Seeking excellent annual reports

The Best Plain Language Annual Report award recognises excellence in communication with stakeholders. The report must be owned by a New Zealand or Australian organisation.

The judges are looking for an annual report that all stakeholders, including those who are not financially literate, will find easy to read and use to make informed decisions.

Read our blog on telling a story with your annual report

Entries are open 1 May to 15 July.

Read the terms and conditions, including the fees, for entering the Plain Language Awards

Please email enquiries@plainlanguageawards.org.nz if you have any questions.

What you need to know

Your annual report needs to clearly convey the organisation’s messages, be clear and concise, and be free of jargon. Technical terms must be explained and figures presented in an easy-to-understand format. Graphs, tables, and photographs must support key messages.

Performance measures must be explained, and indicators reported, in a way that allows readers to make useful comparisons with other companies or organisations.

The judges will focus on the body of the report including discussions about financial performance, but not the financial statements themselves.

On the entry form you’ll need to give information about the purpose of your document, your target reader, and whether your document was user-tested.

You can enter print (in pdf form) or online versions of your annual report.

Organisations from any sector can enter.

Prizes for this award

The winner of the Best Plain Language Annual Report award will receive:

• a stunning steel and bronze trophy produced for the Awards by Wellington sculptor Campbell Maud
• the latest StyleWriter plain English editing software — single-user licence (from Editor Software)
• a place on any of Write Limited’s 1-day open workshops (to be booked before 31 March 2024)

Read the terms and conditions, including the fees, for entering the Plain Language Awards

Please email enquiries@plainlanguageawards.org.nz if you have any questions.