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Creating accessible written and print information

This page provides guidance on creating written information for your engagement process.

Use inclusive language.
Supporting the dignity of disabled people – things to know and do
Make documents clear, concise, and well-organised. You should comply with the Plain Language Act 2022.
Plain Language Act 2022 external URL
Keep sentences short and direct. Use active voice and explain acronyms the first time.
Use everyday language and avoid jargon, idioms, policy-speak or figures of speech. Autistic people commonly have trouble understanding figures of speech (for example, ‘raining cats and dogs’) and may not understand irony or jokes. Keep your written and verbal communications clear and unambiguous.
You may need to provide an Easy Read translation of a document for people with learning/intellectual disabilities. A support person or meeting assistant may be able to assist the person to understand the documents prior to the meeting. Providing the information to meeting assistants in advance can help them be prepared to support the person during the event. You will need to pay meeting assistants for preparation time as well as attendance time.
Engaging with intellectually disabled people
Alternate formats

To meet most people’s needs, ensure the font size is at least 12-point.
Produce a large print version (a minimum of 16-point font, but preferably 18-point) for people with vision impairments or those with learning disabilities.
Use plain sans-serif fonts (a font without the ‘serifs’ or small lines attached to the bottom of letters or symbols), such as Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, Roboto, or Calibri.
There are dyslexia-friendly fonts that could accompany plain language documents at little or no extra cost.
Use standard capital and lower-case sentences, even in headings. Text in title case or all-capitals is harder to read.
Use bold text sparingly for emphasis. Avoid italics, which can make text difficult to read.
Only use underlining for hyperlinks.

Make sure the space on the left and right sides of the text is the same. Align text to the left margin and avoid using fully justified text.
Use spacing of about 1.2 times the font size for easier reading.
Keep headings, page numbers, and other repeated elements in the same position on each page so they’re easy to find.

Images can help explain ideas or make materials more engaging. Decorative visuals are pictures that are only for design. Both need to be used in a way that everyone can access.
Tables can help organise information, but they need to be designed so everyone can use them.
Graphs show numbers or data, like bar charts or pie charts. Diagrams explain ideas or processes using shapes and lines. Both need to be designed so everyone can understand them.

Ask participants about their preferred format. This may include alternate formats:

Publish your information in HTML (web content) where possible as it is the most accessible format.

If you are publishing documents on a website:

use descriptive link text that tells people where the link goes, avoiding vague text like ‘click here’
include information about the document’s file type and size at the end of the link.

Word documents are generally more accessible than PDFs for users of assistive technology such as screen readers.
Use Word's in-built styles such as heading styles (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc) to structure your document, instead of making headings bold or changing the font size.
Use Word's accessibility checker to check the accessibility of your document.

PDFs cannot be made fully accessible. You should not rely on them as the only way to provide information.
To make sure your PDF is as accessible as possible, start with an accessible document before converting it to PDF. Adding tags, bookmarks, alt text, and other information helps make PDFs readable to assistive technology users.
PDFs created from scanned content aren't accessible.

Choose a page size that is easy to handle and fits the content (avoid very large sizes like A3 unless needed for big graphics).
Use thick, non-reflective paper so text doesn’t show through and glare is reduced.
Pick colours with good contrast (for example, black text on white or pale paper). Avoid low-contrast combinations.
Bind documents so they open flat. Staples work for short documents; wire binding works for longer ones.
Keep it simple. Too many colours, columns, or text boxes can make documents hard to read.