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25 March 2026
ref: OIA2526_160
Marcus
By email:
[FYI request #33820 email]
Tēnā koe Marcus
Information about style guides
Thank you for your 23 February 2026 request under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (OIA), for:
I was wondering if you have any sort of style guide when it comes to economic
publications by the Reserve Bank and if so, would you be able to release a copy?
For example; are there any particular keywords that the Reserve Bank
recommends avoiding that could potentially spook the markets if used in
something like a Financial Stability Report?
Response
Please find attached our writing and style guide. This provides guidance on accessibility, grammar,
and concise and plain language. However, it doesn’t provide guidance on specific words and their
effect on financial markets.
This response may be published on the RBNZ website during our regular publication cycle.
Typically, information is released monthly, or as otherwise determined. If we publish this response,
your name and contact details will be removed before publication.
We encourage you to raise any concerns you have about this response with the RBNZ directly.
Alternatively, you have the right to seek an investigation and review of this response from the
Of ice of the Ombudsman. Information about how to make a complaint is publicly available, at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Evelyn Truong
Manager, Forecasting/Economics
Ref #23361268 v2.0
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2
2
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RBNZ writing
and style guide
2024.
Version 1.1
0 RBNZ writing and style guide
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© Reserve Bank of New Zealand. All rights reserved.
This guide was developed by RBNZ, with the support of Write Limited.
Last update: 4 June 2024
To suggest an update to this guide, or to seek clarification on a style detail, please contact
[email address]
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Contents
Benefits of this writing and style guide ________________________________________________________ 3 Using our style guide wil help our readers
3
Writing for our readers _________________________________________________________________________4 Big picture
4
Structure
5
Headings
5
Paragraphs and sentences
5
Plain language
6
Accessibility and inclusivity
6
Tone
7
Our style guide __________________________________________________________________________________ 8 Abbreviations
8
Appendices and glossaries
8
Bold
9
Capitals
9
Contractions
9
Copyright and Creative Commons
10
Endnotes and footnotes
11
Italics
11
Language
11
Legislation
11
Links
12
Lists
13
Numbers
13
Plurals
18
Publications
18
Punctuation
19
Quotation marks
23
References and bibliographies
23
Visuals and layout
24
Appendices ____________________________________________________________________________________ 29 Common terms we use
29
Plain words
31
Concise words
32
Writing resources and tools
33
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Benefits of this writing and style guide
Kia ora. Welcome to this writing and style guide, developed with Write Limited. This guide wil help
you write clearly and consistently, so you can produce professional content that fol ow plain
language principles. You’l find advice on writing for readers, common style issues, and writing
clearly.
Consistent writing, spel ing, and formatting help to make our content easier to read and more
accessible. Using this guide is one way to improve how we communicate.
Using our style guide wil help our readers
Our first readers are the people who help us polish our writing — peer reviewers, editors and
proofreaders. A style guide makes their job easier because it provides an objective set of
guidelines to work to. They can make changes or suggestions based on the guide, rather than
imposing personal preferences.
Our final readers are our true audience. They benefit when our writing is wel structured, concise
and consistently styled. Readers tend to put more faith in writing that’s clear and straightforward:
what is easy to read is easy to like. So using this guide wil help us connect with our readers and
show a brand voice that is impartial, transparent, human, credible, helpful, authoritative and
simple.
Everyone benefits!
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Writing for our readers
Our writing style is reader-focused and reflects our brand voice. It is:
impartial — we tel our audience what they need to do to comply with regulations, but we do
not reflect or enforce political views
transparent — we tel the public about what we do and why
human — we talk in the same real, open and approachable way we’d talk to a friend or
col eague
credible
helpful
authoritative
simple.
In general, we fol ow the content design guidance on digital.govt.nz, which is based on best-
practice public sector digital content.
We write primarily for the web, with some exceptions for print publications. Plain language is an
important part of ensuring our writing meets accessibility requirements too.
Big picture
Think about readability of your content before you start writing. Make the purpose of your writing
clear at the start. Use the intro sentence at the top of a page or document to give readers a clear
idea of what the content is about. Check that your content:
has unique, clear and descriptive page titles
answers your readers’ likely questions
meets the needs of the target audience.
Framing the purpose in web content
The page summary (or hero statement) is what people see in online search results. It should clearly
indicate what the content is about, using key terms that people are familiar with. The hero
statement also forms the introduction to the webpage and sits under the page title in the header.
