Content design Guides, templates and articles
Guides, templates and articles about content design, government communications, digital experience with a few case studies thrown in for fun.
Content design vs UX writing vs content strategy: the disciplines, the overlaps, the differences
Content design vs UX writing vs content strategy: what each discipline actually does, where they overlap, and why naming them right saves teams time and budget.
A government chatbot is only as good as the content behind it
A government chatbot just repeats the content behind it. Why government chatbot content design in Australia, not the platform, decides if the answers are right.
The DTA AI impact assessment tool: what content teams should do now
The DTA AI impact assessment tool now applies to any government content team using AI to draft or edit. Run it as a self-audit before procurement or audit does.
Content audit metrics: the five measures that get executive sign-off
Content audit metrics that get executive sign-off: relevance, accuracy, accessibility, traffic, and decision-readiness, scored on one cover page they will read.
How to write alt text for (Australian government) websites
How to write alt text for Australian government websites: when an image actually needs it, how to describe its purpose, and who should own it in your workflows.
How to brief AI for content: the three layers of context it needs
Generic AI content is a briefing failure, not a model failure. How to brief AI for content using the three layers of context it genuinely needs to get it right.
Web content governance for Australian government websites
The minimum viable governance model for an Australian government website: three roles, six decisions, a review cadence, and an escalation path. Free download.
PDF/UA (ISO 14289) is the standard for accessible PDFs. Most government PDFs do not meet it.
PDF/UA (ISO 14289) is the international standard for accessible PDFs. Most Australian government PDFs do not meet it. The fix is governance, not better tooling.
AS ISO 24495 plain language is now an Australian Standard. Use it as a governance lever.
AS ISO 24495.1:2024 makes plain language a citable Australian Standard. Use it in your content governance framework, your next tender, or in your audit reports.
A content audit is not your first step
A content audit is the third step. Before you review a single page, you need both a content inventory and an impact assessment. Here is what all three steps do.
AI-Era Content Strategy: How search and AI consume government information
AI assistants now sit between government and the public. A white-label strategy template for designing content that AI can cite accurately for service delivery.
Responsible AI use in government content isn't a policy question. It's a workflow question.
Responsible AI use in government content is a daily workflow question, not a policy question. Here's what it looks like at the desk where the content gets made.
The DTA Cloud Policy starts 1 July 2026. Here's what it means for content teams.
The DTA Cloud Policy starts 1 July 2026. Here is what content teams must shape: CMS choice, content model, decommissioning order. Get a seat at the cloud table.
Content review checklist
A content review checklist for Australian government websites covering plain language, accessibility, structure, and governance. Adapt and use.
Information architecture on government websites is a governance problem, not a design problem
Information architecture on Australian government websites need help. It is a governance problem, not a design problem. Here is what that means in practice.
The first conversation in content design is not about content
Stakeholders are attached to their content. In government content design, the first move is always the conversation, not the rewrite. Here's the right sequence.