Overview

To search this page for a specific term, use CTRL + F on a PC or Command F on a Mac.

If something isn't covered here, refer to the following:

• Australian Government Style Manual
• Macquarie Dictionary Online (subscription required, but many libraries offer free access with membership)
• Macquarie Dictionary grammar guide
• Macquarie Dictionary punctuation guide.

Note: If referring to publications or policies the department doesn't own, defer to the style used by the other organisation.

If you have any feedback about this style guide, lodge a content request.

Abbreviations and acronyms

When abbreviating the NSW Department of Education, use 'the department' wherever possible. If space is a factor, such as in a tweet or a table heading, use 'DoE'.

Online search is very powerful so don’t assume your reader has read the full explanation of an abbreviation or acronym on a previous page. Spell out and put an acronym in brackets for the first use on each webpage.

It is easier for a reader if you do not constantly refer to the acronym. Use other words for variety.

When to use acronyms

Consider your audience when deciding whether to spell out an acronym. As long as your audience will understand, you can use the following acronyms on the first reference without first spelling them out.

We've included the full versions here for you to note the capital letters in the full versions, in the event that you need to spell it out for your audience. If you do, always spell out first then include the acronym in parentheses.

Note: Avoid using acronyms in page titles.

• ABN – Australian Business Number
• ACARA – Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority
• ACT – Australian Capital Territory; no need to ever spell out (but spell out Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia except in postal addresses)
• AQF – Australian Qualifications Framework
• ATAR – Australian Tertiary Admission Rank
• BYOD – bring your own device
• BSB – Bank-State-Branch; no need to ever spell out
• DEL – director, educational leadership (note: as with other job titles, no capital letters unless used with a person's name)
• eFPT – Enterprise Financial Planning Tool
  
• ERN – enrolment and registration number
• GST – goods and services tax
• HSC – Higher School Certificate
• HSIE – human society and its environment
• ICT – information and communications technology
• LGBTQIA+ – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual (no need to ever spell out)
• NAPLAN – National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy
• NESA – NSW Education Standards Authority
• NSBTS – non-school-based teaching service (note: sometimes the word 'staff' is interchanged for 'service' for clarity when this is spelled out, but the official term is 'service')
• NSW – New South Wales; no need to ever spell out (but spell out Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia except in postal addresses)
• OASIS – office automation and school information system
• P&C – parents and citizens association
• P&C Federation – Federation of Parents and Citizens Associations of New South Wales; include a link to the P&C Federation site if your audience won't be familiar with it
• PDF – portable document format; use all caps; no need to ever spell out
• PDHPE – personal development, health and physical education
• SAP – systems applications and products
• SASS – school administrative and support staff (note: never 'administration' staff; depending on context, you could also use 'SAS staff')
• SBAR – School Budget Allocation Report (school-based staff know it as SBAR, but spell it out for any other audiences)
• STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics
• TAFE NSW – Technical and Further Education; no need to ever spell out
• TAS – technology and applied studies
• UAC – Universities Admissions Centre
• URL – uniform resource locator; no need to ever spell out

When to spell out terms in full

Always spell the following acronyms out on first reference unless you know for certain your audience will know the acronym better than the full name. Note the casing and exceptions to usual rules about acronyms.

• Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG)
• Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA)
• culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD; note: Students are not CALD students. Students are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds or communities. Avoid using the acronym.)
• Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (CESE)
• Council of Australian Governments (COAG)
• covered outdoor learning area (COLA)
• creative and performing arts (CAPA)
• English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D; note: students are not ‘EAL/D’. They are students learning English as an additional language or dialect. This term has replaced ESL)
• equal employment opportunity (EEO)
• full-time equivalent (FTE)
• highly accomplished teacher (HAT)
• highly accomplished or lead teacher (HALT)
• Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART)
• individualised learning plan (ILP)
• Industry Training Advisory Bodies (ITABs)
• International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS)
• language background other than English (LBOTE; note: the department considers students LBOTE if they or one of their parents or carers speaks a language other than English in their home)
  
• opportunity, choice, healing, responsibility, empowerment (OCHRE)
  
• outside of school hours care (OOSHC)
• performance and development plan (PDP; note: no capitals on the full term; watch out for misuse of 'professional development plan' which is incorrect)
• Personalised Learning and Support Signposting Tool (PLASST)
• personalised learning plan (PLP)
• Primary Principals’ Association (PPA)
• Primary Schools Sports Association (PSSA)
• Professional English Assessment for Teachers (PEAT)
• Record of School Achievement (RoSA)
• registered training organisation (RTO)
• release from face-to-face (RFF)
• Resource Allocation Model (RAM)
• School Infrastructure (SI)
• School Planning and Reporting Online (SPaRO)
• school-based apprenticeship and traineeship (SBAT)
• school-based apprenticeships and traineeships (SBATs)
• schools for specific purposes (SSPs)
• Secondary Principals’ Council (SPC)
• senior executive service (SES)
• student administration and learning management (SALM)
• Student Representative Council (SRC) (note: if referring to SRC in general, use lower case – for example, 'Many schools include a student representative council (SRC) to ensure their student body feels well represented.')
• vocational education and training (VET)
• Working With Children Check (WWCC)
• World War I (WWI)

Convention	Examples
Do not use full stops or spaces in common abbreviations and personal titles. Use a space between a numeral and a measurement abbreviation.	UNICEF Anzac Mr BA DipEd 9 am 5 pm 9 km 4 MB 830 KB (note: upper case) p 4 (for page) pp 7–9 (for consecutive pages)
Do not use eg, ie, NB or etc. Spell these out instead.	for example that is note and so on
Use a full stop for less common abbreviations.	fig. (for figure) cont. (for continued)
Do not use an apostrophe when pluralising an acronym.	SSPs RTOs
Do not use acronyms in page headings. Spell them out in full or use an alternative word or phrase.	Understanding project-based learning (not ‘Understanding PBL’) Special religious education (not ‘SRE’) Special education in ethics (not ‘SEE’)

Bold, italics and underlining

Avoid using italics online, especially for large blocks of text. Do not use bold, italics or underlining in headings. Use only the styles provided.

Convention	Examples
Use bold if you must add emphasis to a particular word or phrase within a sentence. To make sure a screen reader will read it correctly, use <strong> tags in HTML. Never use <b> tags.	Select New. Make sure you have your director's approval before you fill in this form.
In general, don’t use italics online in large blocks of text. Screen readers treat them inconsistently and dyslexic readers find them difficult to comprehend. Use inverted commas to set apart titles of short publications. Refer to Publication titles.	For specific guidance about staff dress code, refer to the department’s Code of Conduct. For step-by-step instructions, refer to the ‘Adobe Experience Manager how-to guide’. Read Tomorrow When the War Began for homework. For more information, refer to the ‘Setting up a customer quick reference guide’. Under the Education Act 1990, children must attend school from the age of 6.
You may use italics for scientific names or foreign words used within an English sentence. To make sure a screen reader will pronounce foreign words and phrases correctly, use the appropriate HTML language code. If a foreign word or phrase is commonly used in English, do not italicise it.	Choose low-maintenance plants like the peace lily (Spathiphyllum Wallisii) for your classroom. The kanji in the Japanese texts in the specimen paper are drawn from the list of prescribed characters. In German, words for ‘the’ include der, die and das. In ancient times, Greece (Hellas) was made up of city-states. We set up an ad hoc committee to deal with the subject. If you haven’t already RSVP’d, please do so today.
Don’t underline or underscore any text.	Underlining makes text look like a link.

