Sector(s)

Project Team

Con Fountas — Program Manager

Steve Worley — Solution Architect

Amey Mudras — Drupal Developer

Joshua Fernandes — OpenFisca Developer

Kate Swayne — Project Manager & QA

Phillipa Martin — Program Engagement Manager, Business Analyst & Content Specialist

Suchi Garg — Drupal Lead

Mark Calvert — OpenFisca Lead

Awang Setyawan — OpenFisca Developer

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Organizations Involved

Community contributions

As part of the GovCMS RaC sandpit program, in 2024 the Webform OpenFisca 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.

Salsa Digital and GovCMS worked together on the Rules as Code Sandpit Program to give Australian Government departments the chance to experiment with Rules as Code. We built 16 proofs of concept, developed three training courses and five informational videos. Use cases covered eligibility, compliance, classification and policy modelling. The GovCMS Rules as Code pilot program established the Australian Government as a global innovator in this space.

About the project

GovCMS’ challenge

GovCMS 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

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. All PoCs used CivicTheme 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 Digital’s Rules as Code solution is the Webform OpenFisca module, which integrates OpenFisca (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 BenefitMe), 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 broader sandpit use and was updated again in 2025/2026 to uplift further 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 YouTube
  • Created and delivered three RaC courses — rules mapping, OpenFisca, and the Webform OpenFisca module

The outcomes

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 in mid 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.

Why Drupal was chosen

Drupal was chosen as the preferred CMS for Australia’s Federal Government through the creation of the GovCMS platform, which was launched in 2015. GovCMS is designed to make it easier for government agencies to create modern, affordable, responsive websites. Importantly, GovCMS provides a whole-of-government platform to help consolidation across government departments. The fact that Drupal is open source means there are no expensive lock-in contracts, and GovCMS can build a Drupal/GovCMS community. 

For the sandpits, the Drupal component was hosted on Salsa Hosting (not GovCMS), however as a series of proofs of concept they all needed to use the same technology as the GovCMS platform. 

Homepage image from one of the GovCMS sandpit Rules as Code proofs of concept

Technical Specifications

Drupal version:

Key modules/theme/distribution used:

Why these modules/theme/distribution were chosen
  • Webform OpenFisca: For easy integration from OpenFisca API to Drupal via a webform and integrated API handler.
  • Token Filter: Provides a simple WYSIWYG integration, allowing content editors to use Drupal Tokens directly in their WYSIWYG content. This helps with customised content and the explainability aspect of RaC. 
  • Taxonomy Import: Allows the inclusion of CSV lookups (if needed) as a standard offering without the need for custom development.
  • Condition Query module: Used to control the visibility of blocks, based on the response from OpenFisca. This allows custom content to be displayed to users based on their inputs, which helps deliver on the important explainability aspect of RaC. Note: Version 1.1.3 of the WebformOpenFisca module removes this dependency.