DIGITISING THE RULES OF GOVERNMENT TO MAKE COMPLIANCE EASY

In an Australian first, the NSW Government has translated the complex rules of a NSW regulation into an open-source, digital rules engine to make compliance easy for customers.

Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said the new rules-as-code platform has launched with the creation of a digital version of the Community Gaming Regulation 2020, which identifies the conditions for running community games by charities, not-for-profits and businesses.

"The world has changed since the days when laws were written on vellum. So too has the way these laws are communicated to and consumed by those who are subject to them," Mr Dominello said.

"Rules-as-code is a game changer for smart regulation. Bringing our statute book into the 21st Century through this technology, helps to reduce errors, eliminate paper, save money and ultimately give precious time back to customers and industry."

The new rules-as-code platform allows industry and other government bodies to incorporate the digital rules directly into their own IT systems, making compliance easy and allowing future rule changes to automatically take effect.

It also enables new online services to be created that make it easier for customers to understand the law and meet their legal obligations.

The first product is a smart questionnaire on the NSW Fair Trading website, which allows customers to check if their planned gaming activity can be conducted. 

"The questionnaire makes it easy for charities, not-for-profits and businesses to navigate the regulation for conducting various types of community games, such as art unions, bingo and trade promotions," Mr Dominello said.

"It tells them whether their gaming activity would be permitted or not permitted, and whether they need to apply for an authority to conduct a gaming activity."

From today, agencies across government will be able to work with the Department of Customer Service to bring their regulations to the government's rules-as-code platform.