Overview

In collaboration with Canberra-based RegTech firm Regsoft and a network of government, industry, and research stakeholders, GS1 Australia has contributed to a groundbreaking Rules as Code (RaC) pilot project. The initiative explored how Australian agricultural regulations can be digitised into machine-readable logic and linked with international data standards to support traceability, compliance, and trade.

The pilot demonstrated how digitised rules can improve productivity, simplify regulatory processes, reduce risks, and provide benefits across the economy, from on-farm activity to cross-border trade. The project was supported by DAFF under its RegTech and Traceability funding programs.

Key Finding - for better and simpler regulation and reduced red tape for industry
"Approximately 70–90% of the rules reviewed could be directly coded using a combination of standards-based data capture and RaC logic."

This suggests a significant opportunity for regulators to digitise compliance obligations using existing product and location identifiers (e.g. barcodes, QR codes, GLNs), enabling automation and reducing the burden of interpretation and manual reporting.

Objectives

• Enable machine-readable regulation to improve compliance and reduce error

• Link regulatory logic with GS1 global traceability standards

• Enhance auditability and data interoperability across jurisdictions

• Support farmers and supply chain participants in meeting domestic and export requirements

• Explore practical use cases in Dairy industry to support sustainability claims, and land-based compliance (e.g. EU Deforestation)

Approach / Implementation

• Developed a low-code prototype rules to on-farm actions and declarations

• Incorporated GS1 identifiers for products, batches, parties (GLN), and events into a test framework

• Supported by detailed cost-benefit and productivity analysis

• Conducted stakeholder consultations, including state/territory regulators and industry groups

• Evaluated sustainability claim verification against global best practice

Lessons Learned / Insights

• Digitising rules creates opportunities for cross-agency collaboration and regulatory efficiency

• Global supply chain data standards (e.g. GS1) are essential for automated compliance and auditing

• Small producers and solution providers benefit when rules are standardised, open, and digitally accessible

• Traceability is most effective when linked to existing identifiers and open registries used globally

Next Steps / Future Plans

• Explore broader adoption of RaC in areas such as sustainability claims, biosecurity, and market access declarations

• Support DAFF and state agencies in aligning regulations with GS1-based traceability methods

• Expand stakeholder education on machine-readable regulation and semantic standards

• Investigate regulatory alignment with international initiatives (e.g., WTO, UNECE, EU)

Refer to related work in progress:
🔗 W3C Verifiable Credentials for Sustainability
🔗 GS1 Global Traceability Standard
🔗 UNCEFACT Recommendation 49 – Transparency at Scale

Partners / Stakeholders

• Australian Government – Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Industry – AgTech and solution providers, NGTAG working groups, growers, exporters

• Standards Bodies – GS1 Australia and Global, UNCEFACT, W3C

• Research and Analysis – Regsoft