Refer to the Style Manual's guidance on italics.

Capital letters

Keep capital letters to a minimum. Never use all caps.

The following outlines some general guidelines, with specific examples that apply to the department's context.

Use title case (where the first letter of each main word is upper case and the rest are lower case) for proper nouns. Proper nouns include:

• people’s names
• full position titles when used with a person's name
• full names of organisations and companies
• full names of conferences and events
• full names of grants and programs.

Use lower case for:

• generic and plural forms of names and titles and terms, such as directors and principals
• names of job types, such as director, nurse, manager or teacher
• titles of department policies and procedures
• names of general program types or organisations, such as work health and safety course or human resources company.

Use lower case for 'department'

As per the Australian Government Style Manual, use lower case when using the generic form of the Department of Education – the department.

The Government terms section states:

"Use initial capital letters only for the formal names of government departments and agencies. Check the names of departments and agencies in the government online directory.

Don’t use capital letters for generic mentions. For example, use:

• ‘the agency’ instead of ‘the Agency’
• ‘the authority’ instead of ‘the Authority’
• ‘the commission’ instead of ‘the Commission’
• ‘the department’ instead of ‘the Department’."

In briefs use ‘the Department of Education (the department)’ the first time, and then use ‘the department’ thereafter.

Organisations, people and places

Convention	Examples
Use title case for organisation names when using the full name. Use lower case when referring to them generally.	the Department of Education or the department NSW Government or the government the University of Sydney or the university the Killara High School P&C Association or the association, your school's P&C association NSW Health (not Ministry of Health)
Use title case for members of the department’s Executive in all cases.	the Secretary of the Department of Education or the Secretary the Deputy Secretary, School Operations and Performance or the Deputy Secretary Deputy Secretaries the Minister for Education or the Minister Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car or the Deputy Premier
Use title case for position titles when referring to a specific title and person, including their unit or directorate, if applicable. Use lower case when using titles generally.	Anne Smith, Principal, Roseville Public School Robert Jones, Principal, School Leadership Toni Cheng, Director, Educational Leadership Jill Smith, A/Principal, Roseville Public School Peter Jones, R/Principal, Roseville Public School John Brown, Web Adviser, Communication and Engagement the principal, executive director, teacher, instructional adviser, acting principal, relieving principal The director, educational leadership (DEL) and principal, school leadership (PSL) are responsible for... For individual advice, refer to your careers adviser.
Use title case for the names of agencies or areas that have a public face, profile or brand.	Aboriginal Affairs Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (CESE)
Use title case for the names of groups and divisions.	Public Schools Education and Skills Reform Operations Division People Group School Infrastructure
Use title case for directorates and business units, but lower case for the word 'directorate' and 'business unit' unless part of the official title. Use lower case for any teams at a lower level than business units.	Asset Management Communication and Engagement Health, Safety and Staff Wellbeing Information Technology Directorate Professional and Ethical Standards Legal Services the Audit directorate the content team the Internal Communication business unit the Health, Safety and Staff Wellbeing directorate
Use title case for most government terms and titles.	the Prime Minister the Treasurer the Attorney-General the Cabinet the Treasury the Act/Ordinance the Executive Parliament House, Commonwealth Parliament, the Parliament Library or ‘the debate in parliament continued for hours’ Australian Government (note: don’t use federal, national or commonwealth) NSW Government or the government
Use title case when referring to a specific qualification, accreditation or course Use lower case when referring to qualifications generally.	Bachelor of Education (Primary) Certificate III in Skills for Work and Training Professional Accomplishment certificate III or diploma qualifications a bachelor’s degree a master’s degree a PhD
Use title case for descriptive place names that have taken a semi-official status. Use lower case for the descriptive part of most geographical names.	the Central Coast North/South Coast Greater Sydney the Inner West southern Australia western Sydney south-west Sydney southern hemisphere
Use lower case for seasons unless part of a proper noun.	the summer uniform welcome to spring winter holidays Spring Sports Carnival
Note the casing in these specific examples.	Aboriginal affairs (‘affairs’ is lower case unless referring to the agency. ‘Aboriginal’ always has an upper case A) access request – lower case unless referring to ERN Access Request adult and community education (ACE) Anzac (not ANZAC) Australian Curriculum bushfire program EDConnect Integration Funding Support memorandum of understanding (not MOU) MyPL My School (for the website, not your own school) non-government schools NSW public schools (lower case unless part of a full title such as NSW Public Schools State Drama Ensemble or referring to the Public Schools division) OCHRE: opportunity, choice, healing, responsibility, empowerment quality teaching model (not framework) quality teaching rounds School Finder specialist support classes state state office
Use UpperCamelCase (where the first letter of each word has a capital letter) for run-on text such as email addresses and hashtags. This helps with comprehension – especially for people with dyslexia and those using assistive technology – and avoids unfortunate mishaps where unintended words are spelled. Note: in website URLs including shortened versions, use a hyphen to separate words	#LoveWhereYouLearn InternalCommunication@det.nsw.edu.au education.nsw.gov.au/content-style-guide

Publication and program titles

Convention	Examples
Use title case for the names of official programs (including awards programs), assessments, syllabus and tests when using the full name. Use lower case for subsequent or generic forms. Do not italicise. If you need to set a title apart in text, use inverted commas.	Our Plan for NSW Public Education or the plan Aboriginal Education Strategy or the strategy National Quality Framework or the framework Assisted School Travel Program or the program Australian Professional Standards for Teachers Best Start Kindergarten Assessment or the assessment Community Languages Schools Program but community languages schools Connected Communities Department of Education Annual Report 2023 or the annual report Elsa Dixon Aboriginal Employment Program Intensive English Centre (IEC) or the centre Intensive English High School (IEHS) or the high school Languages K–10 Framework New Arrivals Program (NAP) or the program Premier’s Public Sector Awards, Strengthening the Environment and Communities category Rural and Remote Education – a blueprint for action School Excellence Framework Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus or the syllabus All 4 macro skills can be addressed through ‘Accessing and responding’ under the ‘Communicating’ objective, if the response is in the target language. Culture cannot be taught discretely. Instead, ‘The role of language and culture’ explores the interplay between languages and culture, and how one can influence the other. This unit explores the cross-curriculum priority areas of ‘Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures’ and ‘Sustainability’.
Use title case for official national partnership names. Do not italicise.	National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform Low Socio-Economic Status School Communities National Partnership Empowering Local Schools National Partnership National Partnership on Literacy and Numeracy
Use title case and italics when referring to titles of long publications such as books, magazines, journals and movies, as well as legislation.	Australian Journal of Education Education Act 1990 Macquarie Dictionary Sydney Morning Herald Gone with the Wind

Refer also to Publication titles.

