GovCMS Makes Rules as Code Available in Production

Rules as Code is now available as a production capability on GovCMS, allowing government agencies using the platform to connect digital services with machine-executable policy logic. GovCMS announced the production release on 27 August 2026. The platform describes it as Australia's first enterprise-grade whole-of-government implementation of Rules as Code.

GovCMS defines Rules as Code as a method for translating government rules, including legislation, regulations and policy, into computational logic that digital services can use. The first production implementation is the GovCMS Eligibility Checker, which determines whether an agency can onboard to the platform. GovCMS presents the checker as a reference implementation for other policy-driven services and decision-making processes.

GovCMS, which is built on Drupal open-source software, says it has added enabling modules that allow existing sites to connect with OpenFisca, an open-source rules engine. Rules can be updated and version-controlled independently of the front-end interface when legislation or policy changes. GovCMS has also open-sourced the eligibility rules, allowing developers to inspect and reuse the rule set.

The production release follows an 18-month GovCMS Rules as Code discovery programme involving 13 agencies and 16 prototypes between 2024 and 2025. The documented process included writing rules in plain English, mapping them into user journeys, converting them into structured questions and pseudocode, building the rules in OpenFisca, and building and testing a Rules as Code interface in Drupal. GovCMS is inviting agencies to explore further policy-driven uses through the production announcement and the GovCMS Rules as Code page.