A good hero statement:
uses plain language to make the purpose of the content clear
uses the active voice
contains a maximum of 20 to 30 words (1 sentence). Google usual y only shows the first
160 characters in search results.
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avoids redundant words, for example, ‘this page is about’
is optimised for search with keywords.
Structure
A good content structure helps readers scan and quickly find the information they need. Wel -
structured content also helps search engines find our content.
Organize your information so it’s easy to fol ow for the reader. Put key points (such as
recommendations or required actions) near the start.
Structure in web content
Data from our website heatmaps show that most people spend most time viewing content in the
top part of the page. For very long pages, engagement drops off. So we:
put important cal -to-action links and key messages at the top of the page
use the inverted pyramid approach, with the most important information for your audience at
the top of the page, and the least important information at the bottom
consider splitting long content over 2 or 3 pages, especial y for mobile users.
Headings
Headings are an important part of structure. Include frequent and informative headings to sum up
main messages. Clear, descriptive headings act as useful signposts, helping readers find the
information they’re looking for. And headings that summarise main points help readers get an
overview of your content at a glance.
Before you start writing, work out your structure and decide on headings. Write informative
headings of 4 to 10 words (preferably no more than one line long).
Try to make your headings consistent. For example, start each with a verb, or make each a
statement.
Paragraphs and sentences
Keep paragraphs and sentences short and focused. Aim for 12 to 20 words per sentence, and 1
idea per sentence. Shorten sentences by splitting up longer sentences.
Imagine you’re talking to your readers. Make sure you know your readers and keep them front of
mind as you write. Imagining you’re talking to them as you write is a great way to improve word
choice, sentence length and tone. You’l be more likely to keep sentences short and use familiar
words.
Use bullet points to break up paragraphs, but only use them to create lists of short items. Bullet
points on text paragraphs do not help the reader.
Use sentence case for headings, page titles, and titles of documents or publications. Sentence case
only uses capital letters for proper nouns.
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Example
Review of policy for branches of overseas banks
Exposure draft of the Deposit Takers Bil
Plain language
Choose short, plain words, be concise, and explain technical terms. Replacing wordy phrases
with single words is an easy way to make your writing more concise.
If you use jargon or technical language in your document, define the term for non-technical
readers.
Example
Original
The Reserve Bank is not alone in investigating issuing digital cash. Many other central banks are
actively considering whether they should issue new types of digital money to support monetary
and financial stability, resilience and innovation in payments, and social and financial inclusion.
Plain language
We're not the only central bank looking at digital cash. Many other central banks around the
world are exploring digital cash to support:
monetary and financial stability
adaptable and creative ways to pay
social and financial inclusion.
Use the active voice. It’s clearer, and more concise and direct.
Example
Active voice
We review the settings of our monetary policy tools 7 times a year.
Passive voice
Monetary policy tools are reviewed 7 times a year.
Accessibility and inclusivity
We want our content to be accessible for everyone. Accessible content is content that a wide
range of people can use and understand. To provide accessible content:
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use inclusive language that respects different cultures and that people with English as an
additional language can easily understand
include descriptions and transcripts for non-text elements like images and videos
use formats that meet everyone’s needs. Consider if a PDF is real y the best way to share the
information.
We want to make people feel included in what we say, so we:
avoid generalisations about groups of people
avoid specifying age, ethnicity, gender, sexuality or disability unless it’s essential to the content
or data
use gender-neutral language. We say ‘they’ or ‘theirs’ instead of ‘he’ or ‘hers’.
Tone
Most of the writing guidance in this guide contribute to tone, like structure, sentence length, word
choice, and active or passive voice.
We use ‘we’ and ‘our’ when talking about the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, rather than referring
to ourselves in the third person. For a reader-friendly tone, use ‘you’ when talking to your
audience.
Make sure you use a tone that is appropriate for the content. For example, the tone for an
educational page could be less formal than for a report.
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Our style guide
We set out our writing style in this section.
Abbreviations
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Abbreviations include shortened words,
acronyms and initialisms. In general, abbreviations do not help readability because not everyone
wil know what they mean.
If you use any abbreviations, write them out in full the first time. Avoid Latin abbreviations (e.g., i.e.,
etc.).
But if most people understand an acronym better than the full version, use the acronym instead —
for example, ACC or GST.
Define abbreviations on every webpage they appear on, as readers may land on any page of our
website.
Ampersands (&)
Ampersands are an abbreviation for ‘and’, but we do not use them in our writing. Use them only if
they are part of an official name (Standard & Poor’s), or for some referencing styles.
