Case Study: Australian Government achieves whole-of-government digital transformation with Acquia's govCMS

One system, transformative change a smart CMS

govCMS is the Australian Government’s whole-of-government content management and hosting platform, developed in partnership with Acquia to replace fragmented, proprietary website systems. Agencies faced high licensing and infrastructure costs, slow procurement and support processes, and limited ability to share code or collaborate on digital services.

The government adopted an open-source Drupal platform, moved sites to the public cloud, ran an open RFP and partnered with Acquia and local SMEs to deliver agile support and reusable modules. The result was simplified infrastructure and lower costs, faster deployments and problem resolution, stronger cross-agency collaboration (e.g., a reusable “Have Your Say” module) and rapid uptake — 51 govCMS sites live by January 2016 — enabling more flexible, cost‑effective public services.

Australian Government

John Sheridan

Chief Technology Officer