation

• Citizens Advice Bureau New Zealand
• Legalite

Plain English Champion — Best Individual or Team

• Gretchen Rasch — Cawthron Institute
• Lauren Kelindeman — Legalite
• thinkstep-anz team

Best Plain English Document — Public Sector

• Dunedin City Council— tō tātou eke whakamuri: the future of us
• Health Navigator NZ — Empagliflozin
• Leading Lights — Consent to Request Support and Share Information
• Ministry of Social Development — COVID-19 emails to clients 2020
• Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency — The New Zealand code for cycling

Best Plain English Document — Private Sector

• Summer KiwiSaver Scheme — Transferring Australian superannuation to the Summer KiwiSaver scheme
• Litmus and Alzheimers NZ — This is our story: A qualitative research report on living with dementia
• Ryman Healthcare — myRyman Life eLearning tool

Best Plain English Website — Public Sector

• Citizens Advice Bureau New Zealand — www.cab.org.nz
• COVID-19 Group, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet — www.covid19.govt.nz
• Ministry of Social Development — www.youthservice.govt.nz

Best Plain English Website — Private Sector

The website thefoodcruncher.com was the only entry in this category for 2021. Judges commended the website for its purpose, tone, and general language. However, they felt that the website needed to better follow the principles of plain language to progress beyond the shortlist.

Best Plain English Sentence Transformation

No finalists published — wait till 14 October to find out more!

Best Plain English Technical Communicator

No finalists published — wait till 14 October to find out more!

Best Plain English Annual Report

• Domain Name Commission — 2020–2021 Annual Report » Domain Name Commission NZ
• Ministry for Primary Industries — Ministry for Primary Industries Annual Report 2019/20
• National Trauma Network — New Zealand Trauma Registry Annual Report 2019/20

Best Plain English Legal Document

• Accuro Health Insurance — Accuro Health Insurance SmartCare+ Policy Document
• Behavioural Science Aotearoa, Ministry of Justice — Protection Order Information Packs
• Southern Cross Travel Insurance — Domestic Travel Insurance Policy Document

Best Plain English Turnaround

• Accuro Health Insurance — Accuro Health Insurance SmartCare+ Policy Document
• Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency — The New Zealand code for cycling

People’s Choice — Best Plain English Communication

• Kiwibank — We’re improving our home loan documents
• Kiwi Wealth — Kiwi Wealth: State of the Investor Nation Report June 2021
• Masterton District Council — A Dog’s Tale newsletter

People’s Choice — Worst Brainstrain Communication

No entries were received for this category in 2021. Lead judge of the People’s Choice panel, Simon Hertnon, says he’d like to think that this is a good sign.

‘I do think that there are less examples out there — so that’s definitely progress for the cause.’

Huge thanks to Awards sponsors

Sponsors play a key part in the keeping the Plain English Awards going. The Awards team would like to thank the following organisations for their support: WriteMark Limited, Write Limited, Wright Family Foundation, Graphic Solutions, NZ Super Fund, Newsroom, Streamliners, TechComm, Skillset, printing.com, MoneyHub, Consumer NZ, Shelly Davies, Community Comms Collective, Editor Software, Informed Investor, Kendons, and Modica Group.

Get more information

www.plainenglishawards.org.nz

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