Document released PIAT 6310 Glenn Hamiltonshire.pdf

2024
December
19
on
1982
Act
FOI
the
under
AUSTRAC
by
Released

OFFICIAL
Top tips for writing digital content
Are you wondering where to start as you write content for a website? Wondering how to make
your content engaging and easy to read? Here are some simple places you can start.
You can reach out to the Strategic Communications team for feedback or any questions! You can
also refer to our plain language fact sheet for more information about writing good content.
Think about your reader
When you write web content, your top priority should be your reader. Focus on what they w
2024 ant to
know or what question they might be trying to answer. Always start your page with the most
important information so your reader doesn’t have to search for important information, and focus
on keeping it brief and simple.
December
Headings are your friend
19
on
Headings allow you to structure content and they provide a summary at a glance. Headings help
readers to quickly scan a page to find specific content they are looking for, or know what kind of
1982
information they’ll find on a page.
Act
Write content that you can skim
FOI

the
Not many people read web content from top to bottom. It’s common for readers to jump around a
page to find information relevant to them.
under
Readers find it easier to navigate content when it looks visually different – big blocks of text are
hard to scan or differentiate between. Varied sentence lengths, short paragraphs and bullet lists are
all good ways to keep your reader engaged.
AUSTRAC
Use active voice
by

Active voice is a great way to make your content simpler and easy to read. It reduces confusion
by identifying who is doing the action, and it also makes your sentences shorter and simpler.
Released
You can visit the Australian Government Style Manual for examples.
Have a conversation with your reader
Talk to your reader as you’re sharing information with them. People disengage when they read
formal and complex language, so imagine you’re having a conversation with them as you write.
Address them as ‘you’ and don’t assume that everyone will want to read content full of jargon or
long words. Try writing your content for someone reading it for the first time, like a new starter.
1

OFFICIAL
Plain language and readability
Why use plain language?
Plain language is a style of writing that focuses on engaging the reader in a clear and direct way. It
helps the reader understand content by removing unnecessary complex language. It also focuses on
what you want the reader to do or understand.
2024
Plain language benefits everyone, not just people with lower levels of literacy. In particular it’s
shown to help people who are time poor – the headings and shorter sentences make the content
easier to scan. This means writing in plain language is just as useful for the specialist content that
AUSTRAC produces.
December
19
Plain language also removes any grey areas within content. For example, in our guidance
on
documents plain language helps distinguish between:

1982
  legislative obligations
  AUSTRAC’s expectations of reporting entities (REs)
Act
  best-practice approaches we encourage REs to adopt.
FOI
the
What should you aim for?
under
One way to measure readability is through the grade level. The Australian Government Style
Manual says that general government content should be around a Year 7 reading level. When this
isn’t possible, it’s best practice to provide an alternative format, like a video or a plain language
summary. These standards also make sure we comply with accessibility standards, like the Web
AUSTRAC
Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which government agencies must comply with.
by
At AUSTRAC, we need to strike a balance between technical accuracy and readability. With this in
mind, we can aim to keep content as simple as we can while not changing its meaning.
Released
We have set some goals, so each document we’re aiming for:
  an average of 15 words per sentence, or less
  few to no sentences longer than 25 words
  less than 5% passive voice.
We have also set some readability targets for each document or piece of content we produce. This
includes content for internal and external audiences. These targets include a maximum reading
level depending on the content type. We’re aiming for 90% of content to meet these targets.
1

OFFICIAL
Readability targets
Below we have outlined the readability targets and categories. You can find out more about the
research behind these in our background document.
General or non-specialist content
We are aiming for a Grade 10 reading level or below.
For an internal audience, this is any content
For an external audience, this is any content for
that shouldn’t require specialist knowledge.
a general audience, not just REs or specialists.
For example:
For example:
2024
  ‘About AUSTRAC’ content
  Home, About us, Glossary
  Introductions to different business areas
  Individuals and partners pages
  HR, payroll, timesheet
  Privacy and accessibility pages
December
Reporting entity or technical content
19
on
We are aiming for a Grade 11.5 reading level or below.
1982
For an internal audience, this includes content
For an external audience, this includes content
specific to a certain business area or related to
for repor
Act  ting entities or people who are familiar
legislation. For example:
with AML/CTF. For example:
FOI
  Data governance
  Business and Enrol pages
the
  Strategies and frameworks
  Intelligence products
under
Articles or news content
We are aiming for a Grade 11 reading level or below.
For both audiences, this includes any content in an article format – announcements, event updates
AUSTRAC
and recaps, blog posts.
by
How do you check your readability score?
Released
You can check your readability score in Microsoft Word as you’re
drafting a document. You can find out how to set it up on this
Microsoft Support page. Once you set it up, first work through the
spelling and grammar. After that a window pops up with the
readability statistics.
Most of the statistics to focus on are towards the bottom, such as
the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (the reading level of the
document). This estimates how many years of education
someone needs to read the document.
2

