diff --git a/pkg/features/kube_features.go b/pkg/features/kube_features.go
index c325bb0c43e..88751c68220 100644
--- a/pkg/features/kube_features.go
+++ b/pkg/features/kube_features.go
@@ -117,5 +117,6 @@ var defaultKubernetesFeatureGates = map[utilfeature.Feature]utilfeature.FeatureS
 
 	// inherited features from generic apiserver, relisted here to get a conflict if it is changed
 	// unintentionally on either side:
-	StreamingProxyRedirects: {Default: true, PreRelease: utilfeature.Beta},
+	StreamingProxyRedirects:          {Default: true, PreRelease: utilfeature.Beta},
+	genericfeatures.AdvancedAuditing: {Default: false, PreRelease: utilfeature.Alpha},
 }
diff --git a/pkg/kubeapiserver/server/BUILD b/pkg/kubeapiserver/server/BUILD
index 82c48fa0329..0c6f4c43221 100644
--- a/pkg/kubeapiserver/server/BUILD
+++ b/pkg/kubeapiserver/server/BUILD
@@ -16,8 +16,10 @@ go_library(
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/user:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/filters:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/request:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/features:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/filters:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/util/feature:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/client-go/rest:go_default_library",
     ],
 )
diff --git a/pkg/kubeapiserver/server/insecure_handler.go b/pkg/kubeapiserver/server/insecure_handler.go
index 2e8eee2eb7f..24127f546a8 100644
--- a/pkg/kubeapiserver/server/insecure_handler.go
+++ b/pkg/kubeapiserver/server/insecure_handler.go
@@ -25,8 +25,10 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/user"
 	genericapifilters "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/filters"
 	apirequest "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/request"
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/features"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server"
 	genericfilters "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/filters"
+	utilfeature "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/util/feature"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/rest"
 )
 