See Readability Guidelines’ guidance on ampersands
Abbreviating names of countries
Always spel the names of countries in full, except when you need to save space in tables, or when
referring to currency.
Example
Australia
New Zealand
AU$50
The exceptions are US (for United States) and UK (for United Kingdom).
Appendices and glossaries
Appendices contain supplementary information. If your document has more than one appendix,
use capital letters rather than numbers to identify each.
Example
Appendix C: How to use your laptop
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If you need to define several technical terms (say five or more), use a two-column glossary. Put the
defined term (keyword) in the left-hand column. Start it with a capital letter and use bold. Put the
definition in plain font in the right-hand column. Keep al definitions clear and succinct.
Example
Bibliography
a list of the books used in writing a document
Ministry
a government department headed by a minister
We use the hover glossary function on our website to help explain complex terms and make our
content accessible for everyone.
Glossaries do not include acronyms or initialisms. Instead, spel out acronyms or initialisms in full
when you first use them. If your document has a lot of acronyms or initialisms, include a list of
them separate from the glossary.
Bold
Avoid using bold. Use headings or bullets to emphasise key information instead.
Capitals
Use sentence case for headings, page titles and titles of documents or publications. Sentence case
only uses capital letters for proper nouns.
Example
Review of policy for branches of overseas banks
Exposure draft of the Deposit Takers Bil
We use a capital letter for the Crown, for Government and for Parliament when referring to a
specific government or sitting of the parliament in New Zealand. We use lower case for general
references to government.
See more in Headings in this guide
See Readability Guidelines’ advice on capital letters
Contractions
Contractions can make content sound more friendly and conversational, but think about your
reader before using them. Simple positive contractions are fine to use:
you’re
it’s
we’re
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we’l
there’s
that’s
Non-native English speakers can find contractions hard to understand. So can people with low
literacy, or with intel ectual or cognitive impairments.
If you think a contraction is confusing or too complex, do not use it.
it’d
could’ve
would’ve
We do not use negative contractions because they are often misread. Write the words in full.
cannot (not can’t)
do not (not don’t)
Copyright and Creative Commons
Understand the difference between copyright and Creative Commons to protect your own work
and use other people’s work legal y.
Copyright (©)
New Zealand’s copyright legislation protects the creators of literary and other ‘works’. The creator
is the original copyright owner. If the document you’re working on contains material reproduced
from other published sources, check whether you need to get copyright approval. Then
acknowledge ownership of the work.
Although not required by law, it’s sensible to include a notice of copyright when you’re creating an
original work.
The New Zealand Intel ectual Property Office (IPONZ) has more about copyright
(www.iponz.govt.nz/about-ip/copyright/). IPONZ is part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and
Employment.
Creative Commons
The internet has a huge range of works with Creative Commons licences that you can share, reuse
and remix. Creative Commons licences al ow the creators of the works (the copyright holders) to
say how their works can be used.
Different licences al ow different things. For example, some licences al ow works to be used for
commercial purposes and some do not. Some licences al ow works to be changed and added to,
and some do not. Most licences require you to include an attribution to the creator.
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Find out about international Creative Commons
Find out about New Zealand Creative Commons
Endnotes and footnotes
We do not use endnotes.
We only use footnotes for referencing if the document is a PDF. We do not use footnotes for web
content because they make it hard for the reader to navigate from the bottom of the page back to
where they were.
If we need to reference where certain information has come from, we add this is as a link below
the relevant sentence.
Add cross reference to references and bibliographies.
Italics
We do not use italics in web content as they are hard to read for people with dyslexia, and do not
meet accessibility guidelines. When referencing documents, capitalise the first letter of the title.
But italics are used in print publications for titles of documents and publications. Fol ow the APA
guidelines for referencing in publications.
Language
We pay attention to the spel ing and norms of the language we’re using.
Te reo Māori
The Te Ao Māori team is currently working on guidelines on using te reo Māori at Te Pūtea Matua.
We’l update this section with a link to the resources once they’re available.
English
We use New Zealand English spel ing and terms. This is derived from British English. Note that
some instal ations of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) default to the American
version. You can change this to English (New Zealand) in your Word settings. If you only change it
in the document’s settings, the dictionary wil revert to English (US) for future documents.
