The US Congress passed the Plain Writing Act of 2010 on 13 October, 2010. This requires the US Federal Government to write all new publications, forms, and publicly distributed documents in a “clear, concise, well-organized”
manner that follows the best practices of plain language writing. The purpose of the Plain Writing Act 2010 is to improve the effectiveness and accountability of federal agencies by promoting clear government communication that the public can understand and use.
This Bill promotes the use of plain English in official documents and websites. Comprehensible information from government organisations is a basic democratic right. Plain English must become the standard for all official public and private communication in New Zealand. This Bill requires the New Zealand Government to start making that happen.