Policy As Code

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Business Brief

Rules as Code is an approach to create and publish regulations, legislation and policies as machine and human readable.

The approach involves creating rules in government that are better suited for digital service delivery, creating software tools to write the rules into code, and then using that code as a basis for service delivery and decision making.

Coded rules can automate certain decision-making in government. They are particularly well-suited to yes/no and if-this-then-that decisions, such as eligibility for benefits or obligations to pay tax.

Making rules machine readable helps both civil servants and citizens clearly understand their intent, and execute them.

Why It Matters

Rules developed in the government are complex and often ambiguous. When rules require amendments, it becomes a challenge to make changes without introducing unintended consequences.

When software developers and system administrators implement IT systems based on these rules, the complexity and ambiguity can often lead to a confusing user experience and worse, broken processes.

Sources

Four things you should know about Rules as Code | GovInsider

Emerging Technology Guide: Rules as Code | Digital.NSW

Why Policy as Code? (hashicorp.com)