In Microsoft Word:
File | Options | Language | Office authoring languages and proofing | English (New Zealand)
Legislation
The name of every Act of Parliament includes the year it was passed. Use the full name and date
the first time you refer to an Act. You can then cal it ‘the Act’ in the rest of the text unless you’ve
included other Acts and need to be clear about the specific Act.
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Do not use a comma between the title of the Act and the year or enclose the year in brackets.
Example
The Deposit Takers Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 6 July 2023.
Bil s (drafts of proposed laws) do not include the year in the title.
Example
We published an exposure draft of the Deposit Takers Bil for public consultation in December
2021.
Always capitalise ‘Bil ’ and ‘Act’ — both when using them as part of a name and when using them
generical y.
Provisions in an Act use the terms ‘section’ and ‘subsection’. Provisions in a Bil use ‘clauses’ and
‘subclauses’.
Example
section
s 4(1)(a)
ss 16–21
subsection
subs (1)
subss (1) and (2)
paragraph
para (b)
paras (i) and (i )
subparagraph
subpara (i)
subparas (i) and (i )
clause
clause 1
clauses 1 and 2
regulations
reg 246
regs 24–28
Links
We’re careful to use links that are informative and easy to read for everyone.
When we place links, we:
always link to relevant content on our site before choosing an external link.
place links below the relevant sentence or list, not mid-sentence. This makes it easier to access
on mobile devices. Phone numbers or glossary links can be mid-sentence.
do not bullet-point links if we have consecutive links.
When we link to documents or files, we:
always include the name of the document, the file format and the file size. This is a
requirement to meet New Zealand Government Web Usability Standards.
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use the RBNZ Brand template for PDFs for the website. The PDFs should have a cover page
with RBNZ branding and have the classification type removed.
If linking to a document on another website, link to the page the document is on to provide
context, not the attachment itself.
We manage browser behaviour by making sure:
al external URLs open in a new tab.
links have context and always link to the actual page, not a homepage.
internal links and documents open in the same tab.
email addresses are always linked.
Lists
Lists are useful to break up text, but only use them for short items. Try to limit each list to seven
points at most.
Do not use bullets on text paragraphs.
For single-sentence lists:
start with a stem sentence that al the points have in common
start each point in lower case, and only use a full stop on the last point
check that each point makes a full sentence when read with the stem.
Introduce multi-sentence lists by a complete sentence.
Each point in the list is also a complete sentence.
Each point begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop.
Each point can be 1 to 3 sentences long.
Read digital.govt.nz’s guidelines for lists
Numbers
We use numerals from 1 onwards instead of writing numbers as words — this helps readers scan
our content.
However, for two series of numbers in a passage of text, use a combination of numerals and words
to clearly distinguish each series.
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Example
The subjects of the study are twenty 6-year-old boys, fifteen 9-year-old girls, and ten adults.
We’l need three 6-way conference cal s
Spel the number out if it’s at the start of a sentence.
Use ‘to’ for number ranges, not a hyphen.
Example
500 to 900
Commas with thousands
Use commas to separate hundreds from thousands.
Example
12,500
6,745
Currency
The examples below are a guide for expressions of money and currency.
Example
$5.20
$6,800
Fifty thousand dol ars ($50,000) was in dispute.
Place a zero before the decimal point in sums lower than $1.00.
Example
$0.56
Always give currency ranges in full.
Example
$45 mil ion to $65 mil ion
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To differentiate between currencies (for example, New Zealand dol ars rather than Australian), use
the relevant abbreviation in front of the currency symbol. Put the currency code and currency
symbol before the amount.
Example
NZ$50
A$170
GBP£420
When referring to a ‘bil ion’, the American definition is general y used — that is, a thousand
mil ion. Clarify this in your document if necessary.
Decimals
Use a decimal point for decimals. Include a 0 before decimals less than one.
Example
33.246
0.495
Dates, time, ages and telephone numbers
If using the name of a day, include a comma after the day. Always add the year.
Example
Friday, 13 March 2024
Spel out the names of days and months in full.
Use ‘to’ instead of a dash in date and time ranges as it’s easier for screen readers to read out.
Example
10am to 11am
not 10 to 11am or 10–11am
2022 to 2023
Monday to Friday
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We do not use apostrophes for dates or numbers.
Example
1970s
2000s
Do not use ordinal numbers in dates, like 1st or 3rd.
Use the 12-hour clock for times, fol owed by ‘am’ or ‘pm’.
Use midnight (not 00:00) and midday (not 12:00).
Use a forward slash for a 12-month period that crosses 2 years.