@@ -35,7 +37,12 @@ import (
 // InsecureServingInfo *ServingInfo
 
 func BuildInsecureHandlerChain(apiHandler http.Handler, c *server.Config) http.Handler {
-	handler := genericapifilters.WithAudit(apiHandler, c.RequestContextMapper, c.AuditBackend, c.AuditPolicy, c.LongRunningFunc)
+	handler := apiHandler
+	if utilfeature.DefaultFeatureGate.Enabled(features.AdvancedAuditing) {
+		handler = genericapifilters.WithAudit(handler, c.RequestContextMapper, c.AuditBackend, c.AuditPolicyChecker, c.LongRunningFunc)
+	} else {
+		handler = genericapifilters.WithLegacyAudit(handler, c.RequestContextMapper, c.LegacyAuditWriter)
+	}
 	handler = genericapifilters.WithAuthentication(handler, c.RequestContextMapper, insecureSuperuser{}, nil)
 	handler = genericfilters.WithCORS(handler, c.CorsAllowedOriginList, nil, nil, nil, "true")
 	handler = genericfilters.WithPanicRecovery(handler)
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/helpers.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/helpers.go
index 3f54fc1e843..05fe72c0ff9 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/helpers.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/helpers.go
@@ -36,11 +36,3 @@ func (a Level) Less(b Level) bool {
 func (a Level) GreaterOrEqual(b Level) bool {
 	return ordLevel(a) >= ordLevel(b)
 }
-
-func NewConstantPolicy(level Level) *Policy {
-	return &Policy{
-		Rules: []PolicyRule{
-			{Level: level},
-		},
-	}
-}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/validation/BUILD b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/validation/BUILD
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..63cbc6bacd8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/validation/BUILD
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+package(default_visibility = ["//visibility:public"])
+
+licenses(["notice"])
+
+load(
+    "@io_bazel_rules_go//go:def.bzl",
+    "go_library",
+    "go_test",
+)
+
+go_test(
+    name = "go_default_test",
+    srcs = ["validation_test.go"],
+    library = ":go_default_library",
+    tags = ["automanaged"],
+    deps = ["//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit:go_default_library"],
+)
+
+go_library(
+    name = "go_default_library",
+    srcs = ["validation.go"],
+    tags = ["automanaged"],
+    deps = [
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/validation/field:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit:go_default_library",
+    ],
+)
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/validation/validation.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/validation/validation.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2ceead05f4b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/validation/validation.go
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2017 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package validation
+
+import (
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/validation/field"
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit"
+)
+
+func ValidatePolicy(policy *audit.Policy) field.ErrorList {
+	var allErrs field.ErrorList
+	rulePath := field.NewPath("rules")
+	for i, rule := range policy.Rules {
+		allErrs = append(allErrs, validatePolicyRule(rule, rulePath.Index(i))...)
+	}
+	return allErrs
+}
+
+func validatePolicyRule(rule audit.PolicyRule, fldPath *field.Path) field.ErrorList {
+	var allErrs field.ErrorList
+	allErrs = append(allErrs, validateLevel(rule.Level, fldPath.Child("level"))...)
+
+	if len(rule.NonResourceURLs) > 0 {
+		if len(rule.Resources) > 0 || len(rule.Namespaces) > 0 {
+			allErrs = append(allErrs, field.Invalid(fldPath.Child("nonResourceURLs"), rule.NonResourceURLs, "rules cannot apply to both regular resources and non-resource URLs"))
+		}
+	}
+
+	return allErrs
+}
+
+var validLevels = []string{
+	string(audit.LevelNone),
+	string(audit.LevelMetadata),
+	string(audit.LevelRequest),
+	string(audit.LevelRequestResponse),
+}
+
+func validateLevel(level audit.Level, fldPath *field.Path) field.ErrorList {
+	switch level {
+	case audit.LevelNone, audit.LevelMetadata, audit.LevelRequest, audit.LevelRequestResponse:
+		return nil
+	case "":
+		return field.ErrorList{field.Required(fldPath, "")}
+	default:
+		return field.ErrorList{field.NotSupported(fldPath, level, validLevels)}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/validation/validation_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/validation/validation_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..07e354bc7bf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/validation/validation_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2017 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package validation
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit"
+)
+
+func TestValidatePolicy(t *testing.T) {
+	validRules := []audit.PolicyRule{
+		{ // Defaulting rule
+			Level: audit.LevelMetadata,
+		}, { // Matching non-humans
+			Level:      audit.LevelNone,
+			UserGroups: []string{"system:serviceaccounts", "system:nodes"},
+		}, { // Specific request
+			Level:      audit.LevelRequestResponse,
+			Verbs:      []string{"get"},
+			Resources:  []audit.GroupResources{{Resources: []string{"secrets"}}},
+			Namespaces: []string{"kube-system"},
+		}, { // Some non-resource URLs
+			Level:      audit.LevelMetadata,
+			UserGroups: []string{"developers"},
+			NonResourceURLs: []string{
+				"/logs*",
+				"/healthz*",
+				"/metrics",
+			},
+		},
+	}
+	successCases := []audit.Policy{}
+	for _, rule := range validRules {
+		successCases = append(successCases, audit.Policy{Rules: []audit.PolicyRule{rule}})
+	}
+	successCases = append(successCases, audit.Policy{})                  // Empty policy is valid.
+	successCases = append(successCases, audit.Policy{Rules: validRules}) // Multiple rules.
+
+	for i, policy := range successCases {