School terminology

Convention	Examples
Use upper case for English and other languages. Use lower case for all other subjects. Use title case for syllabus names as they are considered publication titles.	Arabic English French Japanese creative arts economics geography mathematics music science and technology Health and Movement Science 11–12
Use lower case for key learning areas (KLAs), but use upper case for their abbreviations.	human society and its environment (HSIE) personal development, health and physical education (PDHPE) mathematics
Use upper case when referring to specific NAPLAN domain titles and references when used in conjunction with a specific score. Use lower case when referring to literacy and numeracy in general.	National Minimum Standard Numeracy – Band 6 The average score on the Reading assessment was 570. At the department, we place strong emphasis on the importance of literacy and numeracy.
Use upper case when referring to a specific school year or stage. Refer also to Stages of learning.	Year 1, Year 2, Year 3 Years 1, 2 and 3 Years 1 to 3 (Years 1–3 in a table) Stage 3 Stages 4 to 5 (Stages 4–5 in a table) Kindergarten (note: ‘preschool’ is always lower case)
Use upper case when referring to specific terms, weeks and semesters.	Term 3 Week 2 Term 2 2025 Term 1 Week 4 2026 Day 1 Term 1 Semester 1 2023
Use lower case when referring to school development days.	school development day (SDD)

Website specifics

Convention	Examples
Only capitalise the first letter of a webpage name and page headline unless the name contains a proper noun.	Academic opportunities Scholarships and awards Ministerial media releases Working with children Contact us About us Events calendar
When writing instructions for web applications, match the casing to what the user will find on their screen. Use bold to emphasise the key elements in the instructions. In HTML, use <strong> tags, never <b> tags. Use ‘select’ rather than ‘click’ as it is more inclusive.	Select File then Open. Select SAVE. Select Edit. Open Asset Finder. Hold down Alt and type 0150 on the numeric keypad.

Contact details

Use a call-out box at the end of your content to provide additional links or contact details.

Hyperlink the full email address so users can copy and paste if needed. Use mailto: instead of https:// in your link code.

Hyperlink phone numbers so users can dial directly from their smartphones. Use tel: instead of https:// in your link code and don't use spaces.

Start all call-out boxes with a heading that follows the existing heading hierarchy on the page. Refer to the following examples.

Note: never share a personal or direct email address on a public page of the website.

Convention	Examples
If you need to list multiple formats, use a bullet list.	For more information about [topic], you can: visit the GEL website email email@det.nsw.edu.au call 1300 55 55 55. Refer also to Lists.
Be consistent when listing contact details. Include the area code – you never know where your audience is viewing your content from. For more, refer to the digital.nsw content style guide.	Joan Smith Content Adviser Learning and Business Systems 02 5550 0550 0405 555 555 email@det.nsw.edu.au (Note: use soft returns between lines by holding down ‘Shift’ and pressing ‘Enter’ or ‘Return’) Refer also to Capital letters.

Copyright and citations

If you’re using any third-party material, you must cite it appropriately. Include the creator’s name linked to the source as well as the creative commons (CC) licence linked to the relevant creative commons webpage.

Referencing style

For most contexts, refer to the Style Manual's Author–date guide.

Referencing NESA content

When attributing NESA use this style:

[Title of the document] © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, [Year of publication].

Example:

'By the end of Stage 4, students describe the nature of history and archaeology, as well as explain their contribution to an understanding of the past.'

History K–10 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, [Year of publication].

Copyright and terms of use

All NSW Department of Education resources require a copyright statement.

For a short version with a hyperlink, use the following:

© State of New South Wales (Department of Education), 2023.

When you can't include a hyperlink to the official copyright page, use the following:

© State of New South Wales (Department of Education), 2023.

The copyright material published in this resource is subject to the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) and is owned by the NSW Department of Education or, where indicated, by a party other than the NSW Department of Education (third-party material).

Copyright material available in this resource and owned by the NSW Department of Education is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.

This licence allows you to share and adapt the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Attribution should be given to © State of New South Wales (Department of Education), 2021.

Material in this resource not available under a Creative Commons licence:

• the NSW Department of Education logo, other logos and trademark-protected material
• material owned by a third party that has been reproduced with permission. You will need to obtain permission from the third party to reuse its material.

Correspondence guidelines

We use open punctuation for letters, emails and other correspondence. That means we do not use a comma after the salutation (Dear John) or closing (Yours faithfully).

Refer to the correspondence and briefing guidelines from Government Business (staff only) for more details.

Dates and times

Convention	Examples
Do not use ordinals or commas when writing out dates, except when used as an introductory element.	22 January 2017 Wednesday 19 July 2017 On 4 July 2017, a group of American expats got together to celebrate Independence Day.
Use DD/MM/YYYY style for tables.	01/08/2017 31/10/2016
Use the full name of the day and month where you can. Use the approved shortened versions with no full stop where space is an issue, such as in a tweet, table heading or event listing.	Shortened forms for days: Mon Tues Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Shortened forms for months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
Use an en dash in year ranges. When both years share the first two digits, shorten the second year to only include the second two digits.	Financial year 2016–17 Literacy and Numeracy Strategy 2017–20
Use an en dash without spaces in simple date ranges Use an en dash with spaces in ranges that span multiple months. Use words when you include a range in dates within a sentence.	19–21 July 2018 31 August – 2 September Our offices are closed from 23 December 2017 to 7 January 2018. School holidays are from 10 to 21 April.
Do not use apostrophes when referring to decades.	1960s (not 1960’s or ‘60s)
Use numerals for times. Use a colon between hours and minutes. Use a non-breaking space between the numerals and 'am' or 'pm'.	9 am 9:30 am noon or 12 pm (not midday) midnight or 12 am
Use words when you include a range in times within a sentence. Use an en dash between times in tables or simple text. Without space if both times are am or pm, and with space if they are different.	Our office is open from 9 am to 4:30 pm. Call the office between 9 and 11 am. 9 am – 4:30 pm 9–11 am
When combining dates and times, start with the broader term and then narrow.	The survey closes Friday 14 June, 5 pm. We're open Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4 pm. Sessions will run in Term 2 Weeks 4 to 7.

For more, refer to the Style Manual's dates and time guide.

Ellipses

An ellipsis is always three dots … like that. No spaces between them.

Formatting will always follow one of two styles: in the middle of a sentence or between two sentences.

In the middle of a sentence

When used in the middle of a sentence, an ellipsis has a space on either side. The first letter after it will be lower case.

Harry, who led a bayonet charge, whose father described him as ‘A fine athlete … ardent, over eager.’

Between two sentences

When used between two sentences, include the end punctuation from the first sentence, followed by an ellipsis with spaces on either side. The first letter after the ellipsis will be upper case.

