Overview
Department of Social Services’ challenge
The Department of Social Services (DSS) needed to migrate its Family Relationships Online website from Drupal 7 before its End-of-Life date. The site contained essential information about family relationship services and support, making it crucial to ensure a smooth transition without disrupting public access to these resources.
Department of Social Services’ transformation
Salsa carried out a focused technical migration of the website to GovCMS SaaS, maintaining the existing design and content while modernising the underlying platform. This migration provided DSS with a secure, government-approved hosting solution with built-in security updates and ongoing maintenance.
The outcomes
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A successful migration to a supported, secure platform before Drupal 7’s End-of-Life
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Reduced maintenance overhead through GovCMS SaaS’s managed security updates and patches
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A future-proof website with ongoing platform support and standardised government hosting
“Salsa managed the transition of the site into GovCMS SaaS in a very smooth and confident way. Their process gave us confidence that everything had been successfully migrated.”
Detailed case study
Below is detailed information on the challenge, transformation and final outcomes/benefits.
Department of Social Services’ challenge — Drupal 7 website approaching end-of-life
The Family Relationships Online website, managed by the Department of Social Services, was running on Drupal 7 that was approaching end of life. This presented a critical technical challenge, as websites running on unsupported versions of Drupal face increased security risks and potential maintenance issues.
With thousands of Australians relying on the website for vital information about family relationship services, parenting arrangements and family dispute resolution, DSS needed to ensure uninterrupted access to these resources. The challenge was to complete this technical upgrade with minimal disruption to the website’s users and content editors while preserving all existing content and functionality.
Department of Social Services’ transformation — migration to GovCMS SaaS
Salsa executed a focused technical migration of the Family Relationships Online website to GovCMS SaaS, the Australian Government’s secure web hosting and content management service. This platform choice provided DSS with a fully managed solution where security updates, patches and infrastructure maintenance are all handled by the GovCMS team.
The migration was completed with careful attention to maintaining all existing content and functionality. By choosing GovCMS SaaS, DSS gained access to a standardised government platform that reduces the technical overhead of website management while ensuring adherence to government security standards.
The outcomes — an updated, secure family relationships website
The migration to GovCMS SaaS ensured that the Family Relationships Online website continues to provide reliable access to vital information while meeting modern security standards. The website now benefits from GovCMS’s managed security updates and infrastructure maintenance, reducing the technical overhead for DSS.
With standardised hosting, automated security patches, and continuous platform support, the website is well-positioned to serve Australian families seeking information about relationship services well into the future. The successful migration before Drupal 7’s End-of-Life deadline means DSS can focus on delivering content rather than managing technical infrastructure.
About Department of Social Services
Family Relationships Online is the Australian Government’s primary website for information about family relationship issues and services. The website helps Australians find support and information about managing relationship difficulties, separation, parenting arrangements and family dispute resolution.
The Department of Social Services works to improve the economic and social wellbeing of individuals, families and vulnerable members of Australian communities. DSS partners with government and non-government organisations to develop and deliver evidence-based policies, programs and support services. The department’s key focus areas include social security, families and communities, disability and carers, and housing support.