Cairns Regional Council Visual Style & Writers' Guide

Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Updated November 2017 DM# 1571483 (PDF) #5320559 (Word)

Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 5 Cairns Regional Council logo ........................................................................................................................ 6 History and meaning ................................................................................................................................ 6 Logo configurations .................................................................................................................................. 7 Logo colours ............................................................................................................................................. 8 Complementary colours ........................................................................................................................... 9 Logo fonts ............................................................................................................................................... 10 Size, position and clearspace ................................................................................................................. 10 Size ..................................................................................................................................................... 10 Position .............................................................................................................................................. 11 Clearspace .......................................................................................................................................... 11 Crest and floral emblem......................................................................................................................... 11 Department and business unit logos ..................................................................................................... 12 Cairns Performing Arts Centre logo ....................................................................................................... 13 Munro Martin Parklands logo ................................................................................................................ 14 Ticketlink logo ........................................................................................................................................ 14 Sponsorship logos .................................................................................................................................. 15 Logo use guidelines .................................................................................................................................... 16 General requirements ............................................................................................................................ 16 Incorrect use .......................................................................................................................................... 16 Use by third parties ................................................................................................................................ 17 Use with other logos .............................................................................................................................. 17 Stylised graphics ......................................................................................................................................... 17 Leaf pattern and watermark .............................................................................................................. 18 Cairns Libraries ................................................................................................................................... 19 Cairns Esplanade ................................................................................................................................ 20 Esplanade fish artwork ....................................................................................................................... 20 Corporate stationery .................................................................................................................................. 21 Letterhead .............................................................................................................................................. 21 Business cards .................................................................................................................................... 22 Powerpoint slides ............................................................................................................................... 24 Email signature blocks........................................................................................................................ 25

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Invitations .......................................................................................................................................... 25 Collateral guidelines ................................................................................................................................... 27 Font choice ............................................................................................................................................. 27 Text layout ............................................................................................................................................. 27 Paper stock ............................................................................................................................................. 27 Photography and images ....................................................................................................................... 28 Talent release ..................................................................................................................................... 28 Signage ....................................................................................................................................................... 28 Information, display and interpretative signage ................................................................................... 28 Writer’s Guide ............................................................................................................................................ 29 Council name ......................................................................................................................................... 29 City of Cairns ...................................................................................................................................... 29 Other official names ........................................................................................................................... 29 Plain English principles ........................................................................................................................... 30 Planning your message .......................................................................................................................... 31 Writing & editing guidelines .................................................................................................................. 31 Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................................... 31 Acronyms ........................................................................................................................................... 32 Ampersand (&) ................................................................................................................................... 32 Apostrophes ....................................................................................................................................... 32 Appropriate language ........................................................................................................................ 33 Borders and Boxed Text ..................................................................................................................... 33 Brackets .............................................................................................................................................. 34 Capital letters ..................................................................................................................................... 34 Collective nouns ................................................................................................................................. 34 Colloquialism ...................................................................................................................................... 34 Commas ............................................................................................................................................. 35 Date and Time formats ...................................................................................................................... 35 Dot points (bullets and numbered lists) ............................................................................................ 36 Email Etiquette ................................................................................................................................... 37 Email Signature Block ......................................................................................................................... 37 Full Stops ............................................................................................................................................ 38 Headings ............................................................................................................................................. 38 Hyphens and Dashes .......................................................................................................................... 38 Indigenous / Traditional Custodians / First Peoples .......................................................................... 39 Italics .................................................................................................................................................. 39

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Jargon ................................................................................................................................................. 40 Lists .................................................................................................................................................... 40 Non‐discriminatory language ............................................................................................................. 40 Numbers / Figures .............................................................................................................................. 41 Per cent .............................................................................................................................................. 41 Plurals ................................................................................................................................................. 42 Punctuation ........................................................................................................................................ 42 Quotation marks ................................................................................................................................ 42 Spelling ............................................................................................................................................... 43 Translations ........................................................................................................................................ 43 Commonly confused and misused words .............................................................................................. 43 Commonly misspelt words ..................................................................................................................... 47 Plain English alternatives for common words........................................................................................ 47 Writing for the web ................................................................................................................................ 49 Simple tips for web content ............................................................................................................... 49 Structuring content for usability and accessibility ............................................................................. 50 Images ................................................................................................................................................ 50 Useful metadata ................................................................................................................................. 51 Typography and readability ............................................................................................................... 51 Protocols ................................................................................................................................................ 51 Titles and modes of address .............................................................................................................. 51 Postnominals – medals, awards and honours ................................................................................... 53 Order of Precedence ‐ Commonwealth ............................................................................................. 54 Order of Precedence ‐ Queensland ................................................................................................... 56

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Introduction

Cairns Regional Council's visual identity is the cornerstone of its public image. This image is expressed through our name, logo, colours, communications materials and visual branding.

This Style Guide presents the key elements of Cairns Regional Council's corporate brand and the guidelines for their appropriate, professional and consistent use in all materials produced for internal and external communication.

The aims of the corporate identity are to • • • •

create a consistent and clear visual identity for Cairns Regional Council ensure Council’s corporate identity is readily recognisable and well respected in the community; project Cairns Regional Council as a professional, reliable, and contemporary organisation; and standardise Council’s visual presentation, thereby increasing efficiency and consistency of the image projected.

The logo remains the sole property of Cairns Regional Council. Council reserves the right to reject any use or likeness of the Cairns Regional Council brand identity at its discretion.

Authorisation for use of the logo may be granted or refused at the sole discretion of Council's Chief Executive Officer (or nominee). Any unauthorised use of the Cairns Regional Council logo is a breach of copyright.

Though many examples of logo use and branding are covered in this Style Guide, it does not address every possible application. Contact Cairns Regional Council’s Marketing and Communications branch (marketing@cairns.qld.gov.au) for further information and assistance with specific applications as needed.

The Writers’ Guide component of this document provides tips to help ensure all written communications produced by Cairns Regional Council follow a clear and uniform style.

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Cairns Regional Council logo History and meaning The Cairns Regional Council logo was adopted in 2008, following the amalgamation of Cairns City Council and Douglas Shire Council (which subsequently de-amalgamated in 2014).

The logo consists of two components: the palm symbol and our text, or logotype.

The palm symbol represents the leaf structure of the Queensland Fan Palm, Licuala ramsayii, which is endemic to lowland rainforests of north east Queensland. The range of this palm covers the entire footprint of the Cairns Regional Council. The palm symbol comprises three distinct elements:   

The green upper leaf represents the mountain range and rainforest clad coastline The lower blue leaf elements represent the ocean, the reef and the community’s connection with both elements of nature.

The dynamic splash at the heart of the leaf design represents the festive spirit of the Cairns regional community.

The logotype (text) in the main logo consists of only of ‘Minion’, a serif typeface. This font is to be used only within the Council’s logo. For approved department and business unit logos, ‘Gill Sans’ is used within the corporate logo.

The logo is a direct artistic translation combining several ideas generated by community members at a logo development workshop in 2008. Workshop participants voiced a very strong desire for the logo to express residents' connection to our natural environment, our warm and festive culture, and our community spirit.

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Logo configurations There are three acceptable configurations for Council’s logo (and approved department and business unit logos): • • •

Stacked (portrait orientation) Horizontal (in-line, landscape) – short version, medium landscape Horizontal (in-line, landscape) – long version

* Electronic versions of the master logo can be found in E:\LOGOS\Cairns Regional Council In all configurations, the logo must be used in its entirety and must only be reproduced from master digital artwork supplied by Cairns Regional Council. The proportions must be maintained at all times and no additional text may be added to or superimposed over the logo.

The main logo is a stacked (portrait) orientation and is to be used across all collateral including stationery. This logo should be used in preference to the other configurations wherever possible.

The short and long horizontal formats are intended for material where maximum logo size is required in areas of limited depth, and can be aligned left with other elements on the page.

Horizontal logo – short (medium landscape)

Main logo – stacked (portrait)

Horizontal logo – long

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Logo colours Where possible, the full colour version of our logo should be used.

Single colour spot / mono versions (white, black, green, blue) are intended for applications where full colour reproduction is not available or appropriate, or where required for design aesthetics.

Use the reversed (white) mono logo on dark backgrounds, when it is not possible to accommodate the colour logo. Do not use the reversed (white) mono logo on pale or light coloured backgrounds.

The logo must not be presented in monochrome (grayscale).

Green

Blue

Black

CMYK

Pantone

RGB

Hex (html)

Cyan 26 Magenta 3 Yellow 93 Black 17

PMS 383C PMS 397U

R 169 G 181 B 51

29B533

Cyan 100 Magenta 52 Yellow 0 Black 12

PMS 2945C PMS 300U

R0 G 100 B 167

0064A7

Cyan 0 Magenta 0 Yellow 0 Black 100

Process Black C Process Black U

R 35 G 31 B 32

000000

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Complementary colours Complementary colours add liveliness to Council's brand. These secondary colours can be used in headings and supporting graphic elements in your design. They may be used at full strength or as tints. Use secondary colours carefully and with restraint.

Colour selection is not restricted to this suite of colours however if you choose to use other colours in your collateral, ensure that the colours complement the logo, provide sufficient contrast and visibility, and reflect Council’s visual brand in a professional way.

You may present the logo using these secondary colours only in mono (single spot colour) format. Do not re-create the full colour logo using any combinations of these colours.