2024
December
19
on
1982
Act
FOI
the
under
AUSTRAC
by
Released

OFFICIAL
Active voice
Active voice is a great way to make your writing clear. It identifies the subject (who does the action)
and the object. Passive voice is the opposite, and it often appears in complex content. It doesn’t
identify the subject of the sentence, and requires more effort from the reader to decipher.
Aim to have as little passive voice in your document as possible – ideally under 5%.
Examples
Passive:
The service you are asked to provide is for a new customer.
Active:
A new customer asks you to provide a service.
2024
Passive:
Your ECDD program should outline what you will do when customer identification
and verification cannot be successfully conducted.
Active:
Your ECDD should outline what you will do when you cannot successfully
December   conduct
customer identification and verification.
19
on
Passive:
When the ML/TF risk of the customer is identified as high, you collect more
information in order to make an informed decision.
1982
Active:
When you identify that the customer’s ML/TF risk as high, you collect more
Act
information in order to make an informed decision.
FOI
Choose your words
the
Make intentional choices about the words you use. Don’t use jargon, unnecessary extra words, or
under
words that are more complex than they need to be. Use every day, clear and direct language
whenever you can.
Some examples of simpler word choices are included below. The Style Manual has a page about
word choice, including a list of alternat
AUSTRAC  ive words.
by
You can use technical words when research shows your audience understands them, but you
should default to simple language whenever you can.
Released
Instead of this
Try this instead
assist
help, support, guide
commence
start, begin
give consideration to
consider
make an application
apply
utilise
use
4

OFFICIAL
Shorter sentences
Long sentences, especially ones with lists, contribute to reader fatigue. It takes more mental energy
to retain the information and work out how to group the ideas. Often you can split long sentences
into multiple sentences, or into bullet lists.
Aim for an average of 15 words per sentence across a document, and at most 25 words for any
sentence. It’s also best practice to aim to have no sentences longer than 25 words. This is in one
block of text – bullet lists don’t count as one sentence in this scenario. Visually you should aim to
split up any sentence that goes for more than 2 rows of text when you have size 12 font.
2024
Example: Splitting up a 40 word sentence (Grade 24.2 to 14.6)
In order to avoid alerting the customer of the duty manager’s suspicion and when obtaining the
required additional information, the duty manager reviews additional CCTV footage to
December  determine
the customer’s entry time, and the identification used to enter the premis
19  es.
on
You can reorder the information to identify the action (reviewing CCTV footage)
before the purpose (in order to…) and then split the purpose into a bullet list:
1982
The duty manager reviews additional CCTV footage to deter
Act mine the customer’s entry time and the
identification used to enter the premises. They do this to:
FOI
  obtain the required additional information
the
  avoid alerting the customer of the duty manager’s suspicion.
under
Example: Splitting up a 36 word sentence (Grade 15.1 to 6.9)
The service you are asked to provide is for a new customer who is (or has a beneficial owner who is)
AUSTRAC
a foreign PEP, or is a family member or close associate of a foreign PEP.
by
You can split the 3 items into a bullet list. This makes it easier for the reader to
separate and skim the items:
Released
A new customer asks you to provide a service, and the customer:
  is a foreign EP
  has a beneficial owner who is a foreign PEP
  is a family member or close associate of a foreign PEP.
5

2024
December
19
on
1982
Act
FOI
the
under
AUSTRAC
by
Released

AUSTRAC / Brand Gu de
2024
Contents
December
19
on
1982
Act
FOI
B and app cat on
1
Fintel Alliance introduction 16
Appendix
21
the
AUS RAC  ogo
2
B and app cat on
17
Usefu   nfo mat on
21
ogo  u es
3
F nte  A ance  ogo
18
F e types
21
Co ou  va at ons
4
Co ou  va at ons  under
19
Co ou  space
21
Co ou  pa ette
5
G aph c e ements
20
Image use
21
G aph c e ements
12
Contact
21
ypog aphy 13
AUSTRAC
by
Released

2024
December
19
on
1982
Act
FOI
the
under
AUSTRAC
by
Released

Co our Page 5 of 21
2024
Complete palette
December
19
on
1982
Act
FOI
the
under
AUSTRAC
by
Released

Co our Page 6 of 21
2024
Primary palette
December
19
on
1982
Act
FOI
the
under
AUSTRAC
by
Released
Ber n b ue
Seafoam
Anchor
Warm grey
Teal

Co our     Page 7 of 21
2024
Primary palette cont.
December
19
Pr nt
on
CMYK
CMYK
CMYK
1982  CMYK
CMYK
100 57 9 52
28 7 15 0
35 15 0 65
26 24 27 0
49 0 28 0
Act
FOI
the
PANTONE
PANTONE
PANTONE
PANTONE
PANTONE
7694 C
566 C
7545 C
Warm Grey 3
333
under
D g ta
AUSTRAC
by
RGB
RGB
RGB
RGB
RGB
1 66 106
182 211 212
57 75 88
191 183 176
94 196 180
HEX
HEX
HEX
HEX
HEX
Released
#01426A
#B6D3D4
#394b58
#B B7B0
#5EC4B4

