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.
Plain language does not fail at the draft. It fails after launch.
Government writers are not the problem. Readability fails after launch, because no role owns the whole site. Here are the four roles that fix it.
Agentic AI does not read your content. It acts on it.
The DTA has named website information as an input to AI systems that take actions. Four things to check in your content before an agent points at your site.
What to measure instead of a readability score
A readability score measures sentence length, not whether readers can act. Plain language vs a readability score, why they differ, and what to test instead now.
Content design training in Australia: the five things UK-built courses leave out
Content design training in Australia largely descends from UK GDS courses. Five things Australian government content work needs that imported courses leave out.
How to write evaluation recommendations that get actioned
Writing evaluation recommendations that get actioned means naming the owner, the action, and the date. Without those three, it is only an observation.
WCAG 2.2 content requirements for government: the criteria your content team owns, not developers
WCAG 2.2 content requirements for government: the new success criteria your content team owns, not developers, and the content fix for help, forms, and sign-in.
Government letters and notices: a content design guide for Australian agencies
Government letters decide whether people pay, appeal or miss deadlines. A practical content design guide to writing letters and notices for Australian agencies.
AI content review checklist for Australian government content teams
AI content review checklist for government teams: check AI-assisted content for accuracy, plain language, accessibility, tone, and governance before publishing.
Accessibility overlays will not make your government website compliant
Accessibility overlays will not make a government website WCAG 2.2 or DDA compliant. The AHRC now says so. The real fix is content design, not a bolt-on widget.
Writing microcopy for Australian government forms: labels, help text, errors
Most Australian government forms fail at the microcopy layer. A practical content design guide for writing useful labels, help text, and clearer error messages.
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.
Evaluation reports need a content design layer
Content design for evaluation reports turns a 90-page PDF into a four-page decision-ready brief, so the people who hold the budget actually act on the findings.
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.
How to write for the web for Australian government: a practical guide for content teams
A practical guide to writing for the web for Australian government. Seven steps, from defining the user task to publishing a page that works.
Year 7 reading level isn't a target. It's a constraint that should change how you write everything.
The Style Manual sets the year 7 reading level for Australian government content. Most agencies miss this target because they edit the words, not the structure.
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.
What 'boring' content actually is, and why it's the right answer for government
Boring content isn't dull. It's predictable, calm and trustworthy. For government, regulated and high-stakes audiences, that's a feature.