CMYK

RGB

Orange

Cyan 0 Magenta 48 Yellow 100 Black 4

R 245 G 127 B 32

Red

Cyan 0 Magenta 88 Yellow 100 Black 12

R 225 G 27 B 34

e11b22

Cyan

Cyan 73 Magenta 5 Yellow 16 Black 0

R0 G 176 B 208

00b0d0

Hex (html) f57f20

Teal

Cyan 73 Magenta 0 Yellow 47 Black 0

R6 G 184 B 161

06b8a1

Pink / fuschia

Cyan 3 Magenta 94 Yellow 0 Black 0

R 236 G0 B 140

ec008c

Purple

Cyan 9 Magenta 66 Yellow 100 Black 49

R 118 G 44 B 130

762c82

Lime green

Cyan 48 Magenta 0 Yellow 89 Black 0

R 153 G 202 B 60

99ca3c

Mid green

Cyan 100 Magenta 0 Yellow 100 Black 40

R0 G 153 B 40

009928

Yellow

Cyan 0 Magenta 11 Yellow 100 Black 0

R 255 G 223 B 17

ffe20a

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Logo fonts The logotype (text) in the main logo is ‘Minion’, a serif typeface. This font is to be used only within Council’s logo.

For approved department and business unit logos, ‘Gill Sans’ is also used.

Note: it is not necessary to have the ‘Minion’ font on your system when reproducing the logo as it is included in all logo files.

Size, position and clearspace Size It is important that all parts of the logo, specifically the logotype, can be easily read. For this reason, the logo should never appear any smaller than the minimum size stipulated in these guidelines or in any other proportions than listed below.

The logo must be in proportion to the overall design to which it is applied.

A smaller version of the logo can only be used when the surface area of the object demands (eg, promotional merchandise such as a pen). In these cases, the logo should be placed prominently on merchandise in the largest size possible and it must not be reproduced smaller than is clearly legible.

There are no maximum size restrictions as long as the clearspace requirements are met.

For digital applications, the minimum height is 45 pixels.

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Position The logo should appear on the front of all materials. The placement / positioning of the logo will be governed by the design of your material. Where design permits, the logo should be placed in the top right corner.

In most circumstances, the logo should have prominence over and above other images and graphic elements.

Clearspace Clearspace is an exclusion zone surrounding the logo where no other text or graphics may appear.

A certain amount of clearspace must be maintained around the logo to ensure visibility and impact. The logo must not be crowded by type or any graphic element. The edge of the page may not intrude into the clearspace.

The logo’s clearspace is defined by the outer line around each logo, and is determined by measuring the height of the letter “C” in Cairns (or the corresponding initial letter for department and business unit logos).

Crest and floral emblem In addition to the official logo, Council also has a crest and city floral emblem.

The crest is reserved for ceremonial applications, such as the Council Chambers and official City documents such as international agreements and civic events. It is not a “coat of arms”.

The official floral emblem of the City of Cairns is the Golden Penda (Xanthostemon chrysanthus), a splendid tropical flowering tree with bright yellow blooms.

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Department and business unit logos The Cairns Regional Council logo is at all times considered the master brand. It is the preferred logo for the majority of Council use, in order to ensure Council’s branding and visual representation is consistent and strong.

Departments, branches, units and business units are not permitted to create their own logos without prior written approval of the Marketing and Communications branch.

Corporate logo variations have been approved for use by the department of Water and Waste, as well as the commercial business units of Cairns Works, Cairns Fleet, Design Services, Facilities Maintenance, Project Services and Survey Services. These use the corporate logo with a text identifier.

Approved logos exist for the business-like facilities of Cairns Libraries, Tanks Arts Centre and Cairns Esplanade. A logo for the Cairns Botanic Gardens and Cultural Services branch has also been approved. Note: The Botanic Gardens, Tanks and Esplanade logos are “venue” identification logos and do not reflect the branch or unit that owns the particular venue.

The corporate logo use guidelines apply to each of these approved co-brands.

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Cairns Performing Arts Centre logo This is the hero logo, and should be the default choice. Consider the legibility of "Cairns Performing Arts Centre" when using the logo.

The acronym logo (below left) is used secondary to the logo above. At sizes where the wording “Cairns Performing Arts Centre” is illegible on the acronym logo, please use the acronym (below right) in its place.

Note: for advice and approval on use of the CPAC logo, including approved colour palettes, please contact Council’s Cultural Services marketing team.

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Munro Martin Parklands logo This is the hero logo, and should be the default choice. Consider the legibility of "Munro Martin Parklands" when using the logo.

The acronym logo (below left) is used secondary to the logo above. At sizes where the wording “Munro Martin Parklands” is illegible on the acronym logo, please use the acronym (below right) in its place.

Note: for advice and approval on use of the MMP logo, including approved colour palettes, please contact Council’s Cultural Services marketing team.

Ticketlink logo A discrete logo exists for Ticketlink (Council’s fully-owned ticketing agency). The Ticketlink logo is to appear in its full colour variation where possible. A greyscale and mono version of the logo are also available for use.

To ensure a consistent relationship between all elements, the Ticketlink logo must not be redrawn or typeset or otherwise altered in any way, but instead reproduced from the master logo files.

CMYK

RGB

Hex (html)

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Black-grey

Cyan 20 Magenta 0 Yellow 0 Black 90

R 46 G 59 B 66

2e3b42

Orange

Cyan 0 Magenta 80 Yellow 100 Black 0

R 241 G 90 B 34

f15a22

Light grey

Cyan 0 Magenta 0 Yellow 0 Black 55

R 138 G 140 B 142

8a8c8e

Note: for advice and approval on use of the Ticketlink logo, please contact Council’s Cultural Services marketing team.

Sponsorship logos Council’s support must be prominently acknowledged in all grants and sponsorships.

The logo must be prominently featured on all promotional materials associated with grant or sponsorship arrangements, together with the most appropriate wording:    

"Proudly sponsored by" - use when a project, program, event or organisation is funded (monetary support) by Council.

"Proudly supported by" - use when Council has provided in-kind support through access to its resources.

"In partnership with" - use where Council's financial and/or in-kind contribution is equal or comparable to the other partner and the activity is not a straight sponsorship.

"Managed on behalf of" - use where a facility or asset is owned by Council but managed by a third party.

All material produced by an external partner must be proofed and approved by the Marketing & Communications Branch before being finalised.

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Logo use guidelines General requirements The logo must appear on the front of all official Cairns Regional Council communication materials of a marketing, administrative or operational nature.  Always use the logo in its entirety.  Always reproduce the logo from original master artwork files supplied by Cairns Regional Council. Wherever possible, use the EPS file format. In most cases it will give you the best results.  Maintain proportions at all times.  Where possible, use the full colour version of the logo. Single spot colour versions are appropriate where only one print colour is available (eg, merchandise, silk screen printing etc) or where required for design aesthetics.  Legibility is a primary consideration when using the logo. Always ensure sufficient contrast, visibility and legibility between the logo and its background. Use the single colour logo version where required.

Incorrect use Misuse of the Cairns Regional Council logo devalues it. Do not:           

change the logo’s colours separate, remove, crop or rotate / tilt any elements of the logo elongate / stretch, compress or distort the logo or any aspect of the logo edit or remove the wording, alter the typeface or change the positioning of the words manually key type onto the logo re-draw, rearrange or remove any aspect of the logo reproduce the logo as an outline present the logo in monochrome (grayscale) place the full colour logo on a background that makes it illegible (eg, heavily patterned background or low-contrast block colour) use a low-resolution image add a drop shadow behind the logo

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Use by third parties Council’s name or logo may be used in marketing and publicity materials relating to the organisation only if the following conditions are met:   

If there is an official relationship between Council and the third party organisation (for example a partnership, sponsorship or professional association) The logo usage must comply with Council’s style guidelines Each occasion of the logo’s use is endorsed by Council’s Marketing and Communications unit

Use with other logos Where collaborative or joint ventures require more than one logo to be printed on any material, the Cairns Regional Council logo should be in equal or larger size and prominence to the partner or co-sponsor organisation (subject to the partner/co-sponsors’ own brand guidelines*).

When positioning the Cairns Regional Council logo alongside other organisational logos, ideally it should be positioned to produce an equally balanced group of logos. Logos should be positioned with at least 10mm between the Council logo and any other logo.

Be sure to adhere to any logo specifications of the partner or co-sponsor, and obtain all necessary approvals as prescribed in the terms and conditions of the project contract or agreement. * Note: Australian Government and Queensland Government brand guidelines take precedence over Council's own guidelines.

Stylised graphics The following graphic elements are available for use as design features primarily in documents produced in-house using Microsoft Office. These elements can be found in MS Word under the ‘Quick Parts’ menu, and are also available in the logo drive (E:\LOGOS\Cairns Regional Council\Leaf graphic, watermark & header footer). Apply these elements sparingly to avoid over-use.

A range of graphic elements have also been developed for use on marketing materials and collateral produced by Cairns Libraries, Tanks Arts Centre and Cairns Esplanade. Use of these elements is not mandatory; they are provided for design guidance only. Use of other, professionally-designed graphic elements is appropriate for design aesthetics and creativity. At no time should clip-art elements be incorporated into official Council marketing, advertising or promotional materials.

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Leaf pattern and watermark The leaf pattern can be used as a design strip across printed material.

Two leaf graphics – the leaf outline and the leaf watermark - based on the fan palm in our logo, have been devised for use as secondary devices across collateral.

The artwork files for these elements can be found in E:\LOGOS\Cairns Regional Council\Leaf graphic, watermark & header footer

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Cairns Libraries Both the wave and palm leaves graphic elements can be used in all the colours of the colour palette, and in black in black and white applications.