Co our Page 8 of 21
2024
Secondary palette
December
19
on
1982
75%
Act
FOI
50%
the
under
Azure
25%
Jade
AUSTRAC
by
Released
Eggp ant
Vermilion

Co our     Page 9 of 21
2024
Secondary palette cont.
December
19
Pr nt
on
CMYK
CMYK
CMYK  1982
CMYK
78 31 0 29
87 35 49 10
88 99 37 39
17 86 82 6
Act
FOI
PANTONE
PANTONE
PANTONE
PANTONE
the
7689 C
7717 C
669 C
7619 C
under
D g ta
RGB
RGB
RGB
RGB
40 125 180
0 122 124
50 25 75
195 70 60
AUSTRAC
HEX
HEX
by
HEX
HEX
#287DB4
#007A7C
#32194B
#C3463B
T nts
Released
75%
50%
25%

2024
December
19
on
1982
Act
FOI
the
under
AUSTRAC
by
Released

Typography     Page 13 of 21
2024
Header typeface - Graphik
December
19
The pr mary typeface for profess ona y des gned AUSTRAC mater a s  s Graph k   t  s ava ab e  n a var ety of we ghts, ho
on  wever  ght and Medum are preferred
Caps can be used for headers of four words or  ess
H
1982
Act

eading style sample FOI
Headlines, subheads, document covers

the
Graphik Medium
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
under
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Aa “The quick brown fox jumps
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0   ( .   ,   :   ;   $   &   - )

over the lazy dog”

He
AUSTRAC
by

ading style sample
Option for headlines, subheads, document covers

Graphik Light
Released
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0   ( .   ,   :   ;   $   &   )

Typography     Page 14 of 21
2024
Body Typeface - Myriad Pro
December
19
or  ong-format mater a s or documents w th  arge amounts of text, Myr ad Pro  ght or Regu ar shou d be used  on
Var at ons such as condensed and extended opt ons are ava ab e and shou d be used spar ng y
1982
Body text sample - Myriad Pro Regular
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
Act
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
FOI
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0   ( .   ,   :   ;   $   &   - )
the
Body text sample   Myriad Pro Light
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
under
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Aa “The quick brown fox jumps
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0   ( .   ,   :   ;   $   &   - )
over the lazy dog”
Body text sample   Myriad Pro Light Condensed AUSTRAC
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
by
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0   ( .   ,   :   ;   $   &   - )
Released
Body text sample - Myriad Pro Semibold
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0   ( .   ,   :   ;   $   &   - )

Typography     Page 15 of 21
2024
Typography for Microsoft® products
December
19
or mater a s produced  n-house, such as M crosoft® Off ce app cat ons  nc ud ng Word and PowerPo nt projects, the syst
on  em font Ca br s advsed
Th s font  s read y ava ab e on most PCs and doesn t requ re purchas ng  Ca br  Bo d may be used spar ng y1982
Calibri Regular
1234567890-=!@#$%^&*()_+
Act
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
FOI
a b c d e fg h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
the
under
Aa “The quick brown fox jumps
Calibri Bold
1234567890-=!@#$%^&*()_+
over the lazy dog”
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
AUSTRAC
by
Released

2024
December
19
on
1982
Act
FOI
the
under
AUSTRAC
by
Released

Brand append x     Page 21 of 21
2024
Useful information
December
19
FILE TYPES
COLOUR SPACE
on
IMAGE USE
PNG / PNG or  png f es are  ntended for screen
RGB / The RGB co our space  s  ntended
Photography and  ustrat ons must be owned by
use on y and predom nate y used as a f e for web
for screen use on y — PD s that w  be
AUSTRAC before use  Requests for down oaded
or M crosoft® Off ce app cat ons   or graph cs,
up oaded on ne, webs tes, M crosoft® Off ce
1982
mages from the  nternet, or other copyr ght
as opposed to photos, PNGs shou d be used
app cat ons, etc
requests, must be d scussed w th Strateg c
n preference over JPEGs as they are co our
Act
Commun cat ons ( mages CANNOT be used
accurate and more versat e  PNGs a so support
CMYK / The CMYK co our space  s  ntended for
w thout perm ss on from the owner of the  mage)
transparent backgrounds
standard four co our pr nt process on y — pr nted
FOI
brochures and posters, pu -up banners, etc
or commerc a  pr nt ng,  mages must be ava ab e
JPEG / JPEG or  jpg f es are  ntended for
at 300dp  (h gh reso ut on)
the
screen use on y, and best used when sma er
PMS / The PMS or Pantone® Match ng System
f e s zes are requ red  Most su tab e for
co our space  s  ntended for pr nt ng w th
Consent forms must be used for a  peop e
photograph c  mages
spot  nks
act ve y engaged w th the camera   nc ud ng staff
under
EPS / EPS or  eps f es are vector art and norma y
the des red f e type for pr nt  Vector f es can be
reproduced at any s ze w thout  oss of qua ty
AUSTRAC
by
Released
CONTACT
A  enqu r es about the AUSTRAC brand shou d
be d rected to the Strateg c Commun cat ons team
BRAND GUIDE 2021 V8
Ema s 22(1)(a)(ii)