Example
2021/2022 — for the financial year ended 31 March 2022
Be specific when describing when something wil happen. Avoid vague terms like ‘next week’ or
‘today’.
If you’re setting up an event in Sitecore with an overseas timezone, make sure you include NZT.
Check whether it is NZDT or NZST.
Mathematical equations
Standard practice is to use italics for letters within equations, but not for numbers. Capital letters
can be critical to distinguish different parts of an equation, but use lowercase letters generally.
Leave plenty of white space to make the equations or formulas easy to read. Spacing on either
side of the equals sign should be the same. Vertical y align the equals signs.
Example
x2 + 6
y5
x = 89
f +
g
= U
Percentages
Always use the % sign for percentages.
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Symbols and units of measurement
Use numerals to accompany a symbol or unit of measurement. Do not add a space between the
numeral and the symbol.
Example
25%
56.5kg
18°C
24cm
80km/h
100W
240V
575kWh
When you spel out a unit (such as volts or watts), use lowercase initial letters (even when the
abbreviation for the term has a capital).
Example
Power (watts) is volts times amps.
Spel out fractions.
Example
The agricultural sector has purchased on average one-third of dairy exports by value in the past
5 years.
Use a colon to show a ratio when using numerals. Do not insert spaces either side of the colon.
Example
a 1:20 ratio
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Do not use a space between a term and its superscript or subscript.
Example
The farmer planted 2m2 of kūmara.
The scientific symbol for water is H2O.
Plurals
Plurals do not take an ‘s’ in Māori. The context shows whether a word is plural.
Example
The kiwi is settling into its new environment.
The kiwi are in the nocturnal house with our three tuatara.
Refer to businesses, organisations, and teams as single entities.
Example
Treasury
is making a key announcement
not Treasury are making a key announcement
today.
Careers NZ
helps Kiwis succeed.
not
Careers NZ
help Kiwis succeed.
Our team
is making good progress.
not
Our team
are making good progress.
Do not use brackets or ‘/s’ to refer to something that could be either singular or plural. Instead use
the plural version, as it covers both possibilities.
Example
Please include one or more annual reports.
Publications
While we write primarily for the web, some publications are available in both print and digital
formats and may adopt styles that differ from web best practice. These publications include:
analytical notes and discussion papers
annual reports
bulletins
financial stability reports
monetary policy statements
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statements of intent.
We recommend you use the recommended web style but authors of these reports may prefer to
use the APA style guide, or another set of guidelines that are commonly used in their subject area.
If you have content that wil be published on a webpage, this content wil have the web style guide
applied. Any downloadable documents wil retain the style that has been applied by the author.
Instructions for authors
Al documents must use the Word template provided by the Design team, or they must have been
created by the Design team. This makes sure that documents meet the RBNZ Brand Guidelines
and are accessible.
Even if publications are aimed at people who have specialist knowledge, you should stil include a
plain language, non-technical summary of the content. This can help people who are not familiar
with the subject understand the content and help specialists who might be scanning the content to
decide if it’s relevant.
Punctuation
This section covers the main types of punctuation. We do not use exclamation marks, el ipses,
semi-colons or serial commas.
Use the subheadings below to find the section you want.
Apostrophes
Brackets
Colons and semicolons
Commas
Dashes
Hyphens
Slashes
Apostrophes (’)
Use apostrophes for possession and contractions. Sometimes we also use apostrophes to form
non-standard plurals.
Check digital.govt’s advice on apostrophes to find out more
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Place names
New Zealand place names mostly do not use apostrophes. You can search for place names on the
Land Information New Zealand website.
Example
Banks Peninsula
Hicks Bay
but Arthur’s Pass, Hawke’s Bay
Search New Zealand Gazetteer
Possessive pronouns
Possessive pronouns have no apostrophes. (Pronouns are words used in place of nouns, such as
‘they’ or ‘it’.)
Example
its
his
hers
ours
yours
theirs
Its and it’s
The word
its shows possession.
Example
The company needs to publish its annual report.
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The word
it’s is the contraction of
it is.
Example
It’s a legal requirement.
Brackets
We use brackets (parentheses) for three reasons:
to introduce an abbreviation
to enclose a side-remark or explanation in a sentence
to advise the size and file type of a document we’re linking to.
Colons (:) and semicolons (;)
Colons show that something else is fol owing in the sentence: a more detailed explanation, a list or
a quotation. The text that fol ows a colon cannot usual y stand alone as a sentence. The listed
items begin with lowercase.
