Designing and Developing Plain Language Projects, Joh Kirby Victor Law Foundation, Australia

1. Designing and developing
plain language projects
Joh Kirby
Executive Director
Victoria Law Foundation
Melbourne, Australia

2. My background
• Appointed as Executive Director of the Victoria
Law Foundation (Australia) in April 2008
• A lawyer with an honours degree from Monash
University
• Prior to my appointment as Executive Director
I worked as the Foundation's Grants Manager
and as a lawyer at Corrs Chambers Westgarth

3. Victoria Law Foundation
About
• Independent
statutory body
• Not-for-profit
Our focus
• Improving legal
literacy
Core programs
• Grants
• Publications
• Education

4. What we want to do
Improve public legal education through
promoting plain language

5. Keeping it simple and positive
• Keep the approach simple
• Keep the message positive: Telling lawyers that
they are poor communicators is not going to work
• Help lawyers understand their audience better

6. Changing the pitch
• Appeal to your audience
• Start a conversation about good communication
in the law
• Focus on the benefits of incorporating plain
language

7. Our strategy
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Getting our team on board
Getting everyone else on board
Getting the message out there
Ongoing support
Use research
Hope for some luck
Do it well

8. Getting our team on board
• Plain language training
• Staff mentoring and feedback
• Developing a formal strategy known as the
Plain Language Framework
• Integration with our programs
• Grants, Publications, Education
including Communications program

9. Getting everyone else on board
• Plain language training open to
the sector
• Attendees are advocates for our
message
• Spreading the word

10. Getting the message out there
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Communications strategy
Control message
Consistent presence
Social media
Conferences

11. Ongoing support for everyone
• Better information handbook
• Publishing forums
• Ongoing support to the sector
• Also see CLEO’s adaptation of
the Better information
handbook (2013)

12. Use research
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Have more than one voice
Literacy research
• 48% of Australians struggle with literacy.
• Literacy facts for Ontario…16% of the population
struggle with very serious literacy challenges and have
difficulty with even the most basic written materials. Another
26% can read but not well enough to meet the demands of
today’s society. Source: Better information handbook, CLEO,
2013
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Legal needs survey
Australian Bureau of Statistics

13. Some good luck
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Creating opportunities, opening new doors
Conferences
Churchill Fellowship
Clearmark commendation
Academic journals and newsletters
Forums

14. How do we know it works
• Being asked for assistance/advice
in this area
• Increase in traffic to our website
• Increase in the number of social
media followers in the area of
plain language

15. Ideas to take away
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Deliver on what you promise
Keep it simple and positive
Believe in your message
Provide ongoing support
Get outside voices to assist you – trainers,
champions, research
Have a consistent message
Hope for some good luck!

16. Contact details
Joh Kirby
Executive Director
Victoria Law Foundation
Level 5, 43 Hardware Lane
MELBOURNE, VIC 3000
AUSTRALIA
Tel: +61 3 9604 8100
Email:
contact@victorialawfoundation.org.au
Web: www.victorialawfoundation.org.au