GovCMS
GovCMS is a Drupal-based content management system and web hosting service for Australian government organisations at Commonwealth and State level.
What GovCMS is
GovCMS is a Drupal-based content management system and web hosting service for Australian government organisations at Commonwealth and State level. Agencies can choose SaaS or PaaS. Under SaaS, GovCMS handles security, Drupal updates, application and infrastructure maintenance, and hosting. Under PaaS, agencies retain responsibility for the Drupal application layer and its security, while GovCMS maintains platform infrastructure. GovCMS states that its service has 99.95% uptime and is certified to host website information classified up to OFFICIAL: Sensitive; its platform has completed an IRAP assessment aligned with the 2019 Australian Government Information Security Manual at that level. Hosting is in Australian data centres. SaaS includes Akamai web protection, with a web application firewall, DDoS mitigation, a content delivery network, and bot management; PaaS customers can add those services for an additional cost. The platform is set up to meet WCAG 2.1, though agencies remain responsible for ongoing website accessibility. Its Digital Experience Platform program lists Rules as Code, content personalisation, analytics, digital asset management, and site optimisation through the Drupal Services Panel. Service Desk general support runs Monday to Friday, 8:30am–5:30pm AEDT; critical issues are covered 24/7 with a maximum 60-minute initial response time. Plans are paid annually, exclude GST, and have setup fees.
Good
- SaaS includes hosting, security, and Drupal updates
- Hosting services use Australian data centres
- Certified for information up to OFFICIAL: Sensitive
- Platform is set up to meet WCAG 2.1
Watch out
- No free plan or free trial
- Plans are paid annually and exclude GST
- Setup fees apply to listed SaaS plans
- PaaS agencies manage Drupal application-layer security
Who it suits
GovCMS is for Australian Commonwealth and State government organisations seeking a Drupal-based content and hosting service. SaaS may suit agencies wanting GovCMS to manage the application and infrastructure responsibilities listed, while PaaS leaves the Drupal application layer with the agency.
Verdict
GovCMS offers government-focused Drupal hosting with distinct SaaS and PaaS responsibilities. Agencies should weigh those responsibilities and the annual fees, setup charges, and GST exclusion against their needs.
Plans and prices
From GovCMS's own pricing page, checked 5 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| SaaS Nano | $9,260 a year | Up to 5,000 page views/month · 15,000 hits/month · 5GB database · 10GB file storage · $9,260.00 yearly fee; $1,045.00 setup fee; charged annually; fees exclude GST |
| Nano | A$9,260 a year | up to 5,000 page views/month · 15,000 hits/month · annually; excludes GST; $1,045.00 setup fee |
| SaaS Micro | $18,520 a year | 5,001–15,000 page views/month · 45,000 hits/month · 5GB database · 10GB file storage · $18,520.00 yearly fee; $3,195.00 setup fee; charged annually; fees exclude GST |
| Micro | A$18,520 a year | 5,001–15,000 page views/month · 45,000 hits/month · annually; excludes GST; $3,195.00 setup fee |
| Mini | A$37,045 a year | 15,001–50,000 page views/month · 150,000 hits/month · annually; excludes GST; $3,195.00 setup fee |
| SaaS Mini | $37,045 a year | 15,001–50,000 page views/month · 150,000 hits/month · 5GB database · 10GB file storage · $37,045.00 yearly fee; $3,195.00 setup fee; charged annually; fees exclude GST |
| Extra-Small | A$46,305 a year | 50,001–100,000 page views/month · 300,000 hits/month · annually; excludes GST; $3,195.00 setup fee |
| SaaS Extra-Small | $46,305 a year | 50,001–100,000 page views/month · 300,000 hits/month · 5GB database · 10GB file storage · $46,305.00 yearly fee; $3,195.00 setup fee; charged annually; fees exclude GST |
| Small | A$54,410 a year | 100,001–175,000 page views/month · 525,000 hits/month · annually; excludes GST; $3,195.00 setup fee |
| SaaS Small | $54,410 a year | 100,001–175,000 page views/month · 525,000 hits/month · 5GB database · 10GB file storage · $54,410.00 yearly fee; $3,195.00 setup fee; charged annually; fees exclude GST |
| Medium | A$62,510 a year | 175,001–350,000 page views/month · 1.0 million hits/month · annually; excludes GST; $3,195.00 setup fee |
| SaaS Medium | $62,510 a year | 175,001–350,000 page views/month · 1.0 million hits/month · 5GB database · 10GB file storage · $62,510.00 yearly fee; $3,195.00 setup fee; charged annually; fees exclude GST |
| Large | A$89,135 a year | 350,001–800,000 page views/month · 2.4 million hits/month · annually; excludes GST; $3,195.00 setup fee |
| SaaS Large | $89,135 a year | 350,001–800,000 page views/month · 2.4 million hits/month · 5GB database · 10GB file storage · $89,135.00 yearly fee; $3,195.00 setup fee; charged annually; fees exclude GST |