“You will have heard of our work landing under shrapnel fire, attacking with fixed bayonets up the precipitous spurs through the dense undergrowth. ... We were greatly split up.”

Hyperlinks

In general, don't spell out URLs in the online space. Instead, hyperlink keywords to point the user in the right direction.

Never use 'click here' or any variation.

Never hyperlink an H2 heading. Avoid hyperlinks on other headings if possible.

Convention	Examples
When listing our main website online, use education.nsw.gov.au as the link text. Do not include 'www.' or 'https://' in the text that displays on the screen or document. Make sure any punctuation is not in hyperlink style.	Use education.nsw.gov.au as your default homepage. For a thorough understanding of the way we work, visit education.nsw.gov.au/about-us.
When listing URLs in print, use education.nsw.gov.au. Do not include 'www.' or 'http://'. Do not include a final slash for longer URLs. Make sure any punctuation is not in hyperlink style.	For more tips, visit education.nsw.gov.au/road-safety-education. [Example in a footer] education.nsw.gov.au
Match your link text to the destination. Include keywords from the page you're referring to, if not the full title of the page itself. If you use a page or document title in your hyperlink, match the casing of the thing you're linking to. Otherwise, hyperlink text should stay in sentence case. Don’t use the same text for different destinations. Never use ‘click here’ or other generic instructions. Use active voice not passive voice. Do not select 'open in new window' for hyperlinks to avoid confusion. Make sure any sentence punctuation is outside the hyperlink, including commas, full stops and spaces.	Go to Policies and procedures for more details. For more information read the cyber safety section of the Technology guide for parents and carers. Visit the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) website to download the skills continuum.
Use 'staff only' within the link text when you link from a publicly available page to a staff-only page or document.	Find more details in the Pay, leave and benefits (staff only) section of the human resources intranet. For more information, refer to the Example student policy (staff only). Download the quick reference guide (staff only) (PDF 160 KB).
When linking to internal downloads, include details about the file format and size. Include this information as part of the link to ensure a screen reader reads this before the user chooses to download the file. Use the file size that comes up in ‘document properties’. Do not link to downloads we do not own. Instead, link to the webpage that includes the download link. If the owner of that content updates the download, we would run the risk of linking to outdated information. Do not select 'open in new window' for hyperlinks to avoid confusion.	Download all schools personas (PDF 1.81 MB) Application to enrol in a NSW Government school (PDF 155 KB) Template 1: approved provider notice (DOC 60 KB) Template 2: approved parent and carer notice (DOCX 89 KB) (note: KB is upper case)

For more on hyperlinks, refer to the Style Manual's linking guide.

Hyphens and dashes

Convention	Examples
Several common words do not contain a hyphen.	coordinate coursework keyword interagency login (when used as a noun or adjective) but log in (verb) prerequisite schoolwork socioeconomic statewide textbook videoconference, videoconferencing wellbeing
Use hyphens for compound adjectives when used before the noun they modify.	evidence-based evaluation (but note no hyphen in: the evaluation is evidence based) full-time staff (but note no hyphen in: the staff member is full time) long-term arrangement (but note no hyphen in: the arrangement was long term) up-to-date content (but note no hyphen in: the content is up to date) school-based staff (but note no hyphen in: the staff is school based) post-school activities (but note no hyphen in: the activities are post school) work-life balance Commonwealth-state agreement South-East Asia decision-making (a decision-making process, and the art of decision-making)
Several common terms appear as two separate words. Do not hyphenate compound modifiers that include an -ly word.	a lot cross curriculum full stop log in (when used as a verb) play space a finely honed argument
Use en dashes in number spans and ranges, not hyphens. Spell out the appropriate word (‘to’ or ‘and’) within a sentence or heading.	Examples from a table: pages 31–35 2016–18 9 am – 5 pm Stage 4–5 Examples within a sentence or heading: Read pages 31 to 35 and report back on Monday. Our working hours are between 9 am and 5 pm. This program is available for students in Years 7 to 10.
Use en dashes with spaces in headings and titles, not colons or ellipses. The word that comes after the en dash should always be lower case, unless it's a proper noun.	Great Teaching, Inspired Learning – a guide Resources – extension courses English – standard
Use en dashes with spaces to signify an abrupt change in a sentence or to set apart a parenthetical element.	Enrolment is available on a quota basis – but not in this case. Schools must provide required resources – textbooks, phones and computers – as well as supervision.

For more on hyphens, refer to the Style Manual's hyphens guide.

For more on en dashes, refer to the Style Manual's dashes guide.

Inclusive language

Use language that is culturally appropriate and respectful of the diversity of NSW's peoples.

In general, focus on the person not their attributes.

For more detail, refer to the Style Manual's Inclusive language guide – noting that the consultation for this guide spanned all of Australia.

The department has agreed with the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) that we will:

• reference NSW as Aboriginal land
• acknowledge that the department works to serve Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students, staff and communities.

Traditional place names

When referring to Aboriginal people and places, defer to the most specific group possible.

Use the preferred spelling as agreed with the local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) or Aboriginal Land Council. For example, the department uses the spelling 'Darug' instead of 'Dharug' after consulting with the local community when we opened the state office at Parramatta.

For more information, refer to the List of traditional place names.

Outdated language and terminology

Outdated (don't use)	Use this instead
sexual preference	'sexual orientation’ or ‘diverse sexuality'
lifestyle choice	'sexual orientation’ or ‘diverse sexuality'
gender transition	'gender affirmation' or ‘affirmation’
transition (in relation to gender)	'gender affirmation' or ‘affirmation’

Lists

In general, opt for bulleted (unordered) lists rather than numbered (ordered) lists.

Numbered lists make more sense if you're talking about a step-by-step process.

Do not use list styling if your list only contains one item. Use standard paragraph text instead.

Convention	Examples
Use a colon to introduce a list within a sentence. Use lower case for the first word of the dot points (except where this is a proper noun) and place a full stop at end of last word in the list.	If your list is a run-on sentence, keep in mind:​​ no initial caps​​ no punctuation at the end of each point​​ full stop at the end of the final point. Greenville High School offers music lessons with the following instruments: violin cello clarinet.
Use a colon to introduce a list that consists of self-contained sentences. Use a capital at the beginning of each line, and full stop at the end of each sentence. Avoid using multiple sentences in each bullet or numbered item.	If your list consists of sentences, these rules apply:​​ Use initial caps for each point.​​ Use a full stop at the end of each point. The inquiry came to 2 conclusions: Students can only participate if they have written consent from their parents or carers. Parents and carers need specific information before they sign the form.
Use a colon to introduce a multi-level list that serves as part of a sentence. Use the bullet hierarchy as shown. Do not use a colon within sub-levels. Do not use more than two sub-levels within a list.	We can summarise these features as follows: physical characteristics considerable climatic variability unstable heat irregular rainfall extensive coral reefs and offshore islands ecosystem characteristics many unique species of plants and animals limited and highly variable water resources.
Do not use a colon at the end of a subheading that introduces a list. Do not use a colon to introduce a standalone list, such as in a PowerPoint presentation. Do not use a full stop at the end of a standalone list	If your list stands alone​​ Initial cap for each point​​ No full stops Furniture and equipment for meeting room Chairs (25) Desks (2) Lectern Microphone Overhead projector Electronic whiteboard

Multimedia content (images and videos)

You can't publish information that identifies a person – a student, a parent or carer, or any other individual – without their permission. Find out more about permission to publish (staff only).

