Job Title

Senior Compliance Officer

Job Overview

The Senior Compliance Officer is responsible for overseeing and strengthening the organisation’s regulatory compliance framework across its Digital Currency Exchange, remittance services, and AFSL-regulated activities. This role has a strong focus on ensuring compliance with AUSTRAC, ASIC, AML/CTF, licensing, reporting, governance, and regulatory engagement obligations.

The Senior Compliance Officer will provide regulatory compliance advice to management and business teams, including guidance to KYC onboarding, AML operations, product, and customer-facing teams. The role is expected to support the ongoing development of compliance policies, monitoring programs, regulatory reporting, and financial crime risk controls.

Key Responsibilities

Regulatory Compliance and Framework Oversight

• Develop, implement, and maintain the organisation’s compliance framework across DCE, remittance, AML/CTF, and AFSL obligations.

• Ensure ongoing compliance with AUSTRAC requirements, ASIC regulatory standards, licence conditions, and applicable financial services obligations.

• Monitor regulatory developments and assess their impact on the business.

• Advise the business on regulatory change, compliance obligations, and implementation requirements.

AML/CTF Program Oversight

• Maintain and enhance the organisation’s AML/CTF program, including customer identification, customer due diligence, enhanced due diligence, transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, and suspicious matter reporting processes.

• Support the designated AML/CTF Compliance Officer function, or act as the AML/CTF Compliance Officer where required.

• Review and advise on complex AML, KYC, sanctions, and customer risk matters.

• Ensure AML/CTF controls are aligned with the organisation’s risk-based approach.

KYC Onboarding and AML Advisory

• Provide guidance to KYC onboarding teams on customer due diligence, enhanced due diligence, source of funds/source of wealth, high-risk customers, and escalation procedures.

• Advise AML operations and onboarding teams on complex customer risk assessments and regulatory expectations.

• Support decision-making on customer acceptance, rejection, restrictions, and ongoing monitoring.

• Assist in developing KYC procedures, onboarding standards, risk rating methodologies, and escalation frameworks.

Regulatory Engagement

• Support engagement with regulators, including AUSTRAC and ASIC.

• Prepare and coordinate responses to regulatory enquiries, inspections, audits, and reviews.

• Manage or assist with regulatory reporting, notifications, licence obligations, and compliance attestations.

• Maintain records of regulatory correspondence and actions arising from regulatory engagement.

Financial Crime Risk Management

• Identify, assess, and mitigate risks relating to money laundering, terrorism financing, fraud, scams, sanctions breaches, and other financial crime risks.

• Review emerging financial crime typologies and recommend enhancements to controls.

• Support investigation of significant incidents, breaches, unusual activity, and suspicious matters.

• Oversee remediation actions and ensure control gaps are addressed.

AFSL and Remittance Compliance

• Support compliance with AFSL obligations, including general conduct obligations, breach reporting, and financial services governance.

• Ensure compliance with remittance obligations, including reporting and operational controls.

• Advise relevant business teams on obligations connected to financial services, cross-border payments, remittance, and digital asset products.

Policy, Governance and Assurance

• Develop and maintain compliance policies, procedures, frameworks, registers, and governance documents.

• Design and execute compliance monitoring and assurance programs.

• Conduct periodic reviews, control testing and independent assessments.

• Report findings and track remediation actions through to completion.

Training and Culture

• Develop and deliver compliance, regulatory, AML/CTF, KYC, and financial crime training.

• Promote a strong compliance culture across the organisation.

• Provide practical guidance to staff on regulatory obligations and expected conduct.

Reporting and Stakeholder Management

• Prepare compliance and risk reports for senior management, board, and relevant committees.

• Highlight key regulatory risks, breaches, incidents, control gaps, and remediation actions.

• Engage with internal stakeholders, including product, operations, onboarding, finance, legal, and leadership teams.

• Mentor junior compliance staff and support capability development within the compliance function.

Qualifications and Experience

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Law, Finance, Business, Commerce, or a related field is required.

• Professional certifications such as CAMS, RG146, or equivalent compliance qualifications are highly desirable.

Experience

• Minimum 3–5 years of compliance, regulatory compliance, AML/CTF, financial crime, or risk experience.

• Strong experience with AUSTRAC-regulated entities, AML/CTF obligations, KYC frameworks, and regulatory reporting.

• Experience in fintech, digital assets, payments, remittance, or AFSL-regulated financial services is highly desirable.

• Experience engaging with regulators, auditors, senior management, and operational teams is preferred.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong knowledge of AUSTRAC AML/CTF framework and ASIC regulatory requirements.

• Understanding of DCE registration, digital asset compliance, remittance obligations, and AFSL compliance.

• Strong practical knowledge of KYC enhanced due diligence, transaction monitoring, sanctions, SMR processes, and financial crime risk controls.

• Ability to interpret legislation, regulatory guidance, and compliance obligations and translate them into practical business controls.

• Strong analytical, investigation, and risk assessment skills.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to provide clear and practical advice to business teams.

• Strong stakeholder management skills, including engagement with senior management and regulators.

Personal Attributes

• High integrity and strong professional judgment.

• Confident advising on complex regulatory and financial crime matters.

• Proactive in identifying risks and improving controls.

• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced fintech and regulatory environment.

• Strong leadership, mentoring, and stakeholder management ability.

• Commercially aware while maintaining strong regulatory discipline.