+		if errs := ValidatePolicy(&policy); len(errs) != 0 {
+			t.Errorf("[%d] Expected policy %#v to be valid: %v", i, policy, errs)
+		}
+	}
+
+	invalidRules := []audit.PolicyRule{
+		{}, // Empty rule (missing Level)
+		{ // Missing level
+			Verbs:      []string{"get"},
+			Resources:  []audit.GroupResources{{Resources: []string{"secrets"}}},
+			Namespaces: []string{"kube-system"},
+		}, { // Invalid Level
+			Level: "FooBar",
+		}, { // NonResourceURLs + Namespaces
+			Level:           audit.LevelMetadata,
+			Namespaces:      []string{"default"},
+			NonResourceURLs: []string{"/logs*"},
+		}, { // NonResourceURLs + ResourceKinds
+			Level:           audit.LevelMetadata,
+			Resources:       []audit.GroupResources{{Resources: []string{"secrets"}}},
+			NonResourceURLs: []string{"/logs*"},
+		},
+	}
+	errorCases := []audit.Policy{}
+	for _, rule := range invalidRules {
+		errorCases = append(errorCases, audit.Policy{Rules: []audit.PolicyRule{rule}})
+	}
+	errorCases = append(errorCases, audit.Policy{Rules: append(validRules, audit.PolicyRule{})}) // Multiple rules.
+
+	for i, policy := range errorCases {
+		if errs := ValidatePolicy(&policy); len(errs) == 0 {
+			t.Errorf("[%d] Expected policy %#v to be invalid!", i, policy)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/BUILD b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/BUILD
index 298acbed733..9e67642f37a 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/BUILD
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/BUILD
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ go_library(
     name = "go_default_library",
     srcs = [
         "request.go",
+        "scheme.go",
         "types.go",
     ],
     tags = ["automanaged"],
@@ -20,9 +21,11 @@ go_library(
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/net:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/v1alpha1:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authorization/authorizer:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/client-go/pkg/apis/authentication/v1:go_default_library",
     ],
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy/BUILD b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy/BUILD
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3ceb86a349c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy/BUILD
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+package(default_visibility = ["//visibility:public"])
+
+licenses(["notice"])
+
+load(
+    "@io_bazel_rules_go//go:def.bzl",
+    "go_library",
+    "go_test",
+)
+
+go_test(
+    name = "go_default_test",
+    srcs = [
+        "checker_test.go",
+        "reader_test.go",
+    ],
+    library = ":go_default_library",
+    tags = ["automanaged"],
+    deps = [
+        "//vendor/github.com/stretchr/testify/assert:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/github.com/stretchr/testify/require:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/diff:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/user:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authorization/authorizer:go_default_library",
+    ],
+)
+
+go_library(
+    name = "go_default_library",
+    srcs = [
+        "checker.go",
+        "reader.go",
+    ],
+    tags = ["automanaged"],
+    deps = [
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/v1alpha1:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/validation:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authorization/authorizer:go_default_library",
+    ],
+)
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy/checker.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy/checker.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..526710c2c6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy/checker.go
@@ -0,0 +1,177 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2017 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package policy
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit"
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authorization/authorizer"
+)
+
+const (
+	// DefaultAuditLevel is the default level to audit at, if no policy rules are matched.
+	DefaultAuditLevel = audit.LevelNone
+)
+
+// Checker exposes methods for checking the policy rules.
+type Checker interface {
+	// Check the audit level for a request with the given authorizer attributes.
+	Level(authorizer.Attributes) audit.Level
+}
+
+// NewChecker creates a new policy checker.
+func NewChecker(policy *audit.Policy) Checker {
+	return &policyChecker{*policy}
+}
+
+// FakeChecker creates a checker that returns a constant level for all requests (for testing).
+func FakeChecker(level audit.Level) Checker {
+	return &fakeChecker{level}
+}
+
+type policyChecker struct {
+	audit.Policy
+}
+
+func (p *policyChecker) Level(attrs authorizer.Attributes) audit.Level {
+	for _, rule := range p.Rules {
+		if ruleMatches(&rule, attrs) {
+			return rule.Level
+		}
+	}
+	return DefaultAuditLevel
+}
+
+// Check whether the rule matches the request attrs.
+func ruleMatches(r *audit.PolicyRule, attrs authorizer.Attributes) bool {
+	if len(r.Users) > 0 {
+		if !hasString(r.Users, attrs.GetUser().GetName()) {
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+	if len(r.UserGroups) > 0 {
+		matched := false
+		for _, group := range attrs.GetUser().GetGroups() {
+			if hasString(r.UserGroups, group) {
+				matched = true
+				break
+			}
+		}
+		if !matched {
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+	if len(r.Verbs) > 0 {
+		if !hasString(r.Verbs, attrs.GetVerb()) {
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+
+	if len(r.Namespaces) > 0 || len(r.Resources) > 0 {
+		return ruleMatchesResource(r, attrs)
+	}
+
+	if len(r.NonResourceURLs) > 0 {
+		return ruleMatchesNonResource(r, attrs)
+	}
+
+	return true
+}
+