Photos and images

Images should add value and/or provide context to your content. Don’t use images in a purely decorative sense. Don’t use third-party images without copyright approval and proper attribution (Refer to copyright and citations).

Include a caption and alt text for all images. For screen shots, use the alt text 'Screen shot of step 3' for example. Learn more about image guidelines (staff only).

When using an image on your website, use the image with caption component.

Use the in-page editor to upload screen shots used in instructional content.

These rules also apply to charts, diagrams and graphs.

Image dimensions

Image type	Width (pixels)	Height (pixels)
Full Bleed banner	2000	660
Campaign band	1280	386
50/50 banner (image only)	730	411
Page thumbnail	730	411
Image with caption	730	411
Feature news item/media release/announcement	Uses page thumbnail	n/a
Catalogue (if image not displayed in page content)	uses page thumbnail	n/a
Content teaser (if image not displayed in page content)	uses page thumbnail	n/a

Example of image with caption on a standard webpage

High school students on a beach with surfboards.

Videos

Videos must be hosted on the department’s enterprise video hosting service, Brightcove. Videos also must have captions, an HTML transcript and, if required, an audio description of what is seen.

Include the title of the video and its length before embedding the video.

Don't rely on auto captioning services as they often include errors. You can use these captions as a starting point, but make sure you manually edit them.

Video transcripts should:

• be presented as web content
• clearly indicate who the speaker is
• include relevant non-verbal information in square brackets
• finish with ‘End of transcript’.

Depending on where the video is embedded, you have a few options for where to put the transcript:

• If there's a lot of content on the page, add transcript in a Show/Hide component directly beneath the video embed.
• If video is part of a playlist, add transcript as a hidden page (select 'hide from navigation' in properties). The video will need the URL of transcript added to video metadata in Brightcove.
• If the video is embedded as the only content on the page, add the transcript directly beneath the video.
• If the video stands alone without a webpage, add the transcript as a hidden page (select 'hide from navigation' in properties). Provide a link to the transcript page directly beneath the video.

When embedding a video in a webpage, follow this format:

[Heading 2]Video – video title in sentence case (duration min:sec)

[embed video with Brightcove code]

[Heading 3 - title of show/hide]Video transcript

[Heading 4]First speaker's name

[Paragraph text]First speaker's text

[Heading 4]Second speaker's name

[Paragraph text]Second speaker's text

Include any on-screen text that's critical for understanding in [square brackets like this].

At the end, include [End transcript]

Refer also to:

• Copyright and citations
• Video guidelines
• Creating accessible videos

Transcript example

• Refer to this page for an acceptable transcript format – Transcript formatting example page

Numbers

Convention	Examples
Use words for zero and one. Use numerals for 2 and above. Refer to the Style Manual's Choosing numerals or words for more examples, but note some Education-specific exceptions here. To avoid starting a sentence with a numeral, rephrase the sentence.	Section 1 covers the rules. Year 1 Term 1 Week 1 The evaluation requires one-on-one interviews with all parties. Hundreds of people showed up to the banquet. More than 500 people showed up to the banquet.
Use numerals for measurements. Spell out the measurement when it's in a sentence. Use a space between the numeral and measurement when it's spelled out. Abbreviate the measurement in tables. Use a non-breaking space between numerals and the symbol.	7 kilometres 45.9 seconds 7 km (in a table) 45.9 s (in a table)
Use commas, not spaces, for 1,000 and above.	There were 1,500 respondents to the survey. More than 10,000 people attended.
Spell out 'million', 'billion' and other large numbers when referring to round numbers. You can abbreviate in less formal communication such as social media.	You can earn from 500 to 5 million dollars. The house cost $5.3 million. 10K = 10,000 1M = 1 million
Spell out simple fractions and use hyphens. Express a mixed fraction in figures unless it is the first word of a sentence.	One-half of the pies are vegetarian. We require a two-thirds majority... We expect a 5.5% wage increase. Five and one-half per cent was the maximum...
Use the % symbol when referring to percentages.	Nearly 50% of our staff responded.
Percentages can represent two different things: absolute change in value – for example, 10% changing to 13% is a 3 percentage point change relative change in value – for example, 10% changing to 13% is a 30% increase. To clarify when expressing the change between two percentage values, express the value before and after the change, as well as the difference you intend to highlight.	The absence rate decreased from 10% to 5% – a drop of 5 percentage points.
Use numerals to express precise mathematical relationships. Leave spaces between numerals and symbols, except with ratio and percentages or when a plus or minus sign indicates a positive or negative value.	21 + 32 = 53 15 / 3 = 5 4:1 25% -2 +2
Use roman numerals if part of the established name	World War II Cleopatra VII, Darius III, Henry VIII,

Refer also to Dates and times.

Page titles

Whether a Heading 1 on a webpage or on a document, titles should always be sentence case unless they contain proper nouns.

Page title – front loading

Place the most descriptive or important keyword in your title as close to the front of your page title as possible. Example: 'Algebra – why it is so important'.

Page title – length

Keep your webpage titles under 65 characters including spaces. While some input fields may allow longer titles we encourage all staff to aim for between 50 and 60 characters. The ideal is 50 to 60 characters for search engine optimisation (SEO) because Google will shorten a long title in search result listings after that. If you need more context for your title, add it to your metadescription.

Page title – uniqueness

Each page title on the department's website should be unique. Please refrain from naming your page with a title that might already be used. For example, naming your page 'Contact us' will not be very helpful, as we have many pages already named 'Contact us'. A better title might be Contact (name of your web area)'. Never use page titles if they're in the mega menu of the main website.

Publication titles

Convention	Examples
Use title case and italics when referring to titles of long publications such as books, magazines, journals and movies, as well as legislation. This means the first letter of each major word is capitalised.	Australian Journal of Education Education Act 1990 Macquarie Dictionary Style Manual: for authors, editors and printers Sydney Morning Herald Starry Night Gone with the Wind
Use title case but no italics for official department publications and reports. This means the first letter of each major word is capitalised.	Our Plan for NSW Public Education Code of Conduct Annual Report 2020
Use sentence case and no italics for department policies and procedures. This means only the first letter is capitalised. Within a sentence, hyperlink to the page or include the title in inverted commas to differentiate it from sentence text.	Performance management and development policy Distance education enrolment procedures Social media policy implementation procedures For full details, refer to the 'Student behaviour policy'.
Use sentence case for titles of short publications such as articles, videos, fact sheets, quick reference guides, procedure documents and form names. This means only the first letter is capitalised. Proper nouns always retain their initial capitals.	Getting ready for school NSW budget for education 2016–17 Request for formal exemption
Use single quotation marks or inverted commas when using a short publication title within a sentence, where required for clarity.	For more information, refer to the ‘Setting up a customer quick reference guide’. The school assembly will sing 'I Still Call Australia Home'.

