Search Results for: Australia

An independent research organization that advocates for clear communication and information design. The Institute publishes research papers and sets standards for best practices.

The government office responsible for drafting legislation. It has published a plain English manual and a guide on drafting clear and simple legislation.

Published in The Clarity Journal 81 – 2020. Introduction This article discusses how plain language in Australian family law combined with a clear process makes justice more accessible. Both substantive and procedural law are discussed. Justice requires minimal delays, minimal costs and accessibility. Law is accessible when substantive and procedural laws are understood by lay […]

Mark Biss is a process analyst / technical writer in Melbourne, Australia. He has 20 years’ experience remediating documentation in different industries. Mark combines process logic with plain language to minimise the “cost of confusion”. Mark has an MBA (Monash University), Graduate Certificate in Linguistics (Open University) and Six Sigma certification.

Robert Eagleson has been involved in ground- breaking plain English work in Australia. He contributed extensively to the first plain English legal document (a car insurance policy) in 1976. As commissioner in charge of the plain English reference to the Victorian Law Reform Commission, he demonstrated that even complex legislation could be written in plain […]

Dr Neil James is Executive Director of the Plain English Foundation in Australia, which combines plain English training, editing and evaluation with a campaign for more ethical public language. Neil has published three books and over 90 articles and essays on language and literature. He is a regular speaker about language in the media throughout […]

A foundation seeking to improve access to justice in New South Wales. It provides resources and guidelines for writing and useful guides to Australian law. The Foundation also publishes a monthly newsletter on plain language.

Managing Director Words and Beyond (Australia) Christopher is a sea-kayaker, a former lawyer, a past- president of Clarity, a plain-language advocate and practitioner, and chair of the International Plain Language Federation’s Standard’s Committee. He founded (and sold) Cleardocs. com and founded, and is the Managing Director of, Words and Beyond.

Published in The Clarity Journal 79 – 2018 The Plain Language Working Group is born – and gets to work The journey towards this options paper began at the 2007 PLAIN conference in Amsterdam. Three plain language organizations were considering issues, such as whether we should establish international standards for plain language, and what exactly […]

Published in The Clarity Journal 76 – 2018 By Neil James and Susan Kleimann No one could object to the evaluation of texts to assess their quality and effectiveness. Many evaluation methods exist, from readability formulas and expert reviews to usability tests and the analysis of outcomes. Yet in recent years, a divide has developed […]