| SaaS Extra-Large | $127,340 a year | 800,001–1,500,000 page views/month · 4.5 million hits/month · 5GB database · 10GB file storage · $127,340.00 yearly fee; $3,195.00 setup fee; charged annually; fees exclude GST |
| SaaS Mega | $219,950 a year | 1,500,001–3,000,000 page views/month · 9.0 million hits/month · 10GB database · 20GB file storage · $219,950.00 yearly fee; $3,195.00 setup fee; charged annually; fees exclude GST |
| SaaS Giga | $347,290 a year | 3,000,001–5,000,000 page views/month · 15.0 million hits/month · 10GB database · 20GB file storage · $347,290.00 yearly fee; $3,195.00 setup fee; charged annually; fees exclude GST |
| Giga | — | 3,000,001–5,000,000 page views/month · 15.0 million hits/month · annually; excludes GST; $3,195.00 setup fee |
| Extra-Large | — | 800,001–1,500,000 page views/month · 4.5 million hits/month · annually; excludes GST; $3,195.00 setup fee |
| Mega | — | 1,500,001–3,000,000 page views/month · 9.0 million hits/month · annually; excludes GST; $3,195.00 setup fee |
The facts
Each one read from GovCMS's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Accessibility
- The official site states GovCMS meets WCAG 2.0 Level AA.checked 15 Oct 2026
- API capabilities
- The Content as an API concept includes content discovery, subscriptions, syndication, quality assurance and cross-agency publishing governance.checked 15 Oct 2026
- API initiative
- Content as an API is an alpha-stage project intended to provide a government content hub and syndication platform.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Audience
- GovCMS is available to Australian government organisations at Commonwealth and State level.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Availability
- GovCMS advertises a 99.95% uptime guarantee and 24/7 monitoring and support.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Backups
- SaaS includes self-serve backups retained for 90 days and archival backups retained for seven years.checked 15 Oct 2026
- CDN and WAF
- SaaS includes CDN, web application firewall and DDoS protection; PaaS makes web protection optional.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Current status
- The live status page currently reports all listed GovCMS systems as operational.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Developer extensibility
- The repository supports contributions through GitHub issues and pull requests and requires automated tests before manual review.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Developer prerequisites
- The public distribution repository lists Apache or Nginx, PHP 8.4 or newer, and MySQL or PostgreSQL as prerequisites.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Drupal hosting
- Drupal 11 hosting is included in both SaaS and PaaS plans.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Environments
- Each SaaS subscription includes five environments and additional environments cost $85.00 per environment per month.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Hosting location
- GovCMS says its hosting services house websites in Australian data centres.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- GovCMS’s Digital Experience Platform program lists Rules as Code, content personalisation, analytics, digital asset management, and site optimisation services accessible through its Drupal Services Panel.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Integrations and infrastructure
- The status page lists Amazon EKS, AWS Sydney compute and S3, Akamai CDN, Lagoon API, Akamai API, OpenSearch and Freshdesk service desk components.checked 15 Oct 2026
- IRAP
- The platform completed an IRAP assessment aligned with the 2019 Australian Government Information Security Manual at OFFICIAL: Sensitive level.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Licence
- GovCMS is released under the GNU General Public License version 2.0.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: custom code
- A GovCMS SaaS case study states that bespoke modules and server-side services cannot be deployed in the SaaS environment.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: design flexibility
- An independent comparison says SaaS design and UX are constrained by the supplied templates and themes.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: integrations
- An independent comparison says advanced integrations, custom APIs, CRM links and complex data workflows can strain GovCMS, especially SaaS.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: intranets
- An independent comparison says GovCMS is public-facing and does not provide staff intranet or internal portal capability.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: review evidence
- G2 says there are not enough GovCMS reviews to provide buying insight; its single review is marked as an incentivized G2 invite.checked 15 Oct 2026
The company
- Founded
- 2015checked 28 Sep 2026
- Headquarters
- The GovCMS team is sponsored by the Department of Finance in Canberra, Australia.checked 15 Oct 2026
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