Citizens Advice Bureau New Zealand

Website address

www.cab.org.nz

Judges’ comments

Kylie McGrath
Most words are clear and simple. Some unfamiliar words are explained on another webpage, and you link to that page. The tone is professional, friendly and consistent.

Ginny Redish
The organization’s name is excellent. It says exactly what it is. And that makes the title of the website clear in plain English.

The large opening statement welcomes everyone and gives the site’s purpose very clearly. I particularly like that you give a sample question right next to the search box. That helps people understand that the site is a set of questions and answers.

Marjon Leemborg
The content is obvious. Especially because there are many answers and most link to other pages that might be of interest. The reader can easily find where they need to be from the homepage.

Answers are reader focused. The banners on the right side of the page and below offer the reader more options in a friendly and engaging way. Simple but effective.

Media statement

Citizens Advice Bureau is all about communicating in plain language. We have an amazing plain English website, that supports the service we provide. It contains a knowledge base of 2,000+ questions and answers about people’s rights, all written in plain language.

Our website is an essential tool for our dedicated team of CAB volunteers, who help hundreds of thousands of people each year with quality, up-to-date, plain language information. It is also available to the general public so that people can access this information themselves and be empowered to know their rights and to take action. In the last year we had more than 1.5 million users access the website for information and assistance, viewing more than 9.2 million pages.

We believe our plain language service improves people’s wellbeing and helps people to find a way forward when they might otherwise be stuck. Through our plain language communication, we support people to make decisions, solve problems and get good outcomes.

We are very proud to have our website acknowledged in this year’s Plain English Awards.

Sacha Green
National Advisor — Legal & Strategic
Citizens Advice Bureau New Zealand