Palmerston North City Council

Document name

Parking tickets webpage

Judges’ comments

The judges praised Palmerston North City Council for this excellent turnaround. They noted the new webpages are logical, engaging, and user-friendly. The most significant improvements are in the layout and design, which make a potentially stressful process much clearer and easier for people to follow.

The Council’s tone was a real strength. The judges found it consistently professional, friendly, and supportive, making the content approachable. Using ‘you’ and ‘we’ helps the writing feel human and conversational. Sentences are short and active, and the language is clear and familiar.

The webpages are well-structured and easy to navigate, with clear headings that help users find information quickly. Overall, the judges felt the structure, language, and tone work together effectively. These improvements support people to find and use information with confidence and have successfully improved customer self-service.

Media statement

We’re thrilled to be a finalist for the best plain language turnaround award.

These webpages enable people who get a parking ticket to quickly and easily find out what to do next, and take action: pay their ticket, appeal it, or transfer the liability to someone else.

We get it. No one likes getting a parking ticket. Our turnaround aimed to ensure we weren’t adding to the stress.

We reckon we nailed it. These pages are in the top-10 most visited on our website. More importantly, our data shows that people are taking action. The improved visual layout has made it easier for people to find the information at a glance — and then use it.

Numbered steps have simplified the payment process. More people are paying online. And our new, customer-friendly online form has improved compliance. That all adds up to less work for our customer service teams.

The data speaks for itself. Our turnaround put the customer first. That’s made the business of parking tickets less painful (or at least easier and more efficient) for everyone — the people who get the tickets, and council staff working in this space. It’s a win-win.

Lisa Wilde
Digital Channels Specialist
Palmerston North City Council