Plain English Awards

celebrate New Zealand's clearest communicators

2018 Awards finalists

Congratulations! The following entries are finalists in this year’s Awards

Here are the finalists for each category. The finalists are in alphabetical order. Winners will be announced at the Awards ceremony in November.


Plain English Champion — Best Organisation

No entries this year

Building up a portfolio to enter in our Plain English Champion — Best Organisation category can take years. We know we have some potential champions out there. We look forward to seeing their entries when they’re good and ready.


Plain English Champion — Best Individual or Team

  • Ministry of Social Development — Better Letters Project
  • Simplicity KiwiSaver Plan — Amanda Morrall and Amir Bashir
  • WineWorks Marlborough — Andy Baldwin

Best Plain English Document — Public Sector

  • Dunedin City Council — Investing in our great small city | Te Whakatāpae i tēnei taone
  • Ministry for Women — Māori and Pasifika women in trades
  • New Zealand Drug Foundation —Whakawātea te Huarahi; a model drug law to 2020 and beyond

Best Plain English Document — Private Sector

  • JUNO magazine for the JUNO KiwiSaver Scheme — Your Guide to KiwiSaver
  • Litmus Limited — Young people’s perception of the firefighter role

Best Plain English Website — Public Sector


Best Plain English Website — Private Sector


Best Plain English Sentence Transformation

  • Ministry of Social Development — sentence from Letter to overseas client
  • Ministry of Social Development — sentence from Fact sheet about sharing information with another organisation
  • Ankita Sharma — sentence from Seeking the Spirit Within

Best Plain English Annual Report

  • Ministry for Women — Ministry for Women Annual Report 2016/17
  • Ryman Healthcare — Annual Report 2018
  • Stats NZ — Stats NZ’s Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2017

Best Plain English Legal Document

  • Draper Cormack Group Limited — Terms and Conditions
  • Hatch — Hatch Beta Ts & Cs
  • Infinite Possibilities Limited — Let’s commit to a serious relationship — Infinite Possibilities client relationship agreement

Best Plain English Technical Communicator

No finalists published


Best Plain English Turnaround

  • Auckland Council — Review of Auckland Council’s representation arrangements for the 2019 elections
  • Infinite Possibilities Limited — Let’s commit to a serious relationship  —  Infinite Possibilities client relationship agreement

People’s Choice — Best Plain English Communication

  • Commission for Financial Capability (CFFC) — Thinking of Living in a Retirement Village?
  • Independent Police Conduct Authority — www.ipca.govt.nz
  • Ryman Healthcare — It’s got to be good enough for Mum. Ryman Healthcare Annual Report 2018

People’s Choice — Worst ‘Brainstrain’ Communication

  • Air New Zealand — US entry and transit requirements
  • The Companies Office — Companies Office Societies and Trusts Online
  • The Reserve Bank of New Zealand — BS11: OUTSOURCING POLICY