diff --git a/policies/rancher/admin.yaml b/policies/rancher/admin.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..07b6bca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/policies/rancher/admin.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+# Allow the vault deployer to manage the rancher secrets engine: its connection
+# config, seeded (auto-rotated) service-account tokens, and token-minting roles.
+#
+# Scoped to rancher/* only. The plugin-catalog grant needed to import the plugin
+# lives under policies/sys/plugins/catalog/ so a code owner of this policy path
+# cannot grant themselves access outside the rancher mount.
+---
+rules:
+  # Engine connection config.
+  - path: "rancher/config"
+    capabilities:
+      - create
+      - read
+      - update
+      - delete
+  # Seeded, auto-rotated service-account tokens (+ manual rotate).
+  - path: "rancher/service-accounts/*"
+    capabilities:
+      - create
+      - read
+      - update
+      - delete
+      - list
+  - path: "rancher/service-accounts"
+    capabilities:
+      - read
+      - list
+  # Token-minting roles.
+  - path: "rancher/roles/*"
+    capabilities:
+      - create
+      - read
+      - update
+      - delete
+      - list
+  - path: "rancher/roles"
+    capabilities:
+      - read
+      - list
+
+auth:
+  approle:
+    - tf_vault
+  k8s/au/syd1:
+    - woodpecker_terraform_vault
diff --git a/policies/sys/plugins/catalog/rancher.yaml b/policies/sys/plugins/catalog/rancher.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..139a0b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/policies/sys/plugins/catalog/rancher.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+# Allow the vault deployer to import (register/deregister) the rancher secrets
+# plugin in the catalog. sys/plugins/catalog is sudo-protected, so this lives
+# under policies/sys/ where only a sys code owner can grant it — keeping the
+# rancher engine policy (policies/rancher/) scoped to rancher/* paths.
+---
+rules:
+  - path: "sys/plugins/catalog/secret/vault-plugin-secrets-rancher"
+    capabilities:
+      - create
+      - read
+      - update
+      - delete
+      - sudo
+
+auth:
+  approle:
+    - tf_vault
+  k8s/au/syd1:
+    - woodpecker_terraform_vault