Australian Government Urged to Revive Design Systems for AI-Ready Digital Services

Staff Reporter

Writing for The Mandarin, Zoë Rose critiques the Australian government’s digital infrastructure and its preparedness for AI. She uses LEGO as a metaphor to explain how design systems provide standardized components that AI can use effectively. Despite previous investment, departments continue building custom websites, repeating work that a central system could handle more efficiently.

The Australian Government Design System (AuDS) was once that solution but fell into disuse after 2021. In its place, CivicTheme has emerged as a strong alternative. Developed by Salsa Digital, CivicTheme is open source, integrates with Drupal-based GovCMS, and supports “Rules as Code.” It also includes metadata to improve AI performance. Salsa has contributed nearly 13,000 unpaid hours to the project, a commendable effort that should not replace government responsibility.

Published in The Mandarin, which covers public sector issues in Australia, this article is a clear call for action. Rose argues that the tools for digital transformation already exist. What is needed now is government leadership to use them.

Source Reference

Title

AI web services in government? You’ll need a design system for that

Byline

Zoë Rose

Date of Publication

12 June 2025

Australian Government

Salsa Digital

Disclosure: This content is produced with the assistance of AI.

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