Plain English Awards

celebrate New Zealand's clearest communicators

2018 Awards shortlists

Congratulations! The following entries have made it to this year’s shortlists

Here are the shortlists for each category. The shortlisted entries are in no particular order. Look out for the list of finalists in late October! And winners will be announced at the Awards ceremony in November.

In some categories this year, the judges decided only a few entries met the high standard needed for an award. If we haven’t published a shortlist here, it means we can’t let the cat out of the bag just yet.


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

No shortlist published


Best Plain English Document — Public Sector

  • Ministry for Women — Māori and Pasifika women in trades
  • Accident Compensation Corporation — ‘Fit for Selected Work’ Medical certification
  • Dunedin City Council — Investing in our great small city | Te Whakatāpae i tēnei taone
  • Forestry Industry Safety Council — Tailgate Meeting Talking Topics
  • Deep South National Science Challenge — Research Book 2017: Changing with our Climate
  • Office for Seniors — Developing a new strategy to prepare for an ageing population
  • New Zealand Drug Foundation — Whakawātea te Huarahi; a model drug law to 2020 and beyond

Best Plain English Document — Private Sector

No shortlist published


Best Plain English Website — Public Sector


Best Plain English Website — Private Sector

No shortlist published


Best Plain English Sentence Transformation

  • Ankita Sharma (2 entries)
  • Ministry of Social Development — Better Letters Project (3 entries)

Best Plain English Annual Report

  • Stats NZ — Stats NZ’s Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2017
  • Ministry for Women — Ministry for Women Annual Report 2016/17
  • Kiwi Wealth Limited — Kiwi Wealth KiwiSaver Scheme Annual Report 2018
  • Ryman Healthcare — Annual Report 2018
  • Hugo Charitable Trust — Hugo Charitable Trust Newsletter/Annual Report 2017–18
  • Domain Name Commission Limited — Domain Name Commission Annual Report 2017–18
  • Utilities Disputes — Annual Report 2017–2018

Best Plain English Legal Document

  • Justly (NZ) Limited — Enduring Power of Attorney — property
  • Infinite Possibilities Limited — Let’s commit to a serious relationship — Infinite Possibilities client relationship agreement
  • Hatch — Hatch Beta Ts & Cs
  • Draper Cormack Group Limited — Terms and Conditions

Best Plain English Technical Communicator

No shortlist 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
  • Ministry of Social Development — Factsheet on government agency information matching

People’s Choice — Best Plain English Communication

  • Independent Police Conduct Authority — www.ipca.govt.nz
  • Commission for Financial Capability (CFFC) — Thinking of Living in a Retirement Village?
  • Real Estate Authority — settled.govt.nz
  • Westpac — House, Contents, Vehicle & Boat Insurance
  • Ryman Healthcare — It’s got to be good enough for Mum. Ryman Healthcare Annual Report 2018

People’s Choice — Worst ‘Brainstrain’ Communication

  • The Reserve Bank of New Zealand — BS11: OUTSOURCING POLICY
  • The Companies Office: www.societies.govt.nz — Companies Office Societies and Trusts Online
  • Air New Zealand — US entry and transit requirements
  • ANZ — Tax Residency and Foreign Tax Information