+// Check whether the rule's non-resource URLs match the request attrs.
+func ruleMatchesNonResource(r *audit.PolicyRule, attrs authorizer.Attributes) bool {
+	if attrs.IsResourceRequest() {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	path := attrs.GetPath()
+	for _, spec := range r.NonResourceURLs {
+		if pathMatches(path, spec) {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+
+	return false
+}
+
+// Check whether the path matches the path specification.
+func pathMatches(path, spec string) bool {
+	// Allow wildcard match
+	if spec == "*" {
+		return true
+	}
+	// Allow exact match
+	if spec == path {
+		return true
+	}
+	// Allow a trailing * subpath match
+	if strings.HasSuffix(spec, "*") && strings.HasPrefix(path, strings.TrimRight(spec, "*")) {
+		return true
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// Check whether the rule's resource fields match the request attrs.
+func ruleMatchesResource(r *audit.PolicyRule, attrs authorizer.Attributes) bool {
+	if !attrs.IsResourceRequest() {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	if len(r.Namespaces) > 0 {
+		if !hasString(r.Namespaces, attrs.GetNamespace()) { // Non-namespaced resources use the empty string.
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+	if len(r.Resources) == 0 {
+		return true
+	}
+
+	apiGroup := attrs.GetAPIGroup()
+	resource := attrs.GetResource()
+	for _, gr := range r.Resources {
+		if gr.Group == apiGroup {
+			if len(gr.Resources) == 0 {
+				return true
+			}
+			for _, res := range gr.Resources {
+				if res == resource {
+					return true
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// Utility function to check whether a string slice contains a string.
+func hasString(slice []string, value string) bool {
+	for _, s := range slice {
+		if s == value {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+type fakeChecker struct {
+	level audit.Level
+}
+
+func (f *fakeChecker) Level(_ authorizer.Attributes) audit.Level {
+	return f.level
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy/checker_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy/checker_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..29cf1a4689a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy/checker_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2017 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package policy
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit"
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/user"
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authorization/authorizer"
+)
+
+func TestChecker(t *testing.T) {
+	tim := &user.DefaultInfo{
+		Name:   "tim@k8s.io",
+		Groups: []string{"humans", "developers"},
+	}
+	attrs := map[string]authorizer.Attributes{
+		"namespaced": &authorizer.AttributesRecord{
+			User:            tim,
+			Verb:            "get",
+			Namespace:       "default",
+			APIGroup:        "", // Core
+			APIVersion:      "v1",
+			Resource:        "pods",
+			Name:            "busybox",
+			ResourceRequest: true,
+			Path:            "/api/v1/namespaces/default/pods/busybox",
+		},
+		"cluster": &authorizer.AttributesRecord{
+			User:            tim,
+			Verb:            "get",
+			APIGroup:        "rbac.authorization.k8s.io", // Core
+			APIVersion:      "v1beta1",
+			Resource:        "clusterroles",
+			Name:            "edit",
+			ResourceRequest: true,
+			Path:            "/apis/rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1beta1/clusterroles/edit",
+		},
+		"nonResource": &authorizer.AttributesRecord{
+			User:            tim,
+			Verb:            "get",
+			ResourceRequest: false,
+			Path:            "/logs/kubelet.log",
+		},
+	}
+
+	rules := map[string]audit.PolicyRule{
+		"default": {
+			Level: audit.LevelMetadata,
+		},
+		"create": {
+			Level: audit.LevelRequest,
+			Verbs: []string{"create"},
+		},
+		"tims": {
+			Level: audit.LevelMetadata,
+			Users: []string{"tim@k8s.io"},
+		},
+		"humans": {
+			Level:      audit.LevelMetadata,
+			UserGroups: []string{"humans"},
+		},
+		"serviceAccounts": {
+			Level:      audit.LevelRequest,
+			UserGroups: []string{"system:serviceaccounts"},
+		},
+		"getPods": {
+			Level:     audit.LevelRequestResponse,
+			Verbs:     []string{"get"},
+			Resources: []audit.GroupResources{{Resources: []string{"pods"}}},
+		},
+		"getClusterRoles": {
+			Level: audit.LevelRequestResponse,
+			Verbs: []string{"get"},
+			Resources: []audit.GroupResources{{
+				Group:     "rbac.authorization.k8s.io",
+				Resources: []string{"clusterroles"},
+			}},
+			Namespaces: []string{""},
+		},
+		"getLogs": {
+			Level: audit.LevelRequestResponse,
+			Verbs: []string{"get"},
+			NonResourceURLs: []string{
+				"/logs*",
+			},
+		},
+		"getMetrics": {
+			Level: audit.LevelRequest,
+			Verbs: []string{"get"},
+			NonResourceURLs: []string{
+				"/metrics",
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	test := func(req string, expected audit.Level, ruleNames ...string) {
+		policy := audit.Policy{}
+		for _, rule := range ruleNames {
+			require.Contains(t, rules, rule)
+			policy.Rules = append(policy.Rules, rules[rule])
+		}
+		require.Contains(t, attrs, req)
+		actual := NewChecker(&policy).Level(attrs[req])
+		assert.Equal(t, expected, actual, "request:%s rules:%s", req, strings.Join(ruleNames, ","))
+	}
+
+	test("namespaced", audit.LevelMetadata, "default")
+	test("namespaced", audit.LevelNone, "create")
+	test("namespaced", audit.LevelMetadata, "tims")
+	test("namespaced", audit.LevelMetadata, "humans")
+	test("namespaced", audit.LevelNone, "serviceAccounts")
+	test("namespaced", audit.LevelRequestResponse, "getPods")
+	test("namespaced", audit.LevelNone, "getClusterRoles")
+	test("namespaced", audit.LevelNone, "getLogs")
+	test("namespaced", audit.LevelNone, "getMetrics")
+	test("namespaced", audit.LevelMetadata, "getMetrics", "serviceAccounts", "default")
