Content Co
Content strategy and design for government and enterprise. Ellen Harvey has led whole-of-government digital consolidation for the ACT Government — decommissioning 60 websites and directing content reform across the public service.
What I do
Content design is not about writing nicer words.
It is about designing content so people can understand complex information, make decisions, and complete tasks.
When content is treated as an afterthought, digital experiences fail quietly and expensively.
Content design brings structure, clarity, and intent to the system.
My work sits at the intersection of content strategy, content design, governance, and digital experience. I specialise in helping teams make deliberate, defensible decisions about their content: what should exist, how it should be structured, and how it can be sustained over time.
Read more: What is content design? It's not copywriting, and the difference matters.
Who I work with
Much of my work is in government and public-sector contexts. I also work with purpose-driven organisations, in-house digital teams in enterprise settings, and time-poor product and communications businesses that need senior content expertise on demand.
I work best with organisations where content is:
complex or technical
high-risk or highly scrutinised
spread across large websites or systems
owned by many people, but stewarded by few.
Services
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I help organisations make clear, strategic decisions about their content — grounded in user needs, organisational goals, and operational reality.
This includes:
content strategy and roadmaps
content principles and decision frameworks
governance models, roles, and responsibilities
content lifecycle planning
reducing duplication and unmanaged growth.
The focus is always on clarity, sustainability, and accountability.
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I design and write content that supports real user tasks, particularly where accuracy, accessibility, and clarity are non-negotiable.
This includes:
content audits and gap analysis
structured content reviews and feedback
rewriting and restructuring content
plain-language transformation
accessibility-aligned content design
large-scale content consolidation.
I align work to WCAG 2.2 AA, the Australian Government Style Manual, the DTA’s Digital Experience policy and standards, and plain-language principles as standard. My specialty is content that must hold up under scrutiny: legally, ethically, and operationally.
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I help organisations measure whether content delivers — grounded in success metrics agreed before publication, and reviewed against real user behaviour once content is live.
This includes:
success metrics and measurement frameworks
content analytics setup and tagging
post-publication content reviews
task completion, conversion, and deflection analysis
reporting that links content to outcomes.
The emphasis is on whether content did the thing it was meant to do, not whether the page got traffic.
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I help organisations untangle complex content structures and design information architectures that make sense to users.
This includes:
IA reviews and recommendations
navigation and grouping logic
category and section design
support for content consolidation programs.
My IA work is grounded in content reality, user behaviour, and organisational constraints.
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I support targeted research to inform content and IA decisions.
This includes:
user interviews and synthesis
task analysis
content-focused research planning
translating insights into actionable recommendations.
The emphasis is on research that leads to decisions, not research as a deliverable.
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I facilitate practical workshops that help teams make better decisions about content and digital experience.
Common focus areas include:
content design fundamentals
defining user tasks and journeys
page purpose and scope
information architecture and navigation
designing for accessibility and inclusion.
These sessions are designed to create shared understanding and clear next steps, not abstract theory.
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I work with individuals and teams to build capability and confidence in content design.
This includes:
one-on-one coaching for content and digital leaders
training for content designers, communicators, and subject-matter experts
mentoring for people stepping into senior or specialist content roles.
This work is particularly valuable for teams building content maturity over time.
Government-scale content reform
My track record is leading whole-of-government digital consolidation for the ACT Government — high-stakes environments where content must be accessible, plain-language, and adoption-driven.
I specialise in bridging the gap most organisations miss: turning complex, high-risk information into content people can actually use — clear for users, compliant by design, and sustainable for teams.
Results delivered
Government-wide transformation: Decommissioned 60 websites — 50% of all ACT Government sites (excluding schools) — consolidating them into act.gov.au. Delivered 90% content reduction and cut average call time from 7 to 4 minutes.
System-level leadership: Directed digital content reform across 7 of 9 ACT Government directorates and integrated whole-of-government campaigns into act.gov.au.
Specialist edge: Bridging UX, compliance, and communication design — reducing risk, ensuring legislative alignment, and driving adoption where it matters.
Is this the right fit?
You're in the right place if you need to make a defensible decision about content — what should exist, how it should be structured, how it will be maintained — and you need that decision backed by content design experience, not opinion.
The work is usually a fit when:
you've inherited content nobody can quite explain
you need recommendations your governance, legal, or executive teams can actually defend
more writers and more time haven't moved the problem
generic UX, marketing, or copywriting input hasn't either.
It isn't a fit when you're after copywriting, brand voice work, paid social, or content that just needs to ship faster without rethinking how it's made. For that, I can point you to people who do it well.
If you're not sure, that's what the discovery call is for.
How I work
My approach is strategic but practical, calm, direct, and evidence-based, with a focus on long-term improvement.
I bring deep experience in:
government and public-sector environments
content governance and standards
accessibility and inclusive design
large-scale websites and complex ecosystems.
I use AI as a content partner, not a shortcut. Large language models can help with pattern-spotting, structural testing, plain-language checks, and first drafts. They cannot replace the judgement content design requires for accuracy, accessibility, and legislative alignment — particularly in government contexts. Read more about how I work with AI.
I work as a short-term advisor (typically 2 to 6 weeks), on discrete pieces of work such as audits or workshops, or embedded with teams over longer programs of 3 to 12 months.
I am based in Brisbane and work with clients anywhere in Australia. Discovery calls, workshops, and most collaborative sessions run online. On-site days are arranged when embedded work, facilitation, or stakeholder interviews genuinely need to happen in the room.
Examples of how we might work together
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You have a site that's grown beyond its original structure. Users can't find what they need. I map what exists, run user testing to validate the new structure (card sorting, tree testing), and give you an IA you can act on with confidence.
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Multiple sites, sections, or duplicated content that needs to be merged, culled, and restructured. The work is about deciding what survives — and making sure what does is accurate, accessible, and maintainable. Common need during mergers, replatforms, or decommissioning programs.
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Designing content from scratch for a new digital service before launch. The focus is getting it right from the start — structured for the task, written for the audience, and ready to hold up under scrutiny.
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A clear-eyed assessment of a section or whole site — what's working, what isn't, and what to prioritise. A good starting point before a rewrite or restructure. Read more about how I do a content audit.
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Existing content that isn't landing. I rewrite it to plain language, structured for your audience, aligned to your house style. Common scope: service pages, factsheets, policy content, intranet.
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A bounded project to give your organisation the frameworks, roles, and processes to manage content on its own. The deliverable is a set of standards and a playbook your team can actually use — not a document that lives in a drawer.
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An ongoing retainer for organisations that don't have full-time content resource but can't let standards slip. I work through your site in rotation so that over the course of a year, every page has been reviewed and updated where needed. Designed for post-launch.
Start with one Project
Most teams start with a 30-minute discovery call to work out whether there’s a useful fit.
We talk about your team, your project, and where the friction is. No pitch, no preparation required.
If it is a good fit, I will send a short proposal within a few days — suggesting options, prices, and exactly what is included.
Book a 30-minute discovery call
Email: hello@ellenharvey.com.au
Send a message using the form.
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