Dewey has been created as the colourful mascot of The Fishing Hole Kid’s Club. He appears online and in person at the libraries to educate and entertain our libraries’ younger members.

A school of fish has also been developed to supplement the Kid’s Club identity, and is used sparingly on the children’s member cards and the Kid’s Club website.

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Cairns Esplanade The Cairns Esplanade fish are an iconic feature of the facility and graphic elements featuring the fish and waves are available for use in marketing materials and collateral.

Esplanade fish artwork Strict conditions of use apply to the Esplanade fish artwork. Unauthorised use of the artwork for commercial purpose may infringe the artist’s copyright and other intellectual property rights, and may result in legal action by the artist.

Council has an irrevocable licence from the artist (Brian Robinson) to use visual representations of the fish artwork in its non-commercial marketing and promotional materials.

Use of the Esplanade fish image by other parties, including commercial and non-commercial purposes, requires written permission from the artist. Use of the art for commercial purposes is subject to the artist’s discretion and charges may be imposed by the artist for commercial use.

For more details on these conditions of use, refer to DM#2374081.

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Corporate stationery Official stationery has been designed to assure the consistent appearance of all our documentation. Council’s standard stationery is used for all corporate purposes.

To ensure consistency, corporate stationery must only be ordered through Purchasing.

Letterhead Printed letterhead supplies are sourced through Stores.

Use the letter template in MS Word. Do not change the pre-set formatting in the template.

An electronic letterhead template is available on the Council Templates menu in the MS Word ribbon. Do not change the formatting in the template. You can use F11 to tab through the template fields.

All letterhead templates are set to left align (ragged right). Do not fully justify your letters.

•

•

Left alignment is best for readability. The human eye naturally scans a written document from left to right. The aim of a letter is to convey your message clearly and quickly, with maximum ease for your reader.

Left alignment ensures the spacing between letters and words remains constant. By contrast, full justification is achieved by increasing and/or reducing the spaces between words, characters and even the width of the characters themselves. As a result, words are stretched or compressed, and hyphenation can be automatically inserted at inappropriate breaks within words, making your text more difficult to read.

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Printed letterhead

Electronic letterhead Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Business cards Business cards must ONLY be ordered through Procurement using the correct order form.

Approved business card designs are listed on the Business Card Order Form (DM#5331091) – available through the Intranet (search for Business Card order form).

Staff must not go directly to a printer to have new cards designed or made. Cards must only feature approved logos.

Corporate general card – with officer’s name and position.

Note: name & contact details below are for illustration purposes only.

This same card layout is used by those business-type units that have an approved logo – see examples below for illustration purposes. In those cases, the corporate logo is replaced with the applicable approved unit logo.

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Corporate general card – no name, position title only

Cultural Services (covers Tanks Arts Centre, Munro Martin Parklands, Cairns Festival, CPAC): Note: name & contact details below are for illustration purposes only.

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Powerpoint slides Two templates are provided for PowerPoint use, with cover pages, text pages and room for photography and charts.

Option 1:

Option 2:

Tips:  Minimum text size 16pt (body copy), headings in 38pt, sub-heads in 26pt  Keep your information short and to the point.  PowerPoint is visual aid to summarise your verbal presentation – do not read from the slide.  Keep charts or other graphics as simple and clear as possible, do not use 3D effects or animation where it can be avoided.

Note for Councillor workshops: • Maximum three points per slide • Maximum ten slides in total

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Email signature blocks It is best practice to always include a signature block at the bottom of email messages being sent to external recipients. This makes it easy for the recipient to contact you directly.

The recommended signature block format ensures you are clearly and consistently identified as a Cairns Regional Council staff member when sending emails.

All email messages should show the writer’s name, job title, department and organisation, as well as phone number (desk and work mobile), email address and Council web address. You do not need to include your mobile phone number if it is your personal phone.  Do not include logos, images, graphics or background colours with your signature block.  Do not add any other messages (eg, vision statements, branch objectives, personal favourite quotations or “thoughts for the day” etc) with your signature block. Such messages add unnecessary length to your signature. While perfectly acceptable for personal correspondence, it is not considered a professional best practice.

The recommended email signature block format is below: Jane Citizen | Project Officer Works and Services | Cairns Regional Council P: 07 4044 3999 | F: 07 4044 3953 | M: 0400 123 456 E: j.citizen@cairns.qld.gov.au | W: cairns.qld.gov.au Mail: PO Box 359, Cairns Q 4870 | Office: 119-145 Spence Street, Cairns

Invitations Sample layout and wording for an official invitation from the Mayor to attend an official function hosted by Cairns Regional Council:

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Sample layout and wording for a non-personalised official invitation to attend an event hosted

by Cairns Regional Council:

Invitations can also be designed to reflect specific program or venue branding, for example:

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Collateral guidelines Legibility is a key consideration when producing any printed material.

Many factors can affect legibility including the individual reader’s level of vision and the design, layout and font size/style of the printed material produced. If legibility is poor, the objective of the communication is lost.

To maximise legibility, consider the following principles when producing visual communications.

Font choice Choose a contemporary sans serif font that suits the key message, target audience and overall design of your material. There is no mandatory font, however Gill Sans is recommended as the default choice of font.

Arial is recommended for most internal and electronic communications applications. As a general rule, use Arial Regular for body copy and Arial Bold for headings and headlines.  

Body copy for printed material should be a minimum of 8 to 10pt.

Headings should be in a bold font, 24 to 26pt

For ease of reading, black copy on white or light backgrounds provides high contrast and legibility. When using white or coloured type, ensure it is large and bold enough to provide sufficient contrast with the background.

Text layout          

Avoid indenting text Use left align (ragged right); avoid full justification Do not hyphenate at the end of lines Avoid widows at the end of paragraphs Use wide margins where a document is to be bound Leading (spacing between text) should be at least 25 – 30% of the point size.

Generous spacing between paragraphs Avoid italic, uppercase only, underlining or condensed text Avoid ornate typefaces Do not clutter the text with background graphics, patterns or watermarks

Paper stock In line with Council’s commitment to reducing its environmental footprint, collateral should be printed on environmentally accredited paper where possible and cost effective. This can be either recycled stock or paper from sustainably managed sources.

Paper stock finishes: • Coated – provides great print clarity and vibrant colour. Good for brochures and fact sheets. Preferably, choose a matt or satin finish on non-reflective paper, as glare from glossy paper can lessen legibility. For professionally printed materials, we recommend ‘Monza Satin’.

• Uncoated – more natural look. Ideal for stationery.

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Stock should be good quality and thick enough to ensure there is no show-through. A minimum of 150gsm for DL brochures (<12 pages), flyers and small posters is recommended. For multipage brochures and booklets (>12 pages), aim for 250gsm.

Photography and images Images selected to represent Cairns Regional Council should be of a high quality and resolution, have a focus on texture or colour, or use interesting and dynamic angles. Photos of people should always appear natural and not staged.

When selecting images, take care to represent your target market; choose pictures that characterise their interests and lifestyle. Also consider the age, gender and ethnicity of the people in your imagery.

Choose images that complement your material's design.

Do not use any form of Clip Art in any official Council marketing, advertising or promotional materials.

The Marketing and Communications branch has an extensive photo gallery for staff use. The gallery contains approved images of Council buildings, facilities, venues, projects and events.

These images have either been captured for an on behalf of Council by staff or contracted photographers, or Council has been granted limited permission to use (subject to certain usage terms).

Talent release For all photography and film shoots, you must obtain the written permission of every recognisable person who appears within. Use the Talent Release Form (DM# 1522791) for this purpose.

The signed Talent Release Form must be saved into DM5 as proof that Council has permission to use the image for corporate publications.

The Talent Release Form assigns Council permission to use, reproduce, copy, exhibit, broadcast, screen and distribute (in full or in part) the images for its own communication purposes. It also provides provision for absolute and irrevocable release and discharge from any claims, liability or injury that may occur while the subject is performing or appearing in the photography or film recording.

Signage Information, display and interpretative signage Signage that is specifically designed to impart information or promote a particular activity should include an approved entity logo. Examples include walking trail signs, interpretive signs at public places, infrastructure development notice signs, etc The logo size must be in proportion to the design to which it is applied.

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide

Writer’s Guide This Style Guide is designed to provide assistance and guidance with common aspects of written communication. For detailed information on specific elements of grammar and punctuation, writers should refer to the Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers (Commonwealth of Australia 2002).

A copy of this Style Manual is held in Marketing & Communications branch and can be accessed for reference purposes.

Marketing & Communications unit is also available to assist with reviewing and editing written material prior to publication.

Council name Cairns Regional Council is a single organisation so we write “Cairns Regional Council is…” rather than “Cairns Regional Council are..”.

In any written material, the first reference to the organisation should be in full - Cairns Regional Council – but after the first reference, you may use the term “the Council” if necessary.

Use of the abbreviation CRC should be avoided, as this acronym is easily confused with the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs).

‘The’ is not part of our name, so we should use “Cairns Regional Council” not “The Cairns Regional Council”.

Write a lower case “c” when using council in a generic sense, eg “For the third year in a row, Cairns Regional Council has been named among the best performing councils in the state.”

City of Cairns This is sometimes used as the formal name of the city eg, the City of Cairns was declared in 1834.

Do not capitalise the word “city” when using it as a generic term eg, Cairns is a large city.

As an aside, the criteria for becoming a city in Queensland includes having a population of at least 25,000 and providing commercial, industrial, health and public sector services to the region. Despite common belief, having a cathedral does not make a settlement a “city”.