Example
You must supply the fol owing materials: books, paper, pens and pencils.
We do not use semi-colons, as they make both lists and sentences harder to read.
Commas (,)
We do not use Oxford or serial commas. If a sentence has too many commas, consider breaking it
up into shorter sentences or using a bulleted list. This differs from digital.govt.nz.
When using a person’s name then position, place commas around the position. Do not use
commas if the position appears before the name.
Example
Grant Robertson, Minister of Finance, initiated the Review to modernise New Zealand’s
monetary and financial stability policy frameworks.
Minister of Finance Grant Robertson initiated the Review to modernise New Zealand’s
monetary and financial stability policy frameworks.
Dashes: em (—) and en (–)
Dashes and hyphens are used in different ways. Do not use a hyphen in place of an em dash or an
en dash.
See more in Hyphens in this guide
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Use an em dash:
to separate thoughts in a sentence
instead of a semi-colon or colon, or to join two clauses
if a te reo Māori phrase comes after an English phrase.
To type an em dash, hold down ALT + 0151, or use the HTML code &mdash.
Example
Branches and leaves represent the regulated entities — banks, insurers and non-bank
deposit takers.
Our purpose, vision and values — Tō mātou kaupapa, matakite, uara hoki
Use an en dash for data ranges — when publishing stats, or to show a relationship or connection
between 2 distinct nouns.
We do not use en dash for date and time ranges. Use ‘to’, not a hyphen.
Example
Consultation is open from 1 to 31 March.
To type an en dash, hold down ALT + 0150, or use the HTML code &ndash.
Example
Māori–Crown
Hyphens (-)
Hyphens clarify the meaning of linked (compound) words, but often they are used incorrectly.
They can also slow comprehension online as readers stop to check what the hyphen is doing. So
try to find a simpler way to say the same thing.
See Readability Guideline's advice about hyphens and dashes
Slashes (/)
Use a forward slash for a 12-month period that crosses 2 years.
Example
2021/2022 — for the financial year ended 31 March 2022.
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Use a slash with spaces for dual place names
Example
Hauturu / Little Barrier Island
Don’t use a slash for fractions in text.
Example
a half-year report
not
a 1/2-year report
Quotation marks
Use double quotation marks for direct quotes.
Example
“Solvency standards are a key piece of secondary legislation empowered by IPSA,” Deputy
Governor Christian Hawkesby says.
Use single quotation marks for a quote within a quote.
Punctuating quotations
If quoted material ends a sentence, the full stop normal y fol ows the end quote mark.
Example
‘…the quality of mercy is not strained’.
The exception is when the quotation is itself a whole sentence. Then, the full stop comes inside the
quote marks.
Example
This is our purpose: ‘We enable economic wel being and prosperity for al New Zealanders.’
References and bibliographies
The referencing style you choose depends on your specialist area. For example:
texts about education, psychology and the sciences usual y use APA (American Psychological
Association) style
texts in the humanities field usual y use MLA (Modern Language Association) style
texts about business, history and the fine arts usual y use Chicago style.
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Use an online tool (such as www.citethisforme.com, www.bibme.org, or www.citationmachine.net)
to quickly and easily format al your references in your chosen style. You can then download or
copy and paste your reference list and in-text citations to your own document.
You can also use Microsoft Word to add and format citations and bibliographies. Go to the
References tab on Word’s toolbar to get started.
For citing specific New Zealand government publications, see the ‘Government Publications’
section in the
New Zealand Law Style Guide (www.lawfoundation.org.nz/style-guide). Government
publications include Cabinet documents, the
Cabinet Manual, Law Commission reports, the
New Zealand Gazette and Select Committee reports.
Citing in a reference list or bibliography
A reference list includes al the works you noted in the text. A bibliography includes al the works
you referred to when writing the document, not just those noted in the text. Place your reference
list or bibliography at the end of your document.
Order a reference list or bibliography alphabetical y — by the surname of the author or by the
name of the organisation that published the work (if no author is named).
If you have two or more works by the same author, order them by date. If you have two or more
works by the same author published in the same year, add ‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’ after the year (use ‘a’ for the
earliest publication in that year).
Citing in the main text of a document
How you cite works in the main text of your document depends on the referencing style you
choose. Some styles use footnotes or endnotes, while some require information in brackets in the
main text (known as the author–date system). Fol ow the guidance given at the online referencing
tool you use (see above).
