INZ to encourage plain English in new award

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is to sponsor a new award designed to encourage the use of plain English in NZ.

The organisation will sponsor the Best Plain English Turnaround Award as part of the WriteMark Plain English Awards. The Awards celebrate New Zealand’s clearest communicators and encourage the use of plain English as a common practice in NZ.

“With more than a quarter of New Zealand’s population born abroad, not everyone understands English well,” says Judi Altinkaya, ‎National Manager, Migrant Settlement. “It’s important for people whose jobs involve communications to keep this in mind. For migrants who are new to New Zealand the quality of information they receive as they settle into their new lives here can make all the difference. The more New Zealand organisations – including ourselves – who deliver that information effectively in plain English, the more we can create a smoother settlement process for newcomers,” she added.

In August 2016, INZ launched Keeping it Clear – an online resource designed to help organisations more clearly present their information so that it is easily understood by the growing proportion of new migrants in New Zealand. INZ recognises there is still more work to do in this space including improving how it communicates with all their customers.

Article published 22nd August 2017