Other official names To ensure a consistent and professional presentation of Council’s community assets, be sure to use the correct official names for our venues:   

Cairns Botanic Gardens: note “Botanic” not “Botanical”, and “Garden” not “Gardens” Tanks Arts Centre: note “Arts” not “Art” Southern Esplanade Carpark: not Pier Carpark (this is part of the Shangri-La Hotel) or Lagoon Carpark

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Plain English principles More than 40% of Australians have low literacy skills (level 1 or 2). It is important to write at an appropriate level to your audience, to get your message right and make it understandable.

Writing in “Plain English” is clear, concise and informative. Plain English is neither too formal nor informal, nor too wordy. It’s about saying what you mean as concisely and simply as possible. It puts the focus on the reader – what information do they need? What words or language will they understand?

Here are some simple tips to help you write in plain English:  Keep words simple – use common, everyday words; avoid fancy words and jargon  Choose a clear, short word rather than a long one  Use positive terms and language. For example: Positive: “Please send your payment so we can renew your permit” Negative: “If you do not send your payment, your permit will not be renewed.”  Avoid specialist or technical language (unless your reader is a subject-matter expert)  Keep sentences short (no more than 15-20 words). The longer the sentence, the harder it is to follow.  Stick to one idea or thought in every sentence  Write short, single-topic paragraphs  Avoid over-used phrases such as “it is noted”, “it is recommended” and “please be advised that”.  Use active voice where possible – it is more direct, more interesting to read, it clearly states who is doing what, and it uses fewer words. Aim to make 80-90% of your sentences active.

For example: Passive: “the project funding will be approved by the committee” Active: “the committee will approve the project funding”  Write in the “second person” (ie, you, we, they). This makes your writing more friendly and personal, and encourages you to write in the active voice.  If you need your reader to take action or follow directions, give clear instructions. For example: Direct: “We will not accept late applications” Indirect: “Please be advised that late applications will not be accepted under any circumstances.”  Use bulleted or numbered lists to break up detailed information  Use relevant images or graphics to strengthen your message  When using a template, do not change the pre-set formatting or alter the colours. This is particularly important for Council report templates.  Use page numbers if the document exceeds two pages  Include an index or table of contents for long documents  Spell check and proof-read – check for correct spelling, punctuation and grammar!  Include a DM5 reference for all documents

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Planning your message Before you start to write, you should plan your message and be clear about why you are writing, who your readers are and what you want to say. Consider the following: • • • • • •

• • •

Who is your reader? How much do they know about this subject? Is the document for an internal audience or the wider public?

What is your purpose? Why are you writing and what do you hope to achieve? Does the reader need to take any action, and if so, is the action clearly explained?

What is your message? What points do you want to make to the reader? If your message is complex, how can you help your reader to understand it?

Structure your content into a logical sequence, with your most important message first.

Focus on your reader. What information do they need? What words or language will they understand?

Your starting paragraph should explain your purpose and make it clear why your audience is reading the document. Your concluding statements should explain what your reader should do next or what the future actions will be.

Keep sentences short and succinct (15-20 words).

Paragraphs should be short with only one topic in each. Link your paragraphs to keep the ‘flow’ of information. Use bulleted or numbered lists to break-up detailed information.

Use images, lists, tables and examples to help provide clarity to your message.

Writing & editing guidelines The Cairns Regional Council logo was adopted in 2008, following the amalgamation of Cairns City Council Abbreviations Abbreviations are easier to read with minimal punctuation, that is, no full stops between the letters. Use a full stop when the abbreviation ends differently from the word: Dec., Mon, tel. The preferred style is: St, Mt, am, pm, Mr, snr, Dr. Use full stops only to avoid confusion.

Initials in addresses do not have full stops.

Mr W J Smith PO Box 1234 CAIRNS QLD 4870 For metric symbols, use km for kilometre, g for gram, m2 for square-metre and so on. The units tonne and litre should be spelt out.

Units of measure generally do not require a full stop. No space is needed between the figure and the symbol (or letter) in expressions such as: 9%

15oC $10m 5c

2nd

However, some are written with a space following the number. For example: 10 L

12.5 ha

9 per cent

8 mm

550 tonnes 100 km

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Express all fractions as decimals eg, 2.5 km not 2 ½ km.- except in cases where a fraction is an excepted industry term, such as a 4½ -star hotel.

When using an abbreviation for the first time, spell it out in full followed by the abbreviation in brackets.

Acronyms An acronym is a string of initial letters (and sometimes other letters) joined together with no full stops or spacing, and pronounced as a word.

Avoid using Council-specific acronyms in external correspondence: W&S, ICF, SACCS and so on. Members of the public deserve to see the words.

If an organisation’s full name or title is only used once, there is no need to use the acronym.

When using acronyms, the first reference is written in full followed by the acronym in brackets, with no full stops. For example: the Government Reform Commission (CRG)…. Some acronyms are commonly recognised, such as TAFE, ANZAC and Qantas, and do not need to be defined.

In a long document which contains a variety of acronyms, it is helpful to include a list of these shortened forms at the back of the document.

Ampersand (&) Do not use unless it is part of a registered corporate or company name or you are making a direct quotation.

It is acceptable to use & in headings and on displays.

Apostrophes Apostrophes are used for either contractions or to indicate possession, not pluralising. Be careful when using apostrophes and use them correctly.

Contractions: To indicate letters omitted in contractions of words: • • • •

It’s (it is) don’t (do not) hasn’t (has not) who’s (who is/has) etc

Plurals of figures are presented without apostrophes: in his 70s, Boeing 727s, the 1990s … Or for abbreviations such as MPs, QCs. Words that have been shortened are also presented without apostrophes: phone, paper (as in newspaper).

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Possession: •

•

•

•

•

•

To indicate possession: the boy’s ball (one boy) the boys’ ball (more than one boy) the person’s home (one person) Watch out for the plural: the children’s game the women’s courage For plural nouns ending in s, add the apostrophe only: the girls’ spirit (more than one girl) the employees’ conditions the footballers’ win For singular nouns ending in s, add apostrophe s: the abyss’s call (one abyss) the boss’s smile (one boss).

With proper names ending in s, it becomes trickier. Usually pronunciation is a good guide: Tom Jones’s voice Howard Hughes’s millions.

Say the names before deciding. When in doubt, rebuild the phrase instead of using an apostrophe: the disciples of Jesus the teachings of Moses

Appropriate language Avoid vulgarities and discriminatory language. Omit anything that could be considered offensive to any section of the community including ethnic or religious groups.

Try to use gender-free occupational terms such as police officer instead of policeman, supervisor instead of foreman.

When making references to people with a disability, ensure your choice of words puts the focus on the person rather than their disability. Avoid terms such as the disabled, the blind, or a quadriplegic. Preferred terms are those such as person with a disability or student with a hearing impairment.

Disability Services Queensland has produced a handy writer’s guide for the portrayal of people with a disability. The guide, called “A Way With Words”, is found in DM#3167106. For any further advice, contact Council’s Access & Equity Project Officer.

Borders and Boxed Text Use borders in moderation. A page can look cluttered when sections of text and illustrations appear in borders. It can also disrupt the flow of reading.

When placing text in boxes with a shaded background, ensure there is good contrast between the shading and the text so that the words can easily be read. Remember that shaded backgrounds do not reproduce well when photocopied or scanned.

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Brackets In general writing, use round brackets ( ) rather than square [ ], angle < > or curly { }.

Do not use one set of brackets inside another. Instead, use a combination of hyphens and brackets.

Capital letters Sentences start with a capital letter. Capital letters can interrupt the flow of reading, and can also look pompous so they are best reserved for their proper uses.

Capitals are also used for proper nouns - nouns that name a particular person, place, thing or trademark brand. Examples are Cairns, Queensland, Mayor, the Constitution, Lake Street, Monday, Filipino and Toyota Corolla. Nationalities and languages also take a capital.

Use capitals for the full title of organisations, institutions and similar entities. Similarly, use capitals for all kinds of the word government and parliament when referring to a specific entity, and whether or not preceded by a qualifying word: the Cairns Regional Council is …. the Australian Government is … the Queensland State Government …

A lower case initial letter should be used for these words when used generally. For example: The council produces a number of …

It is a state responsibility to …

This system of government …

Common nouns do not have capitals. Common nouns are the names of ordinary things and items around us that can be seen and touched, such as book, house, cars, bridges, tree, cup and window.

Lower case should be used when describing unofficial regions of a geographical area. For example: eastern Australia

southern Africa

northern Australia

When abbreviated, the points of the compass are always capitalised (and set without stops).

Collective nouns A collective noun singular in form takes a singular verb: The company is The Board is The committee is The council is

company officers are board members are committee members are council staff are

Colloquialism Slang words or phrases have little place in official writing.

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Commas Use commas where necessary to avoid ambiguity, or in a list. As a general guide, commas are used when you would normally pause for a breath when speaking. Be aware that the placement of commas can affect meaning.

General guidelines for commas are they should: • be used to indicate natural phrases • be used if leaving it out would leave the meaning of the sentence ambiguous • be used when a dependent clause begins a sentence • be used to enclose phrases that are introduced within independent clauses • not be overused.

In a sentence listing names or items, use semi-colons to avoid confusion. For example: The group consisted of Ministry of Defence Secretary Bill Smith; Director of Sales Fred Jones and his team of sales representatives; and Chief Executive of the Corporation Jennifer Browning.

