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Easy Read: making legal information easier to understand

  • Writer: Embrace Access
    Embrace Access
  • Mar 27, 2025
  • 2 min read

Updated: Feb 5

Going to court can be stressful. For people living with communication disability, this stress is multiplied.


Easy Read can help to ease some of this stress💡Easy Read means complex jargon gets explained to those who need it most. Processes like going to court become clearer, and readers can feel more in control.


Communication support needs are more common for juvenile offenders, compared to non-offending peers.


There is significant research indicating a connection between low English literacy

or language disorders and offending in Australia.


Chow et al. (2022) found that youth offenders have significantly lower language skills than their non-offending peers, with 50% showing moderate and 10% severe language impairments. These deficits highlight the need for targeted language interventions in the justice system. ​


You can view the systematic review of research on the communication needs of young offenders here:


How can Easy Read help?


🏆 This month, Legal Aid ACT teamed up with Embrace Access to create Easy Read documents helping people with low English literacy to:

  • understand legal jargon (think 'Magistrate', 'hearing', 'summons')

  • find and use free legal aid services

  • get a free lawyer

  • bring the right documents to court

  • wear the right clothing to court

  • follow court room etiquette (when to bow to the judge)

  • understand plea types (adjourn, guilty, not guilty)

  • make the right plea.


Here's a page from our book 'Going to Court' explaining what to wear when you go to court, using simple words and accessible images.👩‍⚖️


[Alt text: The heading says 'What to wear'. Wear neat clothes to court. For example, clothes you would wear to a job interview. Image to left of this sentence shows a woman standing in a confident way, with arms crossed. Neat clothes include a clean top and pants. Image on left shows a white shirt and brown trousers. Neat clothes include closed toe shoes. Image on left shows a brown leather dress show with laces. Do not wear tracksuits. Image on left shows a hoodie with a strike through. Do not wear thongs. Image on left shows a pair of thongs with a strike through.]


Our Director reflects


Embrace Access Director, Ruby reflects on the importance of this project: "As a speech pathologist who supports adults with communication disability, I know how helpful it is for information to be written down. Verbal instruction isn't enough for most of us when we do something new and potentially intimidating, like going to court and presenting in front of a magistrate. For people with cognitive-communication support needs, writing down simple instructions in advance covering topics like, "What should you wear to court?", or "Who can you bring to court?", simply ensures people with disability are supported and feel more in control."



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