Government websites are unintelligible. It’s not just you
Poor writing and turgid government speak leaves citizens in the dark, unable to engage with government, and left to navigate an alphabet soup of websites and agencies.
One of the more cringeworthy moments of the robo-debt royal commission was when a Human Services official was asked about a focus group that had reviewed letters his agency was sending out, advising people they faced a welfare debt based on an average of their yearly income.
Only two out of a 15-person group could understand the concept of averaging. Asked if this meant there was a fundamental problem with the approach, the then head of Integrity Process Modernisation, Jason McNamara, gave a blunt response.
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Tom Burton has held senior editorial and publishing roles with The Mandarin, The Sydney Morning Herald and as Canberra bureau chief for The Australian Financial Review. He has won three Walkley awards. Connect with Tom on Twitter. Email Tom at tom.burton@afr.com