Date and Time formats Dates: Dates are best presented using numerals for the day and the year with the name of the month spelled out in full. Days should be written with the number only, without additional letters (th, st, nd, or rd) or punctuation: 6 October 2006

not 6th October 2006 not October 6th, 2006.

If you need to write dates only as figures, use the Australian standard dd/mm/yyyy with the figures separated with forward slashes eg, 25/10/2017 or 3/5/17. If space is limited, use dd/mm/yy eg, 18/11/17.

When the name of a day is followed by the date, do not separate the two elements with a comma: The appointment was for Thursday 21 June 2006.

When providing spans of dates, use a dash: 12 June 2005 – 9 April 2006 (dash with a space either side) 22-26 October 2006 (a dash without spaces) If you need to abbreviate months in table or event listings, use the following formats: Jan

Feb

March

April

(or Mar if absolutely necessary)

May

June

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

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Times: Council expresses time using the 12 hour system: 9am, 6.55pm  

Two zeros may be used to indicate even hours but are not essential: 9am or 9:00am Times should be written with the am / pm hard up against the number (9am). Do not use full points (a.m., p.m.)

Use between 8.00 am and 4.30 pm, not between 8.00 am to 4.30 pm. Alternatively use from 8.00 am to 4.30 pm.

To avoid confusion, use noon instead of 12:00pm and midnight instead of 12:00am (but do not use 12 noon or 12 midnight).

Decades: Decades should be expressed as the 1920s or the ‘20s. To avoid confusion between centuries, write the full year eg, 1890s and 1990s.

Note: there is no apostrophe between the number and the letter “s”.

Dot points (bullets and numbered lists) Dot points are very useful for displaying lists and breaking up large bodies of text.

Two styles can apply, and in each case, the series of dot points should be introduced by a sentence (or sentence fragment) followed by a colon.

In text: The first word of each dot point should be in lower case. Use a semicolon at the end of each line and a full stop at the very end of the list. At the end of the second last dot point, use the word ‘and’. For example: The review will look at: • • •

how many licences are available; how they are used; and ways of improving usage.

In lists: It is acceptable to use an initial capital for each dot point. There should be no punctuation at the end of each dot point. This is also the preferred style for text on displays. For example: Product features: • • •

Individual attention for customers Focus on quality Strong partnerships with local business

Avoid using a mixture of single words, short phrases and complete sentences in a list of dot points. Make it one or the other.

Numbered lists are useful for describing step-by-step procedures, or if you need to refer back to a particular item at a later point in your document.

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Email Etiquette Emails sent from Council are official documents, and your email may form part of a request for access to documents under the Right to Information Act. Email should be treated with the same significance as the signed letter, and reflect Council’s image and professionalism.

Use good judgement and think carefully about the contents of your email, especially if the matter is considered sensitive.

Transmission of material that might bring council into disrepute is prohibited. Sensitive or confidential information can easily be disclosed via email. Never send or keep email that you would be worried about seeing on the evening news, quoted, printed or forwarded on to others.

Be very careful when forwarding emails. You should not forward someone else’s email, without prior permission of the original sender. This is particularly important if the email deals with sensitive or confidential matters.

E-mail doesn’t have the visual or auditory cues of spoken or face-to-face conversation, so it’s easy to be misunderstood or to offend someone.      

Be polite, professional and careful about what you write, especially about others.

Don’t write in upper case as this is considered as ‘shouting’.

Use sensible subject lines.

Keep your messages concise and to the point.

Always include a signature block at the bottom of email messages.

Don’t expect an instant response - email is not a substitute for a telephone conversation. If you need to resolve a matter quickly, pick up the phone or speak faceto-face with the other person.

Email Signature Block All email messages should show the writer’s name, job title, department and organisation, as well as phone number, email address and Council web address.

The recommended email signature block format is below: Jane Citizen | Project Officer Works and Services | Cairns Regional Council P: 07 4044 3999 | F: 07 4044 3953 | M: 0400 123 456 E: j.citizen@cairns.qld.gov.au | W: cairns.qld.gov.au Mail: PO Box 359, Cairns Q 4870 | Office: 119-145 Spence Street, Cairns

Do not include the logo or any other images in your signature block. There are several reasons for this decision: •

• •

Many email systems/gateways/virus scanners will extract the image from the email and place it as an attachment (rather than displaying it), thus defeating the objective of putting it in the signature.

Recipients who receive their emails in plain text format will not be able to see the image.

Images add extra bytes to every email message sent & stored by Council’s email servers.

All those bytes increase Council’s costs when we have hundreds of staff sending multiple emails each day.

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Font size should be no smaller than 9 point - preferred font is Arial (as this is a universal font).

Do not use multiple font styles in your signature.

If you wish to use colours in your signature block, use Custom colours – for Blue RGB 0 84 160 and Green RGB 110 140 36 as these correspond to the logo colours.

All email messages should show the writer’s name, job title, division, organisation, phone and fax number, and email address. Staff should set up a standard closing message – Signature – in MS Outlook. (Refer to Doc# 1834010 for instructions.)

Full Stops Do not use full stops: • •

In abbreviations or acronyms - In eg, ie, etc, inc After a person’s initials eg R Noble

Headings Headings act as signposts for your reader. Headings need to be clear, brief and informative.

They should structure information in a logical order and reflect the importance of each topic Hyphens and Dashes Hyphens Hyphens are shorter than dashes, and are used to link words and figures. Hyphens are often used to prevent misreading when a word or prefix is attached to another word.

The use of hyphens changes at a rapid rate and there are no simple rights and wrongs.

Consistency is the key. Therefore leave out hyphens wherever possible and use: coordinate

cooperate

daytime

subtropical

The exception to this is compounds of two words used adjectively before nouns. For example: five-year term a red-hot poker a Cairns-based company a cross-bred dog multi-purpose second-class Hyphens are now commonly used for words prefixed with ‘e’ (for electronic): e-commerce

e-business

Hyphens can also be useful to clarify meaning and avoid ambiguity with similar-looking words, such as: re-cover (to cover again) re-present (to present again) re-mark (to mark again) re-sort (to sort again)

recover (to retrieve) represent (to signify, to denote) remark (to comment on) resort (a holiday spot)

Dashes A dash can be used to mark an interruption – like this – or to emphasise a word or phrase used as an explanation.

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Indigenous / Traditional Custodians / First Peoples Aborigine is the noun; Aboriginal, the adjective. Aboriginal always uses a capital letter.

Always capitalise Indigenous when it refers to the original inhabitants of Australia – as in Indigenous Australians and Indigenous communities. It needs no capitals when used in a general sense to refer to the original inhabitants of other countries.

The preferred collective reference for Indigenous Australians is First Peoples or Australia’s First Nation Peoples.

Cairns Regional Council respects the First Peoples who are the Bama – the Aboriginal rainforest people who are traditional custodians/owners of the lands that cover our region. We also acknowledge other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who call our region home.

Council has adopted a General Policy on Traditional Custodian Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country, to incorporate recognition of First Peoples in official protocols and events. The General Policy also contains guidance on observing certain cultural protocols.

The term Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander covers the two groups of Indigenous Australians.

Wherever possible, do not use the acronym ATSI; this can be taken as disrespectful as it labels people with an acronym.

Important Note: As a sign of respect in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander society, the name of a dead person is often not mentioned for at least a year after the death. An image should not be shown unless the family involved gives approval. These sensitive issues are sometimes negotiable. Check with the community, taking care not to mention the dead person’s name when doing so.

If there are any possible Native Title sensitivities contact Council’s First Peoples Officer.

Italics Italics should be used sparingly, as it can look untidy and is less readable than normal text. Use bold text for emphasis instead.

Italics are conventionally used for: Titles - books, movies, television programs and other artistic works. For example: The students saw Some Like It Hot as part of their film studies.

Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Old Man and the Sea. Names of newspapers and periodicals: The Cairns Post, The Courier Mail, The Australian.

Note that if the word ‘The’ forms part of the title, it is also italicised.

Names of ships, aircraft and other vehicles: Sea Spray, Southern Cross, Bluebird.

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However, this does not apply to the abbreviation “HMAS” preceding a name such as HMAS Brisbane. Nor does it apply to model or brand names eg, a Holden Commodore, the Concorde aircraft.

Legislation and legal cases: Laws begin their lives as draft statutes or Bills before parliament and, if approved at all levels, become Acts. For official purposes, Bills are presented in plain type while Acts appear in italics: Air Pilots Training Act 1982 (No. 50) (Cwlth).

Note that the year, number and jurisdiction—(No. 50) (Cwlth)—are in plain type.

Words and letters cited as such: For example: Wherever I go, I find the words No Parking.

Scientific names of animals and plants: Beach Milkwood = Cerbera manghas Jargon Do not use without explanation words that specialists may understand, but not the general reader. (See also Acronyms) Lists Lists can be a good way of breaking up long sentences. When using dot points, ensure the flow of your message is retained.

Use a colon after the lead-in sentence to a list of dot points: • •

Start with a capital letter and end with a full stop when your dot point is a full sentence.

For dot points that are not full sentences: o start in lower case o no full stop at end o except for the last dot point.

Use numbered lists when the content is sequential eg, a set of instructions that must be followed in order.

Non-discriminatory language Do not use the pronouns he, his, him to mean both sexes. Instead write the sentence in the plural. Writers should know their audience not A writer should know his/her audience.