Refer also to Capital letters.

Quotation marks

Convention	Examples
Use single quotation marks to set apart titles of short publications, phrases or words within a sentence. Set your final full stop or other punctuation mark outside the quotation mark. Do not use quotation marks for emphasis.	For more information, refer to the ‘Setting up a customer quick reference guide’. ‘People with disability’ is the preferred term. Use ‘vision impaired’ not ‘blind’.
Use single quotation marks to set apart quotes from written publications. Set your final full stop or other punctuation mark outside the quotation mark for partial quotes, but inside the quotation mark for full sentences.	The report recommends turning teacher education ‘upside down’ by implementing ‘programs that are fully grounded in clinical practice and interwoven with academic content and professional courses’. The report notes, ‘Better evidence of the effectiveness of initial teacher education in the Australian context is needed to inform innovative program design and delivery.’
Use double quotation marks for quotes within quotes.	‘Document 10 describes the “disorganised retreat” of a first wave of lightly armed soldiers.’
Use double quotation marks for direct speech.	I was having a kick with them and I said to mum, “These kids have got some talent. They need to be out playing soccer in the community.”

Use a block quote for quotes longer than 30 words.

A report by the Australian Council for Education Research (2014) states:

There is now an urgent challenge to promote high quality teaching in every Australian classroom, to ensure that every teacher is doing what the best teachers already do, and to raise the status of teaching as an advanced, knowledge-based profession. Initial teacher education has a central and crucial role to play in addressing this challenge.

Schools

In general usage, say ‘public school’ as the first preference or ‘government school’ to vary your vocabulary. Do not use ‘state school’.

If you do have to mention private schools, say ‘private school’ or ‘non-government school’.

Note: the private school sector is divided into Catholic and independent schools (lower case). To avoid confusion, stick to ‘private school’ or ‘non-government school’ as there are some Catholic independent schools.

Check the spelling of the school on the School Finder.

Convention	Examples
Use upper case for names of primary schools and refer to them as ‘Public School’.	Bundeena Public School (note: use this style even though the school may be listed as Bundeena Primary School)
Use upper case for names of secondary schools and refer to them as ‘High School’.	South Sydney High School
Use upper case for the full title of a school for specific purposes (SSPs; never ‘special’). Use lower case when referring to SSPs in general. The same rule applies for environmental education centres, distance education centres and other such schools.	Alexandria Park Community School Coffs Harbour Learning Centre Coffs Harbour Senior College Dubbo School of Distance Education Hunter School of Performing Arts John Hunter Hospital School Southern Cross Distance Education Centre The Beach School Westfields Sports High School boarding school
Use upper case when referring to a specific preschool. Use lower case when referring to preschools in general. For those delivered by NSW Department of Education, refer to them as ‘public preschools’ (not ‘department preschools’).	Alma Bugdlie Preschool Arncliffe West Infants School Guliyali Preschool public preschools
Differentiate campuses of the same college with a comma, using lower case for the campus delineation unless it includes a proper noun.	Callaghan College, Jesmond campus (note: lower case campus) Callaghan College, Waratah technology campus Sydney Secondary College, Blackwattle Bay campus
Note: some schools have an additional descriptive word that differentiates them from another school.	Matraville Soldiers Settlement Public School is different from Matraville Public School

Spelling and word choice

The Macquarie Dictionary is our definitive guide. When the dictionary presents two options, use the first. We’ve called out some specific examples here because they tend to cause confusion.

For spelling and casing of computer or technical terms that aren't specified here, refer to the Computer Hope dictionary. Note that some of the terms listed there use American spelling, so correct these to Australian where possible.

A

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples: Use this term, never 'Indigenous', 'First Nations', 'Aborigine' or 'ATSI'.

additional learning needs: not 'special needs'

adviser: not 'advisor'

affect: means to influence or cause a change (Her cold affected her singing.)

a lot: two words

alternate: means to take turns (Day and night alternate.)

alternative: means a different choice (We’ll find you an alternative date for the workshop.)

alumni: use to refer to any school leavers as a gender-neutral term, singular or plural

among: not amongst

ampersand: don't use unless it is part of a name (Killara High School P&C Association)

apostrophes: don’t use in official place names (Coffs Harbour, Kings Cross) or for boys’ and girls’ schools (Canterbury Girls High) or in any NSW public school name (Taverners Hill Public School). But when used in a sentence, examples like ‘boys’ sports’ and ‘girls’ education’ take a possessive apostrophe.

Possessive apostrophes: if you pronounce the ‘s then add an s after the apostrophe. If you don’t, just use the apostrophe (the Smiths’ car, the Joneses’ new house, Chris’s breakfast).

art form: 2 words

artmaking: one word

Australian: use to refer to all cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds. Mention heritage, cultural or other national identity only if it’s necessary. Consult the Style Manual on how to refer to nationalities, peoples and places outside Australia.

B

bring your own device (BYOD): lower case unless using the acronym

bushfire: one word

C

co-curricular: use instead of 'extra-curricular' (Our school offers a range of co-curricular activities.)

commas: do not use the Oxford comma, or final serial comma, unless you need to clarify a complex list. (The shop sells apples, bananas and potatoes. Our directorates include Communication and Engagement, Audit, and Health and Safety.)

complementary: means completing (The complementary strategies will satisfy all stakeholders.)

complimentary: means either flattering or free (The Attorney-General made some complimentary remarks. We’ll be issuing 50 complimentary tickets.)

COVID-19: ensure all references use the full name in uppercase as it's an acronym and there are other coronaviruses in the world.

cyber safety: 2 words (per Macquarie Dictionary)

cyber security: 2 words (departure from Macqurie Dictionary for consistency with NSW – apply also to 'cyber bully' and 'cyber criminal' etc)

D

Darug: the land on which the Parramatta state office stands (not Dharug)

data: use data as a singular noun (This data indicates that NSW Government schools are highly effective.)

day care: two words

decision-making: always hyphenated

degrees: a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, a PhD

discreet: means circumspect or restrained (Be discreet in your treatment of a contentious issue.)

discrete: means distinct or separate (The work is in two discrete parts.)

dos and don'ts: note the apostrophe

E

ebook: no hyphen

Education support staff: formerly known as corporate staff. Always capital E for Education in this case.

either/neither: either takes or, neither takes nor

effect: a verb – to bring about. (He effected a return to profit.) Also used as noun, meaning a result, a consequence (The effect of heat).

e-learning: note the hyphen

Elder: Aboriginal Elder

email: no hyphen

English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D); do not use ESL

enquiry: use inquiry

e-safety: note the hyphen

exclamation marks: don't use them. Exclamation marks aren’t part of government voice. Exclamation marks are only acceptable when used in informal content such as social media. For more details, refer to the Style Manual.

extra-curricular: use 'co-curricular' instead (Our school offers a range of co-curricular activities.)

ezine: no hyphen

F

fewer than: use with nouns that can be counted (fewer than 50 students scored...; refer also to 'less than')

G

GIF: upper case

Gigabytes: GB

go live: verb (When you're ready for your site to go live, follow the process.)

go-live: noun or adjective (Before go-live, make sure you’ve reviewed the content guidelines. As part of the go-live process, the team will conduct a verification scan.)

