Governments are deploying automation tools in making decisions that affect rights and entitlements. The interests affected are very broad, ranging from time spent in detention to the receipt of social security benefits. This article focusses on the impact on rule of law values of automation using: (1) pre- programmed rules; and (2) predictive inferencing whereby rules are derived from historic data. It examines the use of these systems across a range of nations. It explores the tension between the rule of law and rapid technological change and concludes on how the automation of government decision-making can both enhance and  detract from rule of law values.  By Monika Zalnieriute, Lyria Bennett Moses and George Williams, University of New South Wales