+	test("namespaced", audit.LevelRequestResponse, "getMetrics", "getPods", "default")
+
+	test("cluster", audit.LevelMetadata, "default")
+	test("cluster", audit.LevelNone, "create")
+	test("cluster", audit.LevelMetadata, "tims")
+	test("cluster", audit.LevelMetadata, "humans")
+	test("cluster", audit.LevelNone, "serviceAccounts")
+	test("cluster", audit.LevelNone, "getPods")
+	test("cluster", audit.LevelRequestResponse, "getClusterRoles")
+	test("cluster", audit.LevelNone, "getLogs")
+	test("cluster", audit.LevelNone, "getMetrics")
+	test("cluster", audit.LevelMetadata, "getMetrics", "serviceAccounts", "default")
+	test("cluster", audit.LevelRequestResponse, "getMetrics", "getClusterRoles", "default")
+
+	test("nonResource", audit.LevelMetadata, "default")
+	test("nonResource", audit.LevelNone, "create")
+	test("nonResource", audit.LevelMetadata, "tims")
+	test("nonResource", audit.LevelMetadata, "humans")
+	test("nonResource", audit.LevelNone, "serviceAccounts")
+	test("nonResource", audit.LevelNone, "getPods")
+	test("nonResource", audit.LevelNone, "getClusterRoles")
+	test("nonResource", audit.LevelRequestResponse, "getLogs")
+	test("nonResource", audit.LevelNone, "getMetrics")
+	test("nonResource", audit.LevelMetadata, "getMetrics", "serviceAccounts", "default")
+	test("nonResource", audit.LevelRequestResponse, "getLogs", "getClusterRoles", "default")
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy/reader.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy/reader.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..afd50152e1e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy/reader.go
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2017 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package policy
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"io/ioutil"
+
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
+	auditinternal "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit"
+	auditv1alpha1 "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/v1alpha1"
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/validation"
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit"
+)
+
+func LoadPolicyFromFile(filePath string) (*auditinternal.Policy, error) {
+	if filePath == "" {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("file path not specified")
+	}
+	policyDef, err := ioutil.ReadFile(filePath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to read file path %q: %+v", filePath, err)
+	}
+	if len(policyDef) == 0 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("file %q was empty", filePath)
+	}
+	policyVersioned := &auditv1alpha1.Policy{}
+
+	decoder := audit.Codecs.UniversalDecoder(auditv1alpha1.SchemeGroupVersion)
+	if err := runtime.DecodeInto(decoder, policyDef, policyVersioned); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed decoding file %q: %v", filePath, err)
+	}
+
+	policy := &auditinternal.Policy{}
+	if err := audit.Scheme.Convert(policyVersioned, policy, nil); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed converting policy: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if err := validation.ValidatePolicy(policy); err != nil {
+		return nil, err.ToAggregate()
+	}
+	return policy, nil
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy/reader_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy/reader_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..be76364f59c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy/reader_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2017 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package policy
+
+import (
+	"io/ioutil"
+	"os"
+	"reflect"
+	"testing"
+
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/diff"
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+const policyDef = `
+rules:
+  - level: None
+    nonResourceURLs:
+      - /healthz*
+      - /version
+  - level: RequestResponse
+    users: ["tim"]
+    userGroups: ["testers", "developers"]
+    verbs: ["patch", "delete", "create"]
+    resources:
+      - group: ""
+      - group: "rbac.authorization.k8s.io"
+        resources: ["clusterroles", "clusterrolebindings"]
+    namespaces: ["default", "kube-system"]
+  - level: Metadata
+`
+
+var expectedPolicy = &audit.Policy{
+	Rules: []audit.PolicyRule{{
+		Level:           audit.LevelNone,
+		NonResourceURLs: []string{"/healthz*", "/version"},
+	}, {
+		Level:      audit.LevelRequestResponse,
+		Users:      []string{"tim"},
+		UserGroups: []string{"testers", "developers"},
+		Verbs:      []string{"patch", "delete", "create"},
+		Resources: []audit.GroupResources{{}, {
+			Group:     "rbac.authorization.k8s.io",
+			Resources: []string{"clusterroles", "clusterrolebindings"},
+		}},
+		Namespaces: []string{"default", "kube-system"},
+	}, {
+		Level: audit.LevelMetadata,
+	}},
+}
+
+func TestParser(t *testing.T) {
+	// Create a policy file.
+	f, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "policy.yaml")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer os.Remove(f.Name())
+
+	_, err = f.WriteString(policyDef)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NoError(t, f.Close())
+
+	policy, err := LoadPolicyFromFile(f.Name())
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	assert.Len(t, policy.Rules, 3) // Sanity check.
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(policy, expectedPolicy) {
+		t.Errorf("Unexpected policy! Diff:\n%s", diff.ObjectDiff(policy, expectedPolicy))
+	}
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/request.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/request.go
index f233da94f01..4773af244bc 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/request.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/request.go
@@ -40,21 +40,14 @@ import (
 	authenticationv1 "k8s.io/client-go/pkg/apis/authentication/v1"
 )
 