(See also Appropriate Language)

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Numbers / Figures Generally you should: • • • • • •

spell out numbers when they begin a sentence spell out numbers from zero to nine and write numbers from 10 in figures. spell out large numbers if necessary, eg one million instead of 1,000,000. use numerals to avoid a string of hyphenated words (eg, the man is 21 years old, in preference to the twenty-one-year-old man) use numerals when accompanied by a symbol or unit of measure: 25%, $25, 25 mm, 3.25 pm, 40oC, $1m. use decimal factions to convey numerical information fully and accurately: 2.5 tonnes, not 2½ tonnes (and definitely not 2 1/2 tonnes)

Large numbers of more than four digits do not require a comma. A comma can be confused with a full stop, and might be read as a decimal point. Also Europeans use a comma to represent a decimal point. Large numbers take a small space between each group of three digits, but this space is not necessary in numerals containing only four digits.

4000 not 4,000

50 000 not 50,000

100 000 not 100,000

An exception to this is when using numbers in tables. If necessary, a space may be used in a four-figure number to align with the other numbers in the table.

Telephone numbers are another exception. When providing telephone numbers in correspondence use (07) 4044 3044 or 0408 891 968. When providing a telephone number to someone overseas include Australia’s country code, followed by the area code and then the actual telephone number, for example: +61 7 4044 3044.

Per cent Note: as written, not ‘percent’.

The % symbol should only be used with numerals: 10% The word ‘per cent’ can be used with either words or numerals: 10 per cent

ten per cent

Use the words ‘per cent’ in the text and the symbol % in tables (or where space is an issue).

Note: there is a difference between percentage and percentage points. Taking 20 per cent as a starting point:  

An increase of 10 per cent makes the total 22 per cent = 2 is 10 per cent of 20 An increase of 10 percentage points makes the total 30 per cent = 20 plus 10

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Plurals See also Apostrophes and That/Which (under Commonly Confused Words).

If the proper noun sounds like singular (eg, like a "person",) or is commonly known to be a person/people, use who. If it doesn't sound like a person use that/which.  

The Beatles, who formed in Liverpool, had a remarkable career.

The beatles, which live in South Africa, can kill with a single bite.

Remember: Cairns Regional Council is a single organisation so we write in the singular form – “Cairns Regional Council is…” , not “Cairns Regional Council are..”.

Some scientific words and words of Latin, Greek and other “loan words” have distinct plural forms eg: bacteria, data, nuclei, stimuli, larvae.

Punctuation Clear punctuation helps make written material clear and unambiguous. Poor punctuation – both too much and too little – can change the meaning of words and sentences.

We all have our own style of punctuation but the general rule is to use just enough for clarity. A simple approach is to read a sentence aloud to yourself and add punctuation to express the pauses you would make if speaking.

The major punctuation marks are: • • • • • • •

Full stop ( . ) – usually used to mark the end of a sentence Question mark ( ? ) – signals a query Exclamation mark ( ! ) – used to provide emphasis (but is easily over-used) Comma ( , ) – used to provide a short break in a sentence, to enhance clarity of the message Dashes and hyphens (see separate heading) Colon ( : ) – used to mark pause to introduce a word, phrase, clause or additional material such as a list of points Semicolon ( ; ) – used to link two clauses (stronger than a comma, weaker than a full stop); also used to separate items in a list.

Quotation marks As a general rule, short quotations should be contained within the text.

Quotations of more than 30 words should be set separately.

Direct speech and quotations set within text should be enclosed within single quotation marks, with double quotation marks used only for quotations within quotations.

He agreed he was trying to add ‘an air of respectability’ to the meeting.

Quotations set as separate passages - known as block quotations - should be set in a size smaller than that used for the text (usually 1 pt smaller) and indented by at least as much as a normal paragraph indentation of the text. For example: As a general rule, a statement of scale should be given with all maps. This may be expressed either by a simple drawn scale or a ratio (representative fraction), or both.

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It is important that the scale be correct when the map is finally printed. If the map has to be reduced in size, a scale stated in words will be incorrect if the reduction has not been allowed for.

You may also use italics to identify a quote.

The term fire free zone is used to …

Again once you choose which method you are using for quotations, be consistent throughout the document you are preparing.

Spelling Council’s standard is Australian English, not American English.

If you are in any doubt about the spelling of a word, consult the Macquarie or Australian Oxford dictionary.

Spell checking should be done manually as well as using the spell check on the computer. The computer spell checker will not pick up a word that, although spelt correctly, is actually incorrect in the context of the document (eg, ‘their’ and ‘there’; ‘Mayor’ and ‘major’).

Give yourself plenty of time to proof-read, and arrange for somebody else to check your document (as when you are the writer, you are too close to see all the errors). Pay particular attention to headlines, titles, first lines, first paragraphs and the top lines on a new page. Also be extra careful with figures – misprints in numerals can be catastrophic!

Translations If you require written information to be translated into other languages, you should try to use a translator who is recognised by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI).

Commonly confused and misused words Aboriginal Aborigine Accountable to Accountable for Adverse Averse Advice (noun) Advise (verb) Affect (verb) Effect (noun)

Aggravate Irritate

Use as an adjective Use as a noun. Plural is Aborigines (a person) (a thing) Unfavourable (to) or opposing Disinclined, reluctant to accept Information, guidance or a recommendation (noun) To offer advice, to give guidance (verb) A verb meaning to influence, to make a difference to (this will affect taxpayers … I was affected by the illness) A noun meaning the result or consequence (The effect of the drought on wheat yields … significant effects include a rise in...)

To add to an existing problem or condition To annoy or to vex

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All ready Already Alternate (verb) Alternative (noun) Among Between Angry with Angry at Biannual Biennial Biweekly Bimonthly Botanic Botanical Canvas Canvass Climatic Climactic Compare with Compare to Compliment Complement Consequent Subsequent Continual Continuous Council / Councillor

Counsel / counsellor Criteria Criterion Defuse Diffuse Discrete Discreet Dependent Dependant

Prepared Beforehand To switch between two or more options; every second one (on alternate Sundays) Different or other option; different from what is normally done (alternative power sources) Used for three or more items Used for two items only (a person) (a thing) Twice a year Once every two years Twice a week or fortnightly. The term is ambiguous so it is better to spell out what you mean.

Twice monthly or every two months. (same as above) Our facility is the Cairns Botanic Gardens Adjective relating to botany / cultivation of plants. Botanical does not form part of the proper name of the Cairns Botanic Gardens.

We camp under canvas We canvass opinion or votes Weather Culminating Used for differences and when the comparison is broad eg, “compared with Calcutta, Cairns is a very small city.”

Used for similarities and when things are being likened to each other eg, “she compared his teeth to ivory” To congratulate, praise.

To add to; that which completes; counterpart.

Following as a result Coming after, but not necessarily as a result Occurs regularly Goes on without interruption A group or meeting of a group (always a noun). Note: Councillor can be abbreviated to Cr (Crs for plural). Do NOT use Cllr or Cllrs.

Advice, or a legal advisor A plural noun, meaning standards of judgment or criticism; established rules or principles for testing anything The singular of criteria.

To remove a fuse To disperse Distinct Prudent The act of depending on another (the RSPCA is dependent upon donations) One who depends on another (parents with dependants)

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Disinterested Uninterested Either Neither Enquire Inquire Ensure Insure Exhausted Exhaustive Feasible Viable Fewer Less

Unbiased, impartial Lacks interest Singular in number (either is). Belongs with or Singular in number (neither is). Belongs with nor Formal word for ask An investigation (Federal Government inquiry) To bring about To effect insurance Very tired Comprehensive, thorough Able to be done, able to be achieved Capable of independent survival Use with plural quantities (fewer jobs, fewer houses, fewer days) Use with singular quantities (less employment, less food, less rain) According to, following prescribed forms Previously, occurring in an earlier time To deduce To suggest without saying outright Illegal To draw out A person arriving A person leaving Expected, soon Respected State to State Within a State Memorable Relates to history Possessive, where gender is non-existent or unknown (the aircraft lowered its undercarriage.)

Abbreviated form of it is (it’s a sunny day today) To be at, or to come to rest.

To put to rest Past tense of lay A certificate, document or formal permission to do something (noun) To grant permission or to authorise (verb) A person who holds a licence True as stated Not literally true Use with a number (more than 20 people…)

Means in excess of Use: none is, not none are

Formally Formerly Infer Imply Illicit Elicit Immigrant Emigrant Imminent Eminent Interstate Intrastate Historic Historical Its It’s Lie Lay Laid Licence (noun) License (verb) Licensee Literally Metaphorically More than Over None

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Last Past

Practice (noun) Practise (verb) Perspective Prospective Principle Principal Remunerate Renumerate Sporadic Spasmodic Sought Sort Stationery Stationary That Which

Their They’re There Unique

Who Whom Who’s Whose Who Which Your You’re

In reference to time, “last” refers to the last set or period of time.

“Past” means the time period up to and including the present day eg “the past decade” = the 10 years prior to now eg 2007-2017. “the last decade” = the decade prior to the current decade eg 2001-2010 Professional work or business, habitual action or performance (noun) To carry out an action, to perform habitually (verb) A particular point of view In the future Fundamental rule or law, a basis of reasoning First in importance or rank, or a person in charge. Also relates to property or capital.

Pay for work or services, to recompense To calculate again, to renumber Occasional, as in sporadic outbreaks.

Intermittent, in the nature of a spasm.

Searched, attempted, enquired Type or manner; to arrange or group Paper and office materials (the envelopes are in the stationery cupboard) Standing still, unmoving (the train was stationary at the platform) Descriptive of a specific subject (the chickens that crossed the road…). Used to avoid confusion or ambiguity.