Visuals and layout
Visuals include tables, graphs, diagrams, maps, photographs, infographics, icons and videos. We
use 2 main types of images:
functional images to explain complex information or data
decorative images to make a page more engaging.
Make sure every visual has a purpose. Before you create a specific visual, such as a graph or
infographic, think carefully about the story you want to tel . Defining your purpose before you start
wil help you create an uncluttered visual that conveys your story clearly.
Do not include too much information in any one visual. Too much competing information can
confuse your reader and obscure your message.
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Numbering and label ing
Use a consistent format for numbering and label ing visuals. One convention is to have titles above
tables, and captions below figures and graphs. In particular:
number items like tables, figures and graphs so you can easily refer to them in the
accompanying text
use arabic numbers (1, 2, 3), not roman numeral (i, i , i i). This ensures that screen readers can
read the numbers.
make labels horizontal rather than vertical or diagonal
begin labels with a capital letter, fol owed by lowercase
clearly identify any units of measurement.
Example
Table 3 Average rainfal per month, 2010 to 2015
Figure 3.1 Gross National Product for years 2007 to 2017
For web content, we include the title and caption of a figure or image in HTML format, not as part
of the visual, for accessibility reasons.
Images
Images help to make web content appealing. They catch readers’ attention and help to break long
webpages into chunks. Images should not crop people’s heads or limbs, as this is cultural y
insensitive.
We have more information about works you can share, reuse and remix.
Go to Copyright and Creative Commons in this guide
See N drive/images/photography/please read credits and captions
Al images on our website must fol ow the Brand guidelines. Talk to the Design team to find
relevant images that have the same look and feel as the photos in our current library.
Images in web content
When adding images and other visual content to the website:
think about their accessibility for al users and assistive technologies. Important content should
never be contained only in an image.
Do not use text in an image as screen readers cannot read it. Think about ways to include this
text in the main body of the page or document.
Al images should have alt text — unless they are decorative. Alt text is a short description that
explains the image for people who cannot see it. This is different from a caption.
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Charts
Charts can be a great way to present patterns and trends. Fol ow the guidance below to keep
them consistent and accessible.
Format
Provide charts in a high-resolution format if they wil be online, not just embedded in a document.
If the chart is included in a document that the Design team is producing, they wil liaise with the
Web team.
Description
Al charts need a detailed text description so readers can understand what the chart shows. This is
an accessibility requirement. Content authors need to provide this description to the Web team.
See our article ‘Update on financial strain’ for examples of chart descriptions
Colour
Do not rely only on colour to convey information in your chart. Use different styled lines in a line
chart or different types of shading in bar charts. This makes sure that the chart is more accessible.
Refer to our data visualisation guidelines for specific details on formatting RBNZ charts.
Go to our Data Visualisation Guidelines
Titles and subtitles
Use sentence case for titles (for example, ‘Annual house price inflation’). Always provide the name
of the chart in the main text of the document or page, not within the chart. This makes sure that
the title is accessible to screen readers.
Enclose subtitles in brackets and italics, for example, ‘(change since 2020Q1, seasonal y adjusted)’.
We usual y only state the series frequency if it’s important for interpretation.
Axes and legends
When label ing a chart axis, use sentence case (for example, ‘Annual’, ‘Basis points’). Also use:
‘$m’ and ‘$b’ for nominal numbers
‘09/10 $m’ and ‘09/10 $b’ for real numbers
‘%’ for percent changes. Specify the time frame for percent changes in the chart title or
subtitle. Where this cannot be done (for example, because of multiple series on chart), the axis
label can be ‘Annual %’ (mutatis mutandis).
000s for thousands (for example, for numbers of people)
‘Index’ for indices, including the TWI and diffusion indices (for example, ANZBO, QSBO,
PMI/PSI)
‘Basis points’, not ‘bps’.
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Legend entries should be in sentence case (proper nouns can be capitalised as normal), for
example, ‘New Zealand activity index’, ‘Office space’ and ‘Sectoral factor model’.
Sources
Show chart sources on al charts to identify the organisation the data came from. Sources do not
need to specify the name of the series or survey, just the organisation. Format the source as
below, with commas (where relevant) and a full stop. Always use ‘source’, regardless of how many
sources there are.
Example
Source: Stats NZ, Haver Analytics, RBNZ estimates.
Add ‘RBNZ estimates’ to the source list where a series in the chart is or is derived from a Reserve
Bank estimate, including:
Reserve Bank forecasts or scenario projections
series that the Reserve Bank has seasonal y adjusted
outputs of Reserve Bank models.