-// NewEventFromRequest generates an audit event for the request.
-func NewEventFromRequest(req *http.Request, policy *auditinternal.Policy, attribs authorizer.Attributes) (*auditinternal.Event, error) {
+func NewEventFromRequest(req *http.Request, level auditinternal.Level, attribs authorizer.Attributes) (*auditinternal.Event, error) {
 	ev := &auditinternal.Event{
 		Timestamp:  metav1.NewTime(time.Now()),
 		Verb:       attribs.GetVerb(),
 		RequestURI: req.URL.RequestURI(),
 	}
 
-	// set the level
-	ev.Level = auditinternal.LevelNone
-	if policy != nil && len(policy.Rules) > 0 {
-		// This is just a hack to get through the test without setting a high level by default.
-		// TODO(audit): add the policy evalutation here
-		ev.Level = policy.Rules[0].Level
-	}
+	ev.Level = level
 
 	// prefer the id from the headers. If not available, create a new one.
 	// TODO(audit): do we want to forbid the header for non-front-proxy users?
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/scheme.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/scheme.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1ab6f5bd7c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/scheme.go
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2017 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+// TODO: Delete this file if we generate a clientset.
+package audit
+
+import (
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer"
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit/v1alpha1"
+)
+
+var Scheme = runtime.NewScheme()
+var Codecs = serializer.NewCodecFactory(Scheme)
+
+func init() {
+	v1.AddToGroupVersion(Scheme, schema.GroupVersion{Version: "v1"})
+	v1alpha1.AddToScheme(Scheme)
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/BUILD b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/BUILD
index 9d43086babc..2bdc93a93ad 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/BUILD
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/BUILD
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ go_test(
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/example/fuzzer:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/example/v1:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/filters:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/handlers:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/handlers/responsewriters:go_default_library",
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/apiserver_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/apiserver_test.go
index eb2abc3b035..7cc02f7b279 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/apiserver_test.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/apiserver_test.go
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ import (
 	examplefuzzer "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/example/fuzzer"
 	examplev1 "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/example/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit"
+	auditpolicy "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy"
 	genericapifilters "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/filters"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/handlers/responsewriters"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/request"
@@ -334,7 +335,7 @@ func handleInternal(storage map[string]rest.Storage, admissionControl admission.
 		}
 	}
 
-	handler := genericapifilters.WithAudit(mux, requestContextMapper, auditSink, auditinternal.NewConstantPolicy(auditinternal.LevelRequestResponse), func(r *http.Request, requestInfo *request.RequestInfo) bool {
+	handler := genericapifilters.WithAudit(mux, requestContextMapper, auditSink, auditpolicy.FakeChecker(auditinternal.LevelRequestResponse), func(r *http.Request, requestInfo *request.RequestInfo) bool {
 		// simplified long-running check
 		return requestInfo.Verb == "watch" || requestInfo.Verb == "proxy"
 	})
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/filters/BUILD b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/filters/BUILD
index f10ee11b57d..3c52d52c28d 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/filters/BUILD
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/filters/BUILD
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ go_test(
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/sets:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/wait:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/authenticator:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/user:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authorization/authorizer:go_default_library",
@@ -56,6 +57,7 @@ go_library(
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/runtime:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/authenticator:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/serviceaccount:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/user:go_default_library",
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/filters/audit.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/filters/audit.go
index b64b4034174..9a3083960dc 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/filters/audit.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/filters/audit.go
@@ -19,16 +19,16 @@ package filters
 import (
 	"bufio"
 	"errors"
+	"fmt"
 	"net"
 	"net/http"
 	"sync"
 
-	"fmt"
-
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	utilruntime "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/runtime"
 	auditinternal "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit"
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/handlers/responsewriters"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/request"
 )
@@ -49,8 +49,8 @@ import (
 // 2. the response line containing:
 //    - the unique id from 1
 //    - response code
-func WithAudit(handler http.Handler, requestContextMapper request.RequestContextMapper, sink audit.Sink, policy *auditinternal.Policy, longRunningCheck request.LongRunningRequestCheck) http.Handler {
-	if sink == nil {
+func WithAudit(handler http.Handler, requestContextMapper request.RequestContextMapper, sink audit.Sink, policy policy.Checker, longRunningCheck request.LongRunningRequestCheck) http.Handler {
+	if sink == nil || policy == nil {
 		return handler
 	}
 	return http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request) {
@@ -67,7 +67,13 @@ func WithAudit(handler http.Handler, requestContextMapper request.RequestContext
 			return
 		}
 
-		ev, err := audit.NewEventFromRequest(req, policy, attribs)
+		level := policy.Level(attribs)
+		if level == auditinternal.LevelNone {
+			// Don't audit.
+			handler.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+		}
+
+		ev, err := audit.NewEventFromRequest(req, level, attribs)
 		if err != nil {
 			utilruntime.HandleError(fmt.Errorf("failed to complete audit event from request: %v", err))
 			responsewriters.InternalError(w, req, errors.New("failed to update context"))
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/filters/audit_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/filters/audit_test.go
index 14dc84da4a9..e312680a3a7 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/filters/audit_test.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/filters/audit_test.go
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import (
 