Begins a non-defining clause providing additional but nonessential detail (the chickens, which crossed the road, have been taken to the pound). A sentence will still make sense without the “which” clause.

Note: where no ambiguity could result, either that and which can be used.

Possessive for they (their jobs) They are (they’re local residents) A place This word cannot be qualified – there are no degrees of uniqueness. Do not write most unique, very unique or quite unique – something is either unique or it isn’t!

This is the subject of the verb (the man who fishes on the jetty every night) This is the object of the verb (the boy whom you just called).

Whom is becoming less commonly used.

Abbreviated form of Who is Of, or belonging to which person (Whose book is this?)

Usually joined with reference to a person Belongs to things Of you, belonging to you (your job) You are (you’re a Council employee)

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Commonly misspelt words Be careful with the following words that are easily mis-typed. Spell check will not pick up these words but a grammar check should highlight the error: • mayor / major • public / pubic Accommodate Benefited Budgeted Commitment Compatible Enforceable Enroled / enrolment Focused Fulfil and fulfilment Fulfilled Instalment Liaison Organisation Skilful

double ‘c’ and double ‘m’ only one ‘t’ only one ‘t’ only one ‘t’ ‘ible not ‘able’ ‘e’ and ‘a’ only one ‘l’ only one ‘s’ no double ‘l’ in these words contains a double ‘l’ only one ‘l’ note the two ‘i’ ‘s’ not ‘z’ no double ‘l’

Plain English alternatives for common words Short, sharp words make for crisper writing and easier comprehension. One word is usually better than two. Try to avoid impressive-sounding or pretentious words in official writing when a simpler or briefer word can be used instead.

Use About After All Allow Also Although Apparently Bad Badly damaged Because Before Believes Do During End Enough Except

Instead of Approximate, concerning, in relation to, regarding, in connection with, with regard to Following, subsequent to Whole of Authorise, permissible Furthermore, in addition to Notwithstanding the fact that, despite the fact that It would appear that Inclement Severely As a result of, as a consequence of, due to the fact that, on the grounds that, owing to Prior to, in advance of Is of the opinion that Accomplish, perform, render In the course of, for the duration of Terminate Adequate number of With the exception of

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Find out Has Have, own Help If Instead of Later Long Main Many More Most No, None Now, soon Only Or Other Over Pay Payment Probably Right Said Send out So Some Soon Speed up Start, begin To Try / Tried to Under Until Use Useful While With

Ascertain Possesses, in receipt of Possess, obtain Render assistance, facilitate Whether, in case of, in the event of, provided that In lieu of Subsequently, at a later date Lengthy Dominant, predominant, principal A large number of, a large proportion of In excess of, supplementary Majority of, optimum Absence of At the present time, presently, hereby, herewith Exclusively, solely Alternatively, otherwise Alternative In excess of Remunerate Reimbursement It is probable that Entitlement Stated, made the point that, reported Disseminate Therefore, consequently A number of, a percentage of In the near future, shortly, at an early date Expedite Commence, initiate In order to, for the purpose of, with a view to Endeavour / Endeavoured to Pursuant to Until such time as Utilise Advantageous During such time Note: avoid “whilst” – this is old-fashioned and overly formal In conjunction with

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Writing for the web When writing for an online (web-based) audience, you need to take a different approach.

Online audiences aren’t reading for pleasure; they come for a focused, functional experience.

Website users don’t spend time reading: • • • •

Users are time poor and busy They are seeking specific information or an answer to a question, or they want help with a task or to achieve a goal.

Average duration on Council site is 2:20 Will abandon a page or site quickly if it doesn’t address their need

In short, website users want: • •

•

useful content - current, accurate, up-to-date and reliable. They want information that solves their problem or answers their question. usable content - easy to find, easy to read (scan) and understand. It must speaks the user’s language – people will search using their terms, not ours (refer to section on plain English). It needs to answers the user’s question without them having to contact us or ask for more information. accessible content - content that all users can perceive, understand, navigate and interact with, and that is non-discriminatory of ability or disability. Note: Vision, hearing, physical, cognitive and speech disabilities affect how a person uses information technologies and online content. Literacy levels, native language and technological factors can also impact on accessibility of your online content.

Simple tips for web content • Use everyday words that are familiar to readers.

• Be careful using jargon or specialist language where possible. If necessary, provide clear definitions to help your reader understand the terminology.

• Aim for a lower secondary reading level (under grade 10). You can use the reading level tool in MS Word to review your text.

• Use short words in preference to long words. Council’s Writers Guide contains some a helpful list of plain English alternatives for many common words & phrases.

• Avoid wordy expressions and unnecessary ‘happy talk’.

• Short sentences – aim for an average sentence length of 15-20 words. Re-write sentences longer than 30-35 words.

• Short, single-topic paragraphs - try to stay under 60 words per para. Put each topic or idea in its own paragraph.

• Put the most important content (for your readers) first. Lead with the main message, the most frequently used part of the content, or the conclusions and recommendations.

• Group related topics under sub-headings, using labels that are meaningful and helpful to your reader. Your heading should begin with the key word/s.

• Use short bulleted lists to highlight key information. (Note - only use numbered lists when the content is sequential; otherwise, simply use bullets).

• Write in the active voice – example, “the committee will approve the funding” (active voice) as opposed to “the funding will be approved by the committee” (passive voice). Passive sentences are wordier and harder to read.

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• •

Use verbs, not nouns – “ we recommended…” (verb) as opposed to “we made recommendations about…” (verb used as a noun).

Use personal pronouns – refer to your reader as “you” and “your”, and to Council as “we” and “our”.

Structuring content for usability and accessibility Sensible page titles • Clearly identify the page contents – make the title useful • Use terms your audience uses • Keywords first – improves scannability and findability • Don’t use all capitals - it reduces the shape contrast of each word making it slower to scan Helpful headings • Group content into sub-topics and clearly identify the topics with a useful heading • Use terms your audience uses, don’t play on words • Keywords first – improves scannability and findability • Keep headings short and simple (fewer than 7 words) • Don’t use all capitals - it reduces the shape contrast of each word making it slower to scan • Do not use H1 style – this is only for the page title • Use H2 style for key section headings, then H3 or H4 for sectional sub-headings • Don’t use headings for visual effect – don’t centre headings or text, don’t justify, don’t underline. Headings are only for structural reasons (to aid accessibility) so only use the preconfigured H styles.

Meaningful hyperlinks • Don’t over-do links in content - links must be useful.

• Put supplementary links in “useful links” box at bottom, not in content • Write meaningful link text - identify the link purpose / destination, and put keywords first.

• Do NOT write “click here”, “read more” or “follow this link to…” link text • Screen reader users often navigate from link to link – link titles should make sense out of context • Set files (PDFs, Word docs) to open in a new window. Links to HTML pages (even on other sites) should open in the same window for consistency of user experience.

• For files (PDFs, Word docs), display the properties. This identifies the file type and size, and allows the user to choose if they want to access the content.

Images • Can be used to convey information OR for visual enhancement (decorative) • Some users turn off images to improve page load speeds – ie, view web as text only.

• Must write Alt-text (text alternative for the image) UNLESS the image is purely decorative or repeating information given in text • If you couldn’t use the image, what text would you write instead?

• If you had to describe the image to someone over the phone, what would you say?

• Don’t describe the picture literally – describe its purpose. No need to say “image of…”

• Alt-text should be succinct • Minimise use of text as images • Scanned documents (eg, scanned & saved as PDF) are not accessible

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Useful metadata To put it plainly, metadata is data about data. It’s the stuff that describes the content of a webpage in specific terms .

The 3 main components of metadata are the page title, keywords and summary description.

Metadata can be harnessed by a search engine to display a wealth of information, increasing click-throughs and engaging users.

The metadata ‘search description’ is the little blurb of text that sits under the link on the results page. Because this is the first thing potential visitors will see when searching for your site, it’s vital that you take control and create a description that will give a great first impression and optimise click-throughs.

Keywords and tags make it easier for search engines to find and display your content.

Typography and readability Sentence case is easier and quicker to read • • •

Don’t use all capitals - it reduces the shape contrast of each word making it slower to scan Avoid italics or coloured fonts (other than those set in our styles) – they can be hard to read on screen Do not fully justify text; left align headings and body text

For more detailed information on writing for the web, refer to DM# 4738484 (Writing for the Web and Accessibility Techniques presentation) or contact the Marketing & Communications branch for assistance.

For more tips on writing online content, refer to the Writing for the Web and Accessibility Techniques presentation (DM# 4738484).

Protocols Titles and modes of address For members of the public: • • • • •

Use the person’s name if known – eg, Dear Mrs Jones Use their correct title – Councillor Smith, Dr Brown, Professor Jameson Use their postnominals, if applicable (refer to the following section on Postnominals for guidance on correct use and ordering).

When writing to a company and if the person’s name is not known, address to The Director.

When writing to a position rather than a person – such as The Chief Executive Officer – the salutation should be Dear Sir or Dear Sir/Madam.

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For official and titled persons: When sending correspondence to political leaders and titled persons, use the formal titles.

