Use minimal punctuation to make meaning clear

Minimal punctuation doesn’t mean removing all punctuation marks from a sentence. It means removing unnecessary punctuation.

Only use punctuation that makes the sentence grammatically correct and the meaning clear.

Too much punctuation makes text crowded and difficult to read. If a sentence has a lot of punctuation marks, it might be a sign that the sentence is too long or complex. Try to rewrite into shorter, clearer sentences.

To use minimal punctuation:

• Don’t add full stops to the ends of headings, page headers, footers or captions.
• Don’t use a semicolon at the end of each item in a bullet list.
• Unless each item is a full sentence or the last item in a list, don’t use a full stop for items in bullet lists.
• Don’t use full stops between letters in an acronym or initialism.
• Don’t use a full stop at the end of most abbreviations.

Minimal punctuation helps users understand your content.

Screen readers work best with minimal punctuation

Some screen readers will announce punctuation marks. Some will change the modulation of the voice depending on the punctuation mark.

By default, screen readers that people who are blind or have low vision use, do not usually announce punctuation. They may pause briefly when they encounter a comma, full stop, or semicolon. They may also change inflection when they encounter a question mark.

Screen readers usually ignore most other punctuation unless verbosity is set high, or a person reads character by character.

Watch out for misplaced punctuation: it can change meaning

Use punctuation marks to:

• end sentences (full stops, exclamation marks and question marks)
• break up sentences and show the relationship between words and phrases (commas, colons, semicolons, dashes, forward slashes and ellipses)
• show possession and contractions (apostrophes)
• connect related words (hyphens and dashes).

Use the correct spacing around punctuation marks

Check the relevant topic in this manual for advice on how to treat each punctuation mark.

There are different rules for putting spaces around punctuation marks. For example, some punctuation marks have no spaces around them. Some have a space on either side.

Include a single space after a punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. Never use double spaces. Check each document for double and multiple spaces and delete them.

Capitalise the first word in a sentence and in headings

Capitalise the first word in a sentence. Use lower case for all other words, unless those words include proper nouns. This is called ‘sentence case’.

Use sentence case for:

• opening quoted speech within a sentence
• headings.

Do not use all capitals for headings, unless the visual design for the content meets WCAG in all respects.

Use sentence case with italics for titles of works mentioned in the content. This applies even when the reference is included in a heading within the content.

Minimise capitals for common nouns and adjectives

Proper nouns generally have an initial capital letter for each word in the noun.

Common nouns and adjectives don’t use initial capitals, with few exceptions. For example, adjectives often have capitals when they refer to a national, religious or linguistic group.

Differences between proper and common names

This manual contains guidance for names and terms by topic. Always check a dictionary if in doubt.

Shortened forms

Use shortened forms only when this choice supports plain English.

Rules for capitalisation and punctuation differ from rules for terms spelt out in full. The rules depend on where the terms are in the sentence.

The spelt-out form might not need initial capitals, even if an acronym or initialism has them. Use normal capitalisation practices for proper and common nouns. If in doubt, check a dictionary.

If the shortened form represents a proper noun, start each word with a capital letter.

If the shortened form represents a common noun, do not begin each word of the full form with a capital letter.

Only use capitals when the style is standardised or specified in regulations, for symbols of units of measurement.

Follow the guidance on capitals for titles and government terms

Follow conventions for using capitals for titles, honours and forms of address. Use capitals when an official title precedes the name of the office holder. This includes titles for executives specified in legislation.

Unless advised in this manual, avoid using capitals in body text for a particular position or role within an organisation. This practice goes against readability and does not support clarity.

You do not need to use capitals when the title is an organisational name given to an office holder. Deference for positions within an organisation might follow house style. Do not use house style outside of the organisational context. Detail any special use of capitals in a style sheet.

Preferences for capitals when the terms ‘traditional owner’, ‘elder’ and ‘custodian’ are used as titles should come directly from the relevant First Nations community.

Follow the rules of capitalisation for government terms, for example:

• government programs and agreements
• mentions of parliament
• references to states and territories.

Legal material has its own conventions for capitalisation. Content that has a legislative focus might use complementary sources to the guidance on citing legal material in this manual.

Legal documents often use initial capitals to show terms with a defined meaning (such as ‘Department’, ‘Schedule’, ‘Vendor’ and ‘Recipient’). In these cases, use the form of the name as it is written in the legislation.