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At a glance
Overview
GovCMS’ challenge
saw the transformative power of Rules as Code and wanted to give Australian Government departments the chance to experiment and test different use cases.
GovCMS’ transformation
GovCMS commissioned Salsa Digital to run a Rules as Code sandpit program, allowing government agencies to experiment with Rules as Code through a customised proof of concept (PoC). Sandpits were delivered for a range of departments and use cases, from eligibility and calculations to classification.
The outcomes
- 16 Rules as Code sandpits across a range of Federal Government departments
- Three Rules as Code training programs (covering rules mapping, OpenFisca and the Webform OpenFisca )
- Australian public sector upskilling in Rules as Code
Watch short video demos of two PoCs...
Detailed case study
GovCMS’ challenge — showing government the power of Rules as Code
Legislation and rules can be extremely difficult to understand and interpret. They often use complex legalese language and include multiple references to other legislation/policy. This means users may need to read many pieces of legislation/documents to understand one ‘rule’. By coding the law/rules, you can transform legislation and rules into simple-to-use digital experiences.
was keen to bring Rules as Code into the GovCMS platform, first through a sandpit program from 2024 to 2025, and then later through a production process (2025-2026).
The main goals of the GovCMS Rules as Code sandpit program were:
- To test the and framework for Rules as Code on the GovCMS platform
- To give GovCMS customers an opportunity to experiment with RaC for free
- To produce PoCs that covered diverse use cases
- To upskill the Australian Public Sector (APS) on RaC
- To refine the process and technology, ready to move into a production offering on the GovCMS platform
GovCMS’ transformation — bringing Rules as Code to government
The GovCMS RaC program allowed GovCMS customers to experiment with codifying rules via a small proof of concept per agency, sponsored by GovCMS . From January 2024 to 30 September 2025, we produced 16 Rules as Code PoCs for GovCMS clients.
About the uses cases
The GovCMS RaC sandpit program engaged diverse PoC customers, from large federal agencies with eligibility and compliance use cases to more specialised use cases. While most of these government clients cannot be named due to internal communications requirements, below are the high level use cases:
- Eligibility with and without calculations for a broad range of use cases
- Regulatory compliance, covering both IF compliance regulations apply and also if the person/company complies with the rules
- Classification, stepping users through a series of questions to see which classification applies to them
- Policy modelling — please see our dedicated case study GovCMS — Rules as Code for modelling alcohol excise changes
These PoCs were all built with shields and as temporary sites. However, you can view two of the individual case studies, including short recorded demos.
The sandpits were highly successful, with agencies keen to explore RaC more, or move to production. Many of the government agencies also took part in tech walkthroughs and showcases for senior executives.
About the process
The GovCMS RaC sandpits followed a standardised structure and sprints. The work was broken into the following stages:
- Discovery (rules analysis and logic mapping)
- OpenFisca build
- Drupal build
- QA
- Showcase and user acceptance testing (UAT)
- Support
All PoCs used and Launchpad to spin up PoC websites in less than 10 minutes, ready for site builders to create the customised RaC elements (webforms and results pages).
The Webform OpenFisca module
An integral part of Salsa’s Rules as Code solution is the Webform OpenFisca , which integrates (open source rules engine) with Drupal. We created this module in July 2022 for an initial Rules as Code proof of concept for GovCMS. The module was then reused and refined in November 2022 for the BenefitMe project (watch demo of ), which looks at social security benefits in New Zealand.
As part of the GovCMS RaC sandpit program, in 2024 the module went through a complete overhaul to get it ready for production and was updated again in 2025/2026 to get it ready for production rollout.
Training stream
The RaC sandpit program also included a training stream. As part of this stream we:
- Produced 5 instructional videos on Rules as Code — see our Rules as Code playlist on
- Created and delivered three RaC courses — rules mapping, OpenFisca, and the Webform OpenFisca module
The outcomes — delivering 16 proofs of concept
The program successfully tested the Rules as Code concept in the APS across many different use cases.
At a high level, the RaC sandpit program delivered:
- 16 Rules as Code sandpits across a range of Federal Government departments
- Successful use cases covering:
- Eligibility
- Eligibility with calculations
- Compliance
- Policy modelling
- API-only use case for integration with third-party software products
- Three Rules as Code training programs (rules mapping, OpenFisca, and the Webform OpenFisca module)
- Five instructional RaC videos
- APS upskilling in Rules as Code, with PoCs run as knowledge-sharing exercises
- A successful pathway to a production rollout to bring RaC to an even broader audience
Importantly, GovCMS’ Rules as Code pilot program established the Australian Government as a global innovator in this space. With a production rollout planned for 2026, the GovCMS RaC sandpit program has set the stage for widespread RaC adoption in Australia, demonstrating the power of digital transformation to deliver real benefits to citizens and governments alike.
About GovCMS
The Department of owns the GovCMS , a whole-of-government digital platform for use across all levels of government in Australia. GovCMS is built on Drupal, an award-winning, enterprise-grade CMS that’s easy to use, stable, highly secure and open source (no license fees).
The Rules as Code initiative is part of GovCMS’ commitment to creating innovative digital experiences on its platform.