Form of Address for written correspondence

Salutation in correspondence

Verbal greeting

(Note: examples used below, these are not actual names)

Government House (Queensland) Her Excellency the Governor Your Excellency of Queensland, Ms Jane Citizen, AO or Her Excellency Jane Citizen, AO, Governor of Queensland Federal Government (House of Representatives) The Hon. Bill Bloggs MP Dear Prime Minister Prime Minister of Australia The Hon. Ron Roe MP Dear Mr Speaker Speaker of the House of Representatives The Hon. David Doe MP Dear Minister Minister for Foreign Affairs The Hon. Bob Boe AM Dear Mr Boe AM Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Support The Hon. Mike Moe MP Dear Sir Member for Leichardt Federal Government (Senate) Senator the Hon. Pat Poe Dear Minister Minister for Climate Change and Water Senator Jan Joe Dear Senator Senator for Queensland State Parliament (Queensland) The Hon. Bill Bloggs MP Dear Premier Premier The Hon. Carol Citizen MP Dear Minister Minister for Health Mr John Doe MP Dear Mr Doe Member for Cook Other Titles Her Excellency Ms Paola de Your Excellency (formal) Luca Dear Ambassador (less Ambassador of … formal) Professor Susan Smart Vice Chancellor (formal) Vice Chancellor, Sunshine Dear Vice Chancellor (less University formal)

Your Excellency (initial greeting) Ms Citizen, Governor or Ma’am (subsequent greeting at same function)

Prime Minister Mr Bloggs Mr Speaker Sir or Mr Roe Minister Mr Doe Mr Boe

Mr Moe

Minister or Senator

Senator

Premier Mr Bloggs Minister Mr Doe

Your Excellency or Mr/Madam Ambassador Professor

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Explanatory Notes: • • • •

The Honourable applies to a Members or Senator who becomes a Minister or a Parliamentary Secretary appointed to the Executive Council (Federal Parliament).

The Honourable is usually abbreviated to The Hon. Do not use The Hon. for Members of State Parliament who are not Ministers.

In the past, Prime Ministers were appointed to the Privy Council and received the title The Right Honourable, but this is no longer the case. Former Prime Ministers who held that title retain it for life.

For information on Federal Parliamentary members and protocols, refer to the Australian Parliament House website: www.aph.gov.au For information on State Government executive or management level and contact details for key government personnel, refer to the Queensland Government website at www.qld.gov.au Postnominals – medals, awards and honours Honorifics and initials indicating a rank, qualification, status or awards that are placed after a person’s name are known as postnominals. Postnominals are written without full stops; commas are used to separate two or more sets of postnominals.

Postnominals must be written in their order of precedence: the higher the honour, the nearer it is placed to the person’s name. If a recipient is entitled to post-nominals for more than one award, the sequence of letters is indicated by the Order of Wearing for Australian honours and awards.

There are more than 50 Australian honours and awards. A small selection of common postnominals in order of precedence is provided below. For a complete list, refer to the Style Manual or the Australian Government’s It’s An Honour website at: www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/awards Australia has, since a decision was taken by the Commonwealth Government in 1975, moved progressively to a comprehensive system with unique Honours, Awards, Medals and Decorations. The system allows for the formal recognition of acts of bravery, service (both civil and military), as well as establishing the Order of Australia.

Even with the implementation of the Order of Australia and the other Australian awards, persons holding existing honours bestowed under the British based system retained their ranking within the Australian Order of Precedence of Honours and Awards as published in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette.

Service medals Service medals are awarded for those who have given fifteen years’ service in the Defence Forces, Police, Fire, Ambulance, Australian Protective Service, correctional services and/or the State Emergency Service.

These Australian awards have varied over time and have also taken into consideration the conflicts and peace keeping and monitoring missions in which Australians have found themselves.

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Victoria Cross for Australia Order of Merit Companion of the Order of Australia Officer of the Order of Australia Companion of the Distinguished Service Order Member of the Order of Australia Officer of the Order of the British Empire Member of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Cross Distinguished Service Medal Medal of the Order of Australia

VC OM AC AO DSO AM OBE MBE DSC DSM OAM

Postnominals for honours and awards precede those for Queen’s Counsel (QC), Senior Counsel (SC) and Justice of the Peace (JP). Other postnominals are then given in the following order: • • •

University degrees and diplomas Membership of professional associations Membership of parliament

Ecclesiastical titles Titles of people within the church should not be abbreviated.

Archbishop Shepherd Bishop White Service and police ranks All service ranks should be spelled out in full. Do not use hyphens.

Lance Corporal Lieutenant General Detective Sergeant Order of Precedence - Commonwealth Within Australian society there is a listing of precedence whereby settings and introductions can be made in the correct order. This list differs from the Commonwealth to the States and indeed from state to state.

Commonwealth Order of Precedence 1. The Governor General 2.

(a) The Governor of the State (b) Governors of the other States according to the date of appointment (c) The Administrators of the Northern Territory and Norfolk Island within their own Territories 3. The Prime Minister 4. The Premier within his/her own State. The Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and the Chief Minister of Norfolk Island within their own Territories

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5. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives according to the date of appointment; if they are appointed at the same time the President shall have precedence 6. The Chief Justice of Australia 7. (a) Ambassadors and High Commissioners according to their seniority within the Diplomatic Corps in Australia (b) Charges d’Affaires en pied or en titre (c) Charges d’Affaires and Acting High Commissioners 8. Members of the Federal Executive Council under summons 9. The Administrators of the Northern Territory and of Norfolk Island 10. The Leader of the Opposition 11. (a) Former Governor-Generals according to the date of leaving office (b) Former Prime Ministers according to the date of leaving office (c) Former Chief Justices of Australia according to the date of leaving office 12. The Premiers of the States according to the population of their respective State and then the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and of Norfolk Island 13. The Lord Mayor within his City 14. Justice of the High Court according to seniority 15. (a) The Chief Judge of the Federal Court of Australia (b) The President of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission 16. The Chief Justice of the State and, after him the other Chief Justices according to seniority 17. Privy Counsellors 18. The Chief of the Defence Force Staff 19. Chief Judges of Federal and Territory Courts according to the respective dates of first appointment to any one of those offices 20. Other Judges of Federal Courts and the Deputy Presidents of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, according to the respective dates of first appointment to any one of those offices 21. Lord Mayors of Capital cities according to their population 22. Heads of religious communities according to the date of assuming office in Australia 23. Presiding officer or officers of the State Legislature and after him/her or them the presiding officers of the other State Legislatures according to the date of appointment, then the Presiding Officers of the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and Norfolk Island Legislatures

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24. Members of the State Executive Council under summons to the Council and, after them, the members of the other State Executive Councils according to the population of their States, then the Members of the Executive Council of the Northern Territory 25. The Leader of the Opposition in the State and, after him/her the Leaders of the Opposition in the other states according to the population of their States, then the Leader of the Opposition in the Northern Territory 26. Judges of State and Territory Supreme Courts according to seniority 27. Members of Federal Executive Council not under summons 28. Members of the State Legislature, and after them, members of the other State Legislatures according to the population of their States 29. Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory 30. Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory 31. The permanent Heads of Departments of the Australian Public Service and their peers and the Chiefs of the Australian Naval, General and Air Staffs, according to the date of their first appointment to an office within this group 32. Consuls-General, Consuls and Vice-Consuls according to the date on which recognition was granted 33. Recipients of decorations and honours taking precedence over Knights Bachelor and Knights of the various Orders (including Knights Bachelor), all according to the precedence promulgated in Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. S187 of 31 August 1982 Note: A person acting on behalf of any of the foregoing shall enjoy the precedence of the person for whom he is acting with the understanding that, where there is more than one person in the class, the person acting on behalf of another will take precedence after other persons in that class who are attending in their own right. A married couple shall enjoy the precedence of the spouse with the higher precedence and a husband or wife shall enjoy the precedence of the spouse.

Order of Precedence - Queensland Within Australian society there is a listing of precedence whereby settings and introductions can be made in the correct order. This list differs from the Commonwealth to the States and indeed from state to state.

1. The Governor (Governor-General) 2. The Premier 3. The Prime Minister of Australia 4. The Chief Justice of Queensland 5. Members of the Queensland Executive Council 6. The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland

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7. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia according to date of appointment 8. The Chief Justice of Australia 9. Ambassadors and High Commissioners according to their seniority with the Diplomatic Corps in Australia 10. (a) Former Governors-General according to date of leaving office (b) Former Governors according to date of leaving office (c) Former Administrators according to date of leaving office (d) Former Premiers according to date of leaving office (e) Former Prime Ministers according to date of leaving office (f ) Former Chief Justices according to date of leaving office 11. Members of the Federal Executive Council 12. Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland 13. Privy Councillors 14. Justices of the Supreme Court of Queensland according to seniority 15. Justices of the High Court of Australia according to seniority 16. Justices of the High Court of Australia and the President of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission according to date of appointment 17. The Lord Mayor of Brisbane within the City 18. Members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland 19. (a) Former members of the Queensland Executive Council who retain the title ‘Honourable’ (b) Former members of the Queensland Executive Council (c) Former Justices of the Supreme Court of Queensland 20. Members of other Legislatures 21. Judges of the Federal Courts of Australia and Deputy Presidents of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission according to the dates of first appointment to any one of those offices 22. Masters of the Supreme Court according to seniority 23. Chairman and Judges of the District Courts of Queensland 24. Senior Officers in Queensland commanding the Naval, Military and Air Forces according to seniority of rank and date of appointment 25. Heads of Churches and Religious Communities* 26. Consuls-General, Consuls and Vice-Consuls according to their seniority in the consular Corps in Queensland

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27. The Permanent Heads of State Government Departments, Members of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, Members of the Land Court and Statutory Officials 28. Recipients of Decorations and Honours taking precedence above an Officer of the Order of Australia in accordance with the order shown in the “Australian Order of Precedence of Honours and Awards”

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Cairns Regional Council Visual Style and Writer’s Guide