GovCMS websites built for complex content, accessibility and long-term ownership.
We design, build and support GovCMS websites for Australian government teams managing complex content, accessibility requirements and connected systems. We can assess an existing site, plan a migration, deliver the Drupal build and remain involved after launch.
An accessible health website with reworked information architecture, rewritten content, and clearer pathways for regional health professionals.
A WordPress refresh that clarified content, improved accessibility, and modernised the platform for long-term use.
A strategy and service-discovery website helping community providers connect Pasifika and Māori people with relevant health and wellbeing support.
A digital wellbeing measurement and reporting platform that helps Australian primary schools turn student responses into useful insights for educators.
Want something like this for your organisation?
Tell us what you are trying to achieve. We will clarify the requirements and recommend a sensible next step before defining scope, timing, and cost.
Strategic advisory and site assessment
We review the existing site across content, information architecture, accessibility, performance, integrations and technical debt, then provide a costed recommendation. The assessment can be commissioned as a fixed piece of work before a larger project is approved.
User experience, design and theming
Audience research, navigation and page design applied as a GovCMS theme, working with the design system your entity already follows. Editors get page-building components they can use without needing a developer for every layout.
Drupal development on SaaS and PaaS
Configuration and site building inside the constraints of the SaaS distribution, or custom modules, a wider module set and a full deployment pipeline on PaaS. We determine which model the requirements need before the work is scoped.
Content migration off legacy systems
We inventory the existing content, agree what should be migrated and how it will be structured, then run repeatable scripted migrations. Redirects and migration checks are included so the result can be reviewed before launch.
Integrations and automation
Connecting the site to the systems behind it: forms and case management, CRM, event registrations, data feeds, publication repositories and notification services. We design the failure handling, retries and reconciliation before the connection is built.
Accessibility audits and remediation
WCAG 2.2 Level AA testing across the main user journeys, combining automated checks with manual keyboard, screen reader and responsive testing. Findings include remediation work and evidence within an agreed audit scope.
Search, analytics and content discovery
We design taxonomy, faceted search, filtered listings and related-content pathways around the questions people bring to the site. Search analytics show which queries succeed, which fail and where content is difficult to find.
Training, documentation and support
Author training based on the content your team publishes, written documentation that remains useful after staff changes, and support from the people who built the site.
The GovCMS distribution can run on independently arranged hosting. Entities using the GovCMS hosting service choose SaaS or PaaS, which divide the Drupal maintenance and security responsibilities differently.
Open-source distribution
Your entity or provider is responsible for infrastructure, security, Drupal updates, backups and support.
GovCMS SaaS
GovCMS provides infrastructure, backups, web protection, Drupal security updates and application maintenance. Your entity manages its content, users and theme within the SaaS restrictions.
GovCMS PaaS
GovCMS provides infrastructure and backups. Your entity manages the Drupal application, security updates, modules and themes. Web protection and additional support are optional.
We check the required modules and integrations, the SaaS restrictions, security obligations and who will patch and upgrade Drupal after launch. That determines whether independent hosting, SaaS or PaaS is workable for the project.
The coverage differs between SaaS and PaaS. In both cases, the entity remains responsible for its content, users, data collection, integrations and legal obligations.
The Australian Human Rights Commission recommends WCAG 2.2 Level AA as a minimum. Conformance depends on both the templates and the published content, so testing and content governance continue after launch.
Forms, analytics, third party scripts and integrations can collect or transmit personal information. Your entity decides what is captured, where it goes and how long it is kept under the Australian Privacy Principles.
SaaS includes Drupal application security updates. PaaS covers the infrastructure layer, while the entity manages application patching, modules and themes. User access and connected-system credentials remain the entity’s responsibility on both plans.
Published material carries recordkeeping, currency and review obligations. A useful content model makes ownership and review dates visible to the editors responsible for them.
“Digital Bird is my first pick for delivering web projects on time, on budget and to the brief — every time. Beyond being a delight to work with, Jonathan Bird is that rare breed of developer who is both masterful on the tools (an absolute Laravel whizz!) while also being adept at engaging the client in UX-thinking, to which he applies expert insights, gained through years of experience, to help further improve the end design for the target user’s experience. This powerful combination of skills means that 4 years on and a variety of projects later (from search directories to corporate website developments), Digital Bird firmly remains my first pick for developer.”
Clarify the audience, business problem, constraints, content, and measures of success.
Explain the viable options and trade-offs, then recommend the simplest sound approach.
Agree priorities, responsibilities, scope, timing, and the decisions your stakeholders need to make.
Work in visible increments while strategy, user experience, content, and engineering remain connected.
Test the important journeys, performance, accessibility, content, integrations, and operational readiness.
Monitor the live system, resolve issues, and continue improving it as requirements change.
Free strategy session or RFQ
Tell us the entity, the current platform, whether you are on SaaS or PaaS, and what is not working. We will review it before the session and come prepared with questions and initial recommendations.
Already have a brief or RFQ?
Attach it above. We will flag complexity, risks or assumptions worth resolving before the project begins. Initial project discussions are treated as confidential.
Book a free strategy session to work through the platform model, accessibility obligations, migration scope, integrations and the practical next step with our senior team.
Planning a website or platform project? Planning a project?
