Case Study: Services Australia improves readability and accessibility for First Nations content with VisibleThread

How Services Australia Used VisibleThread

Services Australia, the Australian Government's primary service delivery agency, faced significant challenges in creating a new website to depict how First Nations communities gained access to social services. A team of skilled academic researchers had produced highly complex historical content with a reading grade level of 25, which was not accessible for the intended audience. They needed to refine this content to a much more accessible grade level of 7-9 and required an objective tool, from vendor VisibleThread, to help get buy-in from their writers and measure clarity with specific metrics.

VisibleThread provided its VT Writer solution, setting up a new environment with customized language thresholds and a list of ignored terms specific to the project. This allowed the team to objectively score writing and transform their process, dramatically improving readability. The solution led to improved editorial engagement, a more consistent writing style across the team, and significantly faster edit cycles. Most importantly, VisibleThread's tools gave Services Australia the confidence that they successfully delivered clear, accessible historical content that met their audience's needs.

Services Australia

Emily Edmunds

Assistant Director, Communications Division