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/wait"
 	auditinternal "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit"
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/user"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/request"
 	pluginlog "k8s.io/apiserver/plugin/pkg/audit/log"
@@ -321,9 +322,10 @@ func TestAudit(t *testing.T) {
 	} {
 		var buf bytes.Buffer
 		backend := pluginlog.NewBackend(&buf)
+		policyChecker := policy.FakeChecker(auditinternal.LevelRequestResponse)
 		handler := WithAudit(http.HandlerFunc(test.handler), &fakeRequestContextMapper{
 			user: &user.DefaultInfo{Name: "admin"},
-		}, backend, auditinternal.NewConstantPolicy(auditinternal.LevelRequestResponse), func(r *http.Request, ri *request.RequestInfo) bool {
+		}, backend, policyChecker, func(r *http.Request, ri *request.RequestInfo) bool {
 			// simplified long-running check
 			return ri.Verb == "watch"
 		})
@@ -386,7 +388,8 @@ func (*fakeRequestContextMapper) Update(req *http.Request, context request.Conte
 }
 
 func TestAuditNoPanicOnNilUser(t *testing.T) {
-	handler := WithAudit(&fakeHTTPHandler{}, &fakeRequestContextMapper{}, &fakeAuditSink{}, auditinternal.NewConstantPolicy(auditinternal.LevelRequestResponse), nil)
+	policyChecker := policy.FakeChecker(auditinternal.LevelRequestResponse)
+	handler := WithAudit(&fakeHTTPHandler{}, &fakeRequestContextMapper{}, &fakeAuditSink{}, policyChecker, nil)
 	req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "/api/v1/namespaces/default/pods", nil)
 	req.RemoteAddr = "127.0.0.1"
 	handler.ServeHTTP(httptest.NewRecorder(), req)
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/features/kube_features.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/features/kube_features.go
index 8ab10fa200c..1b896e1e556 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/features/kube_features.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/features/kube_features.go
@@ -33,6 +33,14 @@ const (
 	// StreamingProxyRedirects controls whether the apiserver should intercept (and follow)
 	// redirects from the backend (Kubelet) for streaming requests (exec/attach/port-forward).
 	StreamingProxyRedirects utilfeature.Feature = "StreamingProxyRedirects"
+
+	// owner: timstclair
+	// alpha: v1.7
+	//
+	// AdvancedAuditing enables a much more general API auditing pipeline, which includes support for
+	// pluggable output backends and an audit policy specifying how different requests should be
+	// audited.
+	AdvancedAuditing utilfeature.Feature = "AdvancedAuditing"
 )
 
 func init() {
@@ -44,4 +52,5 @@ func init() {
 // available throughout Kubernetes binaries.
 var defaultKubernetesFeatureGates = map[utilfeature.Feature]utilfeature.FeatureSpec{
 	StreamingProxyRedirects: {Default: true, PreRelease: utilfeature.Beta},
+	AdvancedAuditing:        {Default: false, PreRelease: utilfeature.Alpha},
 }
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/BUILD b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/BUILD
index 1526f24adbd..45e25f06c7d 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/BUILD
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/BUILD
@@ -77,8 +77,8 @@ go_library(
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/version:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/admission:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/apiserver/install:go_default_library",
-        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/authenticator:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/authenticatorfactory:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/request/union:go_default_library",
@@ -92,12 +92,14 @@ go_library(
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/handlers/responsewriters:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/openapi:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/request:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/features:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/registry/generic:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/registry/rest:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/filters:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/healthz:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/mux:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/routes:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/util/feature:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/client-go/informers:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/client-go/rest:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/client-go/util/cert:go_default_library",
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/config.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/config.go
index 2475e50be93..30208ba1bac 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/config.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/config.go
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import (
 	"crypto/tls"
 	"crypto/x509"
 	"fmt"
+	"io"
 	"net"
 	"net/http"
 	goruntime "runtime"
@@ -38,8 +39,8 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/sets"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/version"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/admission"
-	auditinternal "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/apis/audit"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit"
+	auditpolicy "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/authenticator"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/authenticatorfactory"
 	authenticatorunion "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/request/union"
@@ -51,10 +52,12 @@ import (
 	genericapifilters "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/filters"
 	apiopenapi "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/openapi"
 	apirequest "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/request"
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/features"
 	genericregistry "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/registry/generic"
 	genericfilters "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/filters"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/healthz"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/routes"
+	utilfeature "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/util/feature"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/informers"
 	restclient "k8s.io/client-go/rest"
 	certutil "k8s.io/client-go/util/cert"
@@ -101,11 +104,12 @@ type Config struct {
 
