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Australian Digital 
Health Agency
Brand Guidelines
For external use subject to Agency trade mark licence
Acknowledgements 
 
The Australian Digital Health Agency is jointly funded by the Australian 
Government and all state and territory governments.
Disclaimer
The Australian Digital Health Agency (“the Agency”) makes the information 
and other material (“Information”) in this document available in good faith but 
without any representation or warranty as to its accuracy or completeness. The 
Agency cannot accept any responsibility for the consequences of any use of the 
Information. As the Information is of a general nature only, it is up to any person 
using or relying on the Information to ensure that it is accurate, complete and 
suitable for the circumstances of its use.
Document control
This document is maintained in electronic form and is uncontrolled in printed form. 
It is the responsibility of the user to verify that this copy is the latest revision.
Copyright © 2024 Australian Digital Health Agency
This document contains information which is protected by copyright. All Rights 
Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any 
means – graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, 
taping, or information storage and retrieval systems – without the permission of 
the Australian Digital Health Agency. All copies of this document must include the 
copyright and other information contained on this page.
link to page 4 link to page 5 link to page 6 link to page 7 Australian Digital Health Agency
Brand Guidelines
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
The Agency brand
Core brand elements
Product, service and  
initiative brand elements
About the Agency 
4
Logo 
9
Brand hierarchy 
5
Trade marks 
13
Style 
6
Colour   
14
My Health Record 
25
Accessibility   
7
Textures   
15
my health app 
27
Typography 
16
Provider Connect Australia™ 
30
Iconography 
19
Clinical Learning Australia 
31
Agency strip 
20
HIPS 
32
Imagery   
22
National Digital Health Strategy  33
Interoperability Plan 
37
3 
Australian Digital Health Agency  |  Australian Digital Health Agency – Brand Guidelines 1.0.1 [External] 

About the Agency
The Australian Digital Health Agency is tasked with improving 
health outcomes for all Australians through the delivery of digital 
health technologies. 
The Agency is the System Operator of My Health Record, which 
provides a secure online summary of a healthcare recipient’s key 
health information.
The Agency is also responsible for implementing Australia’s 
National Digital Health Strategy in collaboration with partners 
across the community.
To ensure trust, understanding and consistency when 
communicating about the Agency, we have developed these brand 
guidelines to inform the style for the Agency’s corporate brand, as 
well as products, services and initiatives that have distinct brands.
Vision
A healthier future for Australians through connected healthcare.
Purpose
Better health for all Australians enabled by connected, safe, secure 
and easy to use digital health services.
4 
About the Agency  |  Australian Digital Health Agency – Brand Guidelines 1.0.1 [External] 
Brand hierarchy
The Agency’s corporate branding is the primary visual identity 
that represents the organisation and its products, services and 
initiatives. As Agency staff, you will be using visual and textual 
elements that convey this identity. The corporate branding 
comprises the Agency logo, trade marks, colours, textures, 
iconography, the Agency strip, and imagery. 
The Agency logo leads the brand hierarchy. Use it consistently and 
prominently on all materials that communicate the Agency’s role, 
purpose and activities. 
Certain products, services and initiatives owned by the Agency 
have their own distinct identity and purpose. Their logos have 
design elements, colours and fonts that reflect their specific 
characteristics and audiences. Examples of these logos include 
My Health Record, Healthcare Identifiers Provider Service (HIPS), 
Provider Connect Australia™ (PCA™) and Clinical Learning Australia™ 
(CLA™). 
These products, services and initiatives are part of the 
Agency’s portfolio and fall under its remit. They are not separate 
organisations or entities, but rather extensions of the Agency’s 
vision and purpose. Therefore, the Agency’s logo should always 
be the lead in any materials that communicate the Agency’s role, 
purpose and activities, with the product logo treated as a product 
(therefore secondary to the Agency’s logo). 
5 
Brand hierarchy  |  Australian Digital Health Agency – Brand Guidelines 1.0.1 [External] 
Style
As an Australian Government agency, we follow the Australian 
Government Style Manual. Our communication style uses the 
Word choice
Tone and voice
principles of plain language so that writing is clear, direct and 
user-friendly. All communications from the Agency are also 
Readers will get a sense of who the Agency is and how we are addressing them 
accessible, straightforward and respectful, enabling us to 
Use words that most people will know. You can explain technical terms in text as well 
through our tone and voice. The modern government tone is direct, calm and 
as providing a glossary for reference. Pictures and diagrams can also help people 
connect effectively with the diverse audiences we serve. 
understated. We aim to be polite, sensitive and respectful and to understand who we 
understand complex ideas.
are writing for and what our readers need to know and do. You can: 
In all your writing for the Agency, you will need to consider 
Identify the keywords that are often used with your topic and make sure they are 
•  use active voice (subject–verb–object) 
aspects of structure, word choice, short forms, tone and voice 
explained clearly. For words and phrases that are not the key words in your subject 
•  use first and second person (we, us) instead of third person (he, she, it and they) 
and sentence length. This guidance will help you convey our 
area, use plain language alternatives. For example:
•  decide whether contractions should be used (depends on the material) 
message in the most effective manner possible. 
•  consider how formal the text needs to be. 
approximately   
 