Great Teaching, Inspired Learning

H

headings and subheadings: use an initial capital and then lower case except for proper nouns

homepage: one word

I

inclusive language: take a 'people first' approach to ensure your language is inclusive.

Indigenous: use Aboriginal as an adjective and noun instead of Indigenous when referring to NSW residents. Indigenous is a common term that you may use to refer to a business entity or business function.

inquiry: means an investigation (The department is conducting an inquiry into the incident.) or question (Thank you for your inquiry.)

internet: lower case

interschool: one word

iPad: follow Apple’s style for similar devices

J

Jannnawi: ‘for me for you’ in the Darug dialect, used for the Jannnawi Mentoring Program (note: 3 'n's is correct)

JPG: upper case (no need to spell out)

L

learning from home: use this term in all instances (this is different from 'distance education' and 'remote learning'; avoid ‘online learning’ as not all students use the internet)

less than: use with mass nouns that are continuous and can't be counted (teachers spend less than half their week...; refer also to 'fewer than')

licence: noun (His driver’s licence was suspended.)

license: verb (The service is licensed for up to 29 children.)

live stream: two words

login (noun or adjective); log in (verb)

M

more than: use instead of 'over' unless you're referring to something happening over time (more than 50 per cent of students; over the past 10 years more than 60 schools...)

O

OK: not 'okay' and definitely not 'ok'.

online: one word

over: use 'more than' unless you're referring to something happening over time (refer also to 'more than')

P

parents and carers: the preferred term for inclusion (not caregivers)

PDF: upper case (no need to spell out)

pedagogy: avoid in external communication – means the function, work or art of a teacher – teaching practice covers this term.

per cent: use the % symbol with a numeral (The survey had a 30% take-up rate. We saw an increase of 5 percentage points.)

percentage: one word

portal: lower case (staff portal, student portal, parent portal)

preschool: one word per Macquarie Dictionary. When referring to a specific preschool, defer to their official spelling.

practice: noun (It will take staff some time to reach best practice. He opened a medical practice.)

practise: verb (I want to practise my tennis serve.)

program: don't use 'programme' unless it's part of an official name.

pronouns: use the pronouns a person specifies to refer to them. If the person hasn't specified a pronoun, use gender-neutral terms, such as 'you' or 'they'.

punctuation: use minimal punctuation in letters and emails (no comma after greetings such as 'Dear colleagues' or 'Kind regards).

S

screen shot: 2 words; don't use 'screen grab'

sound bite: not sound byte

spacing: only one space after a full stop, not two

special needs: use 'additional learning needs' instead

stakeholders: try to use descriptive words when you're talking about one or two different groups of people

standalone: one word

state school: don't use; say public or government school

students from refugee backgrounds: use instead of 'refugee students'

students from (cultural/ethnic) background: e.g. students from Syrian background; use instead of 'Syrian students'

subheading: one word

T

titles: Mr, Mrs, Ms, Miss, Dr (note: many teachers/educators/bureaucrats have PhDs, so refer to them as Dr) For children under 18, use their first name.

towards: use this instead of ‘toward’ as the latter is American spelling

truth-telling: always hyphenated and always lower case within a sentence

U

underway: one word (The project is underway.)

URL: upper case (no need to spell out)

V

videoconference: one word

W

warm up: verb (Make sure you warm up first.)

warm-up: noun or adjective (Let's do vocal warm-ups. This is a warm-up game.)

web

webpage

website

web 2.0

world wide web

whilst: don't use – while is more approachable and, therefore, most appropriate

wi-fi

X

Xmas: don't use – use Christmas

Z

-ze endings: use -se, for example emphasise, realise; but capsize

Stages of learning

Try to avoid using stages of learning. If you know the students are in Year 2, say Year 2 not Stage 1. Year 5 and 6 is also more descriptive than Stage 3.

If you need to refer to the stage because an education program is specific to the (generally) 2 years of learning denoted by the stage, then stage is upper case. Do not abbreviate. For example: A study of history and geography is mandatory in Stages 4 and 5.

Statistics

Convention	Examples
Statistical significance is a specific concept that indicates that a difference between two numbers, or a relationship between two characteristics, has been tested using a statistical technique. Where possible, justify all claims of statistical significance by reporting the relevant p-value in parentheses. Avoid using the word 'significant' unless you are specifically referring to statistical significance.	Brown eyes have a significant effect on student achievement (p=.001). A substantial number of rural and remote schools report having trouble finding teaching staff.
Where possible, report on the size of effects as well as their statistical significance. Report the effect size (d), odds-ratio, or regression coefficient, and/or an intuitive explanation of the results.	The effect size of brown eyes is 0.550. This means that students with brown eyes are predicted to score 20 NAPLAN points above students with blue eyes
When discussing general relationships between variables, justify all claims by reporting either the correlation or the R2 value. Where possible, interpret this for the reader.	The correlation was .5, meaning that 25% of the variation in performance is explained by variation in eye colour.
For primary analysis, include a table of descriptive statistics (including sample size, mean/standard deviation, and sample proportions for the key variables), either where you are discussing the data and method, or in the appendix.	A quasi-experimental study of 2,000 Australian students (Bezzina 2010) found that brown eyes were significantly related to student performance.
In decimals, if the value you are reporting has the potential to exceed 1.0, then use a leading zero. If the value does not have the potential to exceed 1.0 (for example correlations or p-values), then do not report the leading zero.	The effect size of brown eyes is 0.55. The p-value is .01.
Ensure all estimates are reported to the same number of decimal places and are aligned. Generally this means three decimal places, but you may need to report a greater or lesser amount of detail depending on your variables. Only report as much detail as is necessary — make the tables as simple as possible.	Find examples of tables in the next section.
If you are reporting on estimates with standard errors, include confidence intervals in all graphs, and report either the confidence interval or the standard error in all tables (either in a separate column or in parentheses). Avoid discussing confidence intervals or standard errors in the main body. Instead, discuss magnitude and statistical significance of coefficients.	Find examples of tables in the next section.

For literature reviews, mention the characteristics of the study's sample if it may affect the reader's interpretation of the results. These characteristics might include:

• country
• time period
• sample size (particularly if very large or less than 100)
• scholastic year or school type examined
• type of method (for example randomised controlled trial, quasi-experimental design, pre-post comparison).