 	// Version will enable the /version endpoint if non-nil
 	Version *version.Info
+	// LegacyAuditWriter is the destination for audit logs.  If nil, they will not be written.
+	LegacyAuditWriter io.Writer
 	// AuditBackend is where audit events are sent to.
 	AuditBackend audit.Backend
-	// AuditPolicy defines rules which determine the audit level for different requests.
-	AuditPolicy *auditinternal.Policy
-
+	// AuditPolicyChecker makes the decision of whether and how to audit log a request.
+	AuditPolicyChecker auditpolicy.Checker
 	// SupportsBasicAuth indicates that's at least one Authenticator supports basic auth
 	// If this is true, a basic auth challenge is returned on authentication failure
 	// TODO(roberthbailey): Remove once the server no longer supports http basic auth.
@@ -457,8 +461,11 @@ func (c completedConfig) New(delegationTarget DelegationTarget) (*GenericAPIServ
 func DefaultBuildHandlerChain(apiHandler http.Handler, c *Config) http.Handler {
 	handler := genericapifilters.WithAuthorization(apiHandler, c.RequestContextMapper, c.Authorizer)
 	handler = genericapifilters.WithImpersonation(handler, c.RequestContextMapper, c.Authorizer)
-	// TODO(audit): use WithLegacyAudit if feature flag is false
-	handler = genericapifilters.WithAudit(handler, c.RequestContextMapper, c.AuditBackend, c.AuditPolicy, c.LongRunningFunc)
+	if utilfeature.DefaultFeatureGate.Enabled(features.AdvancedAuditing) {
+		handler = genericapifilters.WithAudit(handler, c.RequestContextMapper, c.AuditBackend, c.AuditPolicyChecker, c.LongRunningFunc)
+	} else {
+		handler = genericapifilters.WithLegacyAudit(handler, c.RequestContextMapper, c.LegacyAuditWriter)
+	}
 	handler = genericapifilters.WithAuthentication(handler, c.RequestContextMapper, c.Authenticator, genericapifilters.Unauthorized(c.SupportsBasicAuth))
 	handler = genericfilters.WithCORS(handler, c.CorsAllowedOriginList, nil, nil, nil, "true")
 	handler = genericfilters.WithPanicRecovery(handler)
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/options/BUILD b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/options/BUILD
index 6d41fea4149..4e5c44a12de 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/options/BUILD
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/options/BUILD
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ go_library(
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/net:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/admission:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/admission/initializer:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/authenticatorfactory:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authorization/authorizerfactory:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/features:go_default_library",
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/options/audit.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/options/audit.go
index c9362d2312c..e4ab7da80a6 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/options/audit.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/options/audit.go
@@ -17,13 +17,17 @@ limitations under the License.
 package options
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"os"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
 	"gopkg.in/natefinch/lumberjack.v2"
 
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/audit/policy"
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/features"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server"
+	utilfeature "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/util/feature"
 	pluginlog "k8s.io/apiserver/plugin/pkg/audit/log"
 )
 
@@ -32,6 +36,8 @@ type AuditLogOptions struct {
 	MaxAge     int
 	MaxBackups int
 	MaxSize    int
+
+	PolicyFile string
 }
 
 func NewAuditLogOptions() *AuditLogOptions {
@@ -47,9 +53,28 @@ func (o *AuditLogOptions) AddFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
 		"The maximum number of old audit log files to retain.")
 	fs.IntVar(&o.MaxSize, "audit-log-maxsize", o.MaxSize,
 		"The maximum size in megabytes of the audit log file before it gets rotated.")
+
+	fs.StringVar(&o.PolicyFile, "audit-policy-file", o.PolicyFile,
+		"Path to the file that defines the audit policy configuration. Requires the 'AdvancedAuditing' feature gate."+
+			" With AdvancedAuditing, a profile is required to enable auditing.")
 }
 
 func (o *AuditLogOptions) ApplyTo(c *server.Config) error {
+	if utilfeature.DefaultFeatureGate.Enabled(features.AdvancedAuditing) {
+		if o.PolicyFile != "" {
+			p, err := policy.LoadPolicyFromFile(o.PolicyFile)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			c.AuditPolicyChecker = policy.NewChecker(p)
+		}
+	} else {
+		if o.PolicyFile != "" {
+			return fmt.Errorf("feature '%s' must be enabled to set an audit policy", features.AdvancedAuditing)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// TODO: Generalize for alternative audit backends.
 	if len(o.Path) == 0 {
 		return nil
 	}
@@ -63,6 +88,7 @@ func (o *AuditLogOptions) ApplyTo(c *server.Config) error {
 			MaxSize:    o.MaxSize,
 		}
 	}
+	c.LegacyAuditWriter = w
 	c.AuditBackend = pluginlog.NewBackend(w)
 	return nil
 }