 
 
about
as a consequence of   
 
 
because
Like this (active voice): 
The committee (subject) campaigned (verb) to lower diabetes (object). 
Not this (passive voice): 
Structure
Short forms
The lowering of diabetes was campaigned for by the committee. 
Like this (first and second person): 
Structure is how your text is organised. Readers will more quickly understand the  
In your writing for the Agency, you will probably use short forms to communicate 
Tell us if you have trouble with your account. 
text if: 
ideas quickly to your readers. Short forms can be: 
Not this (third person): 
If the subscriber is having difficulty accessing their account, the finance team can 
•  the most important information is first 
•  acronyms, where the word made up of initials is said as a word (Qantas)
provide further guidance.
•  the text uses a standard grammatical structure of subject–verb–object (also called 
•  initialisms, where the initials are sounded out (USB) 
active voice) 
•  abbreviations, where the word or phrase is cut short in some way (Agency for 
•  sentences are short. 
Australian Digital Health Agency). 
Sentence length
You can also use formatting to help readers navigate the structure of a text through 
In general, do not introduce new short forms in documents unless there is already 
headings and lists. 
wide industry acceptance. For example, HI Service (as a shortened form of 
Healthcare Identifiers Service) is accepted in the industry, although the full term 
Keep sentences to around 15 words, and don’t make them longer than 25 words. 
should still be given on the first mention. 
Each sentence aims to convey one main idea. A sentence that is too long may show 
that the aspects we looked at above (structure, word choice and tone and voice) 
Do not use the initialism ‘ADHA’ for the Australian Digital Health Agency in external 
need to be improved. Longer sentences often have a non-standard grammatical 
documents or the abbreviation ‘Digital Health’. Spell out the name in full the first time, 
structure, use more complex words and have more formal tone and voice. They are 
then use the abbreviation ‘the Agency’.
more difficult for readers to scan and understand. 
6 
Style  |  Australian Digital Health Agency – Brand Guidelines 1.0.1 [External] 
Accessibility
Our digital content must be accessible to all users no matter 
how they are accessing it, whether they use a mouse, 
Styles
Images
keyboard, touch screen, voice command, screen reader 
or other assistive technology. Across our documents and 
Images add visual interest to digital content, helping to break up text and convey 
websites, the technology we use now supports content being 
In MS Word, InDesign and website software such as Confluence, content can 
some messages more quickly than can be done in text. But images are not read out 
be styled to indicate its structure and function. You apply styles to headings, 
accessible. As content authors, we can focus on aspects of 
by assistive technologies unless additional content is provided, and the ability to ‘see’ 
paragraphs, lists, captions and other elements to make it easier for users to navigate 
styles, tables, images and colour contrast. 
images can also be affected by disability and internet bandwidth. Make sure all users 
the text by: 
have access to the information conveyed by the image by: 
• using the built-in styles in your software
• providing alt text for all images, describing its content and function; use the alt
• following heading hierarchy (don’t go from Heading 1 to Heading 3, for example)
attribute in HTML or the alt text feature in your word processor or web editor
• using lists to group related options; numbered lists are for when the order is
• making the text meaningful but concise, describing what is in the image, including
important
any text
• keeping text formatting to a minimum by only using bold for emphasis.
• ensuring images are scaled to the size and quality needed so they load quickly
and display clearly on different devices.
Tables 
Colour contrast 
Tables can present data or information in a structured way, but if they are designed 
The difference in brightness and hue between the text or image and the background 
poorly they become confusing to understand. You can make tables accessible by:
behind it is called the colour contrast. When text does not have enough contrast, it is 
very difficult for some users to perceive and distinguish it. Ensure sufficient contrast 
• only using tables for information that has a tabular relationship between the
between information and its background by: 
columns and rows; ask yourself if it is actually a set of bullet lists
• keeping them simple; break a complex table into 2 or more tables if necessary
• using accessibility tools in your software or online to check contrast
• using table summaries as alternative text (alt text) in table properties to provide an
• using colour as an enhancement rather than to convey meaning; for example,
overview or context for the table
don’t say ‘the blue cells show the highest values’.
• making sure that related styles and elements are used: header row repeat, table
header style and table text, captions
7 
Accessibility  |  Australian Digital Health Agency – Brand Guidelines 1.0.1 [External] 

Contact us 
if you have any questions about the Agency’s brand
Email:
xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx

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