If we have transformed or expressed a series differently from the original (for example, reindexed
or divided through by another series), do not add ‘RBNZ estimates’. Where Reserve Bank data is
used (such as for direct results of RBNZ surveys), include ‘RBNZ’ in the source unless the source
already contains ‘RBNZ estimates’.
Chart notes
Chart notes are optional and should be used to provide clarifying information to readers who may
need it to understand the chart. They should not be used to provide additional information that is
not needed to interpret the chart.
Tables
Provide tables in Excel spreadsheets.
Use tables only to present data, not to shape the layout of your document or page.
Infographics
Provide infographics in a high-resolution format if they wil be online, not just embedded in a
document.
Any text in the infographic must be available in an alternate format. People using screen readers
wil not be able to read any text included in the infographic. Make the text available alongside the
image.
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Videos Al videos must have:
transcripts for people who do not want to watch the video, and for search engine indexing
closed captions for people who cannot hear the dialogue and other sounds
visual descriptions for people who cannot see the video.
Consider these things when writing video scripts.
If you’re using end cards with links to more information, have a voiceover read out this
information.
Describe al important visual information verbal y if people who cannot see it wil have trouble
fol owing the presentation — for example, graphs or images.
Read out any text in a slide deck.
Avoid using locational descriptions like ‘this part over here’.
For complex diagrams, graphs or maps, you only need to describe the necessary information that
you want your viewers to understand.
Read on digital.govt.nz about what makes a video accessible
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Appendices
These appendices cover:
common terms we use
plain words
concise words
writing resources and tools.
Common terms we use
We use the fol owing terms as set out below.
Reserve Bank of New Zealand
use the ful name in titles of media releases. RBNZ can be
— Te Pūtea Matua
used in chart source credits. For al other mentions, use we,
our or us.
Act or the Act
use with an initial capital. The first mention of a named Act
must be fol owed by its date, for example the Anti-Money
Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009.
advice (noun), advise (verb)
anti-money laundering
Aotearoa New Zealand
use Aotearoa New Zealand as and where you choose, or
New Zealand
banknote
cooperate
not ‘co-operate’
coordinate
not ‘co-ordinate’
compared with
not ‘compared to’
cross-sector col aboration
decision-making
for example
not ‘eg’ or ‘e.g.’ — but we can also use ‘like’ or ‘such ‘as’
when giving an example
licence (noun), licensing (verb)
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livestream (noun), live-stream (verb)
for example:
You can watch the livestream here from 11am (noun). The
media conference wil be live-streamed (verb)
macroprudential
make sure
not ‘ensure’
media conference
no capitals except at the start of a sentence
must
when something is legal y required, do not use ‘legal y must’
New Zealand-incorporated banks
non-bank deposit takers
Official Cash Rate
always use title case, and write in ful , not Cash Rate on its
own
Pasifika or Pacific Peoples
not Pacifica
phone
not ‘DDI’ in media releases
policyholder
one word
policy-makers
webpage
wel being
year-on-year change
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Plain words
Replacing complex or bureaucratic words with plainer words is a simple way to make your writing
easier to read and understand. Use the list below to get started.
Instead of
Use
accordingly
so
attempt, endeavour
try
beneficial
useful
commence, initiate, institute
start, begin
discontinue, terminate
end, stop
expedite, expeditious
hurry, quick
implement, undertake
do, carry out
moreover
and, also, as wel
similarly
also
thereafter
then, afterwards
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Concise words
Replacing wordy phrases with single words is an easy way to make your writing more concise.
Use the list below to get started.
Instead of
Use
a large number of
many
accompanied by
with
as a consequence
because
at such time as
when
by means of
by
despite the fact that
although
for the purpose of
to
in connection with
about
in favour of
for
in order to
to
in relation to
about
in the near future
soon
it would be appreciated if
please
on behalf of
for
on the grounds that
because
owing to the fact that
because
pertaining to
about
subsequent to
after
pursuant to
under
with reference to
about
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Writing resources and tools
The fol owing online resources offer useful guidance.
Content design guidance | NZ Digital government
A guide from digital.govt.nz for designing useful, readable and inclusive content. A very useful
resource if you’re writing material that wil be on the website.
Readability Guidelines
A comprehensive UK guide to producing great content, including advice on plain language,
structure and accessibility.
A - Z of alternative English words | Plain English Campaign
The UK Plain English Campaign provides a list of words that help you write in plain language.
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Document Outline