Statistics in tables

Use the following examples to help you present results and descriptive statistics.

Example of a table showing results

Variable	Coefficient	SE	p
Brown eyes	0.550	0.068	.001
SES	0.414	0.011	<.001
Brown hair	0.012	0.049	.510
R2	.249
n	14,645

Example of a table (alternative) showing results

Variable	Coefficient (SE)
Brown eyes	0.550 (0.068) ***
SES	0.414 (0.011) ***
Brown hair	0.012 (0.049)
R2	.249
n	14,645

Note: *p<.10; **p<.05; ***p<.01

Example of a table showing descriptive statistics

Variable	Categories	n	%
Sector	Government	217	61.47
Sector	Catholic	73	20.68
Sector	Independent	63	17.85
Location	Metropolitan	241	68.27
Location	Not metropolitan	112	31.73

Example of a table showing descriptive statistics

Variable	Categories	Mean	SD
Size	Continuous	923	425
SES	Continuous (standardised)	0	1
Academic achievement	Continuous (standardised)	0	1

Unique cases for news articles in print and online

When writing a press release or blog post, follow this style.

Convention	Examples
Use present tense and active voice for headlines. Keep headlines to no more than 65 characters. Include keywords.	Secretary announces Education Week theme New roles support student learning
Use a full sentence for summary text or lead paragraph. Keep summary text to 150 characters including spaces, so you can use it as the teaser text and metadescription as well. Do not repeat the summary text in the main body of the article.	A new team of 50 Literacy and Numeracy Strategy Advisers will start work in NSW public schools in Term 2.
Use double quotation marks to set apart quotes from direct speech. Use past tense for quotes. Set your final full stop or other punctuation mark outside the quotation mark for partial quotes, but inside the quotation mark for full sentences.	“We want to ensure growing neighbourhoods have the schools that families will need into the future,” Ms Car said. Mr Magriplis noted that the department would “consult with the community about other aspects that will lay foundations for the identity and culture of the school”.
Use the speaker's full name and title on first reference. Use surname and salutation on subsequent references for adults. If unsure whether someone prefers 'Ms', 'Mrs' or other, ask them. Use first name for children under 18 years old.	First reference: Cherrybrook Technology High School maths teacher Eddie Woo Second reference: Mr Woo First reference: Ada Fang from Sydney Girls High School Second reference: Ada
Use this specific wording for members of the Secretary and Ministers. Use the full, formal title for uses outside the department's own channels. Use the slightly less formal title for the department's own website. Use the shorthand for subsequent references when it's clear who you're referring to.	Formal: Secretary of the NSW Department of Education, Murat Dizdar, said… Less formal: Secretary Murat Dizdar Shorthand: the Secretary Formal: Minister for Education and Early Learning, Jo Bloggs Less formal: Education and Early Learning Minister Jo Bloggs Shorthand: the Minister

Refer also to Newletters guidelines.

Unique cases for print only

Refer to the Australian Government Style Manual. Where the department’s style differs or requires further clarification, we’ve noted it here. For all other cases, print follows the same conventions set out above.

Italics

Only use italics for the full name of an Act (the Education Act 1990). Do not italicise shortened versions, acronyms or regulations.

Use italics to set apart long publication titles, and inverted commas to set apart short publication titles.

Hyperlinks

Where URLs appear in text, style them as normal text. Shorten as much as possible, excluding the http:// or www. unless the link won’t work without them. Use a bit.ly link or similar shortener if you need to shorten a particularly long link.

If a hyperlink appears as part of a full sentence, include the ending punctuation after it, but make sure the punctuation isn't in hyperlink style.

For a thorough understanding of the way we work, visit education.nsw.gov.au/about-us.

Numbers

Use words for zero and one. Use numerals for 2 and above. Do not start a sentence with a numeral.

Use numerals for a related series of numbers, regardless of the size of those numbers.

The collection includes 47 paintings by 16 artists, 7 of whom were born in Australia, 1 in Kenya and 8 in China.

Use the % symbol for all percentages including in charts and tables. However, spell out 'percentage point' if that's what you're referring to.

Avoid ending a sentence with a numeral if your publication uses footnotes.

Refer to the Style Manual's Choosing numerals or words for more examples.

Vanity URLs

Vanity URLs is the name for a shortened URL or friendly URL.

Where there is a strong argument for doing so, long URLs can be shortened.

The vanity URL simply redirects to the actual (persistent) URL. The original URL is still the place where the page actually lives.

Where a URL is going to appear in printed materials (i.e. fact sheets, brochures, literature, etc.) a vanity URL might look better in print and may be easier to remember.

Always use lower case only, with hyphens between words.

Example:

Original (persistent) URL – https://education.nsw.gov.au/about-us/strategies-and-reports/annual-reports

Shortened (vanity) URL – education.nsw.gov.au/annual-reports

Change log

• 21 November 2024 – updated Spelling section to confirm that we are departing from Macquarie Dictionary to make cyber security 2 words for consistency with NSW and other agencies. Apply wherever a 'cyber' term is used.
• 21 November 2024 – updated Capital letters section to include advice to use UpperCamelCase (where the first letter of each word has a capital) in run-on text such as email addresses and hashtags
• 21 November 2024 – updated Abbreviations and acronyms section to include DELs, NSBTS and SASS in the list of those OK on first reference, if your audience knows it.
• 21 November 2024 – updated Abbreviations and acronyms section to include school-based apprenticeships and traineeships (SBATs) in the list of those to spell out on first reference.
• 21 August 2024 – updated Abbreviations and acronyms section to specify list SBAR as an acronym that's OK on first reference, if your audience knows it.
• 27 June 2024 – updated Abbreviations and acronyms section to specify LGBTQIA+ as the department's preferred spelling, which never needs to be spelled out; updated Capital letters section to add some more examples to clarify that 'directorate' should be lower case unless part of an official title
• 20 June 2024 – updated Spelling section to specify to use 'alumni' as a gender-neutral reference to school leavers, whether singular or plural
• 31 May 2024 – updated Capital letters section to add Greater Sydney as an official region that should get capitals
• 3 April 2024 – (now defunct) updated Spelling section to confirm that Macquarie Dictionary lists 'cyber safety' as 2 words, although 'cybersecurity', 'cyberbully' and 'cybercriminal' are each one word
• 12 March 2024 – updated Spelling section to note that 3 'n's is correct in 'Jannnawai'
• 28 February 2024 – updated Spelling section since Macquarie Dictionary has changed its advice and 'underway' is now accepted as one word
• 23 February 2024 – updated Capital letters section to specify that the new Public Schools division should be listed with capitals, but generally 'NSW public schools' should be lower case
• 5 February 2024 – updated Spelling section to confirm 'decision-making' and 'truth-telling' are always hyphenated
• 31 January 2024 – updated Publication titles section to indicate sentence case for policy and procedure titles
• 31 January 2024 –updated Schools section to confirm 'public preschools' is the preferred term; updated Spelling and word choice to confirm 'preschool' is always one word