Apply Evidence: Learn to create accessible written information. More than Easy Read: learn Easy English to support understanding and participation across diverse audiences.

Apply evidence: Learn to create accessible written communication.

More than Easy Read: Learn Easy English to support understanding and participation for diverse audiences.

Register for our highly interactive, evidence-informed Easy English course.

Develop a practical understanding of Easy English and learn how to create information that more people can read, understand and use. Explore current research, Australian and international practice, adult literacy data, and the evidence for different accessible information approaches, including Easy Read.

Throughout the course, you will begin developing your own Easy English document with support from Access Easy English staff. You will learn and practise all five steps of the Easy English writing process, including planning content, language choices, layout and design, and selecting effective image supports.

This small-group course is highly practical, with multiple opportunities to apply your learning through activities, discussion and work on your own document. Participants also explore website content, social media, and strategies for implementing Easy English within their organisation.

When:    Saturday 20 February 2027 and Saturday 27 February 2027

Where:   Online

Time:      9:00 am – 5:00 pm Melbourne time (AEDT Australian Eastern Daylight Time)

Cost:       $1,000 + gst

Learning objectives

Participants will:

• Receive a comprehensive participant pack to support learning and future practice

• Understand the legislative and policy context for Easy English

• Explore adult literacy in Australia and internationally and consider implications for organisational engagement. (You are from outside Australia. We will sharethe data from where you live and work)

• Identify who benefits from Easy English and why

• Examine current Australian and international Easy English resources

• Understand the limitations and evidence base relating to Easy Read

• Learn to identify the differences between Easy English and Easy Read

• Practise each of the five steps used to develop effective Easy English materials

• Begin writing their own Easy English document

• Learn how to select and develop appropriate image supports

• Explore meaningful consumer testing and co-design approaches

• Review the application of Easy English in websites and social media

• Receive references and resources for ongoing learning and research

Who should attend?

Anyone who writes information for the public, including:

• Communications and marketing staff

• Disability support workers

• Therapists and health professionals

• Disability advocates

• Teachers and educators

• Researchers and ethics teams

• Local government staff

• Government department staff

• NDIS and My Aged Care staff

• Access and inclusion team members

• Health promotion staff

• Policy and project staff

• Report writers and planners

The course is also suitable for anyone who writes information for colleagues and staff, including:

• Workplace procedures and work instructions

• Safety information

• Leave and HR information

• Job descriptions

• Employment conditions and entitlements

• Internal reports and organisational communications

Before your course

We will send you a hard-copy participant pack, including our Easy English writing checklist and course materials.

Approximately 10 days before the course, you will receive two short video presentations to watch in preparation for training.

To maximise the practical benefits of the course, bring along a document, brochure, flyer or other written material. You will begin converting it into Easy English during the training.

After your course

Your learning supports continue after the course. You receive:

• Up to one hour of editorial review of a draft Easy English document by an Access Easy English writer

• Access to our closed Easy English writers' network via Facebook and/or LinkedIn

• Opportunities to attend ongoing one-hour skills development webinars

• Practical support to continue refining Easy English documents

• Access to bespoke coaching and editorial services from our team

Small group learning

Places are strictly limited to 12 participants to maximise interaction, discussion and personalised feedback.

Bring a real document from your workplace and leave with practical skills, expert feedback and the foundations of your own Easy English resource.

Not sure if this is right for you?

Examples of our projects at https://accesseasyenglish.com

or

Call Cathy Basterfield 0466 579 855 or email cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au 

We also offer this course for your team. Personalised to your staff and organisation needs. It can be the same number of days, or increase the days (shorter hours per day) or include more hours for a longer course. Face to face or via zoom.

How to register 

Pay with a Credit Card using the Humantix 'Get tickets' tab.

or
Request an invoice for Accounts Payable. Email cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au .

Your trainer: Cathy is a trained speech pathologist, with nearly 40 years’ experience working with people with multiple and complex communication needs.

She is recognised as a pioneer in the development of Easy English in Australia and internationally, being the first practitioner in this specialist field more than 20 years ago. This includes the development of quality standards and benchmarks for Easy English and writing the first and all subsequent guidelines for writing Easy English.  This is still the basis of quality Easy English. You will receive the most up to date guidelines as a checklist which expands on the original work.

Cathy has a national and international reputation in the development of Easy English and is acknowledged by her peers as a highly skilled and experienced practitioner in the field of Easy English.

Cathy was awarded a Victorian Government Ethel Temby scholarship for an investigative study into international trends and accreditation for Easy English writing and publications in 2011.

Cathy is a published author and is a regular invited keynote international speaker on this subject matter.

In 2023 Cathy presented papers in Australia, Austria, Portugal, Italy and New Zealand. 

In January 2024 she presented in South Korea, and later in the US.

In November 2025, Cathy was an invited speaker for the inaugural Latin-America Easy Language conference in Brazil.

In 2026, she will present in New Zealand.

This course has been completed in Canada, and with people from the US, Cambodia and South Korea. In 2025 we ran this course in Singapore and Malaysia.

Cathy and her team are recognised for their Easy English work with multiple national and international awards:

• Australian Enablement Award 2026, 2022 - Most Outstanding Communicator in the NDIS Sector in Australia

• International Zero Project Shortlist for 2023

• International Global Award 2022 – Most Outstanding Communicator for people with Disability in the World

• APAC Insider Small Business Award 2022 for our Easy English training

• Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI ) – COVIDSafe Business Community Award Finalist 2022. For our pro bono COVID19 content development.

See more at www.accesseasyenglish.com.au  

Cathy is a member of

• Speech Pathology Australia. Certified Practicing Speech Pathologist

• AGOSCI

• ASID

• IASSIDD

• PLAIN

• Easy Language International Network

• Key Word Sign Australia - Victoria.