Head of Compliance

High Speed Rail Authority | EL2 | Canberra, Newcastle or Sydney. Full-time/Part-Time – ongoing or temporary contract.

• Compliance leadership role during the Project Development phase, reporting to the General Counsel & Company Secretary.
• Develop and maintain robust compliance frameworks, policies and culture across the Authority at an enterprise level.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with Stakeholders including Executive Leadership Team, project delivery teams, auditors, regulators and government stakeholders.

About the High Speed Rail Authority

The Australian Government is planning a future high speed rail network to connect Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and regional communities across the east coast of Australia.

The High Speed Rail Authority (the Authority) is an independent corporate Commonwealth entity governed by an independent board, established to lead the development and delivery of high speed rail.

High Speed Rail – Line 1 connects Newcastle to Sydney in around one hour on a dedicated high speed railway. From the Central Coast it will take around 30 minutes to get to Newcastle or to Sydney. With funding now committed to progress Line 1, HSRA are building their capability to develop and deliver this generational program.

High speed rail will contribute to key Australian Government priorities, including increased economic productivity, new housing options, regional economic and tourism development and contributing to net zero.

About the Role

The Head of Compliance role offers the chance to be an instrumental influence on ensuring the Authority’s compliance with all relevant policies, regulations and legislative requirements.

You will play a pivotal part in shaping the future of transport, contributing to economic productivity, regional development, and sustainability goals.

With flexible working arrangements available in either Sydney, Newcastle or Canberra, this position is ideal if you are seeking a meaningful career move within a supportive and knowledgeable team environment.

The organisation values diversity, professional growth, and offers ongoing opportunities for training and development.

Your Impact

Your compliance expertise will assist in driving a high compliance culture within the Authority by:

• Maintaining and continuously enhancing legislative compliance frameworks to ensure alignment with evolving regulatory, policy, and statutory obligations relevant to a complex public sector environment.
• Overseeing the operational compliance programme by developing and managing compliance registers, monitoring activities, and implementing effective reporting mechanisms.
• Ensuring appropriate management systems, tools, processes, and controls are in place to support efficient compliance management and timely escalation of issues as required.
• Collaborating closely with internal stakeholders to embed compliance requirements into business processes and everyday operations, nurturing a culture of accountability.
• Monitoring organisational compliance performance while supporting the identification, assessment, and mitigation of potential risks across multiple functions.
• Leading the review, assessment, and resolution of compliance breaches by investigating incidents collaboratively with business units and implementing remediation actions.
• Preparing detailed compliance reports and management attestations for senior leadership teams and audit committees, including statements of compliance as required.

About You

You’re an experienced compliance professional with a strong understanding of best practice compliance principles in a Commonwealth statutory Authority. You bring:

• Demonstrated understanding of Commonwealth statutory context in which HSRA operates, including working knowledge of the PGPA, PSPF, Commonwealth Procurement Rules, Privacy Act, National Archives Act and related policies.
• Demonstrated experience in a compliance, risk or governance role within a complex or regulated organisation.
• Experience establishing and maintaining compliance registers, reporting and breach management processes.
• High level of attention to detail and strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience establishing and maintain compliance registers, reporting and breach management processes.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to work collaboratively with the business to achieve compliance outcomes

Eligibility

Employment with the Authority is subject to the conditions prescribed within the Public Service Act 1999. To be eligible, you must:

• Be an Australian citizen
• Hold or be able to obtain a Baseline security clearance & satisfy a National Police check (mandatory pre-employment screening).

In addition to the above key capabilities, to be eligible for this position you must:

• Have at least 3 years’ practical experience in a legal and compliance function within an organisation working with an Audit and Risk Committee.
• Experience in a public sector, infrastructure or highly regulated environment.
• Relevant qualifications in law, business, finance, compliance, risk or governance.
• Compliance certification (eg. CCEP, CRCMP) desirable but not required

RecruitAbility

The High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce and supporting the employment of people with disability.

As a participating agency in the APS RecruitAbility Scheme, HSRA will progress applicants with disability to a further stage of the recruitment process where they choose to opt into RecruitAbility and demonstrate that they meet the minimum requirements of the role.

If you would like to participate in RecruitAbility, please indicate this when submitting your application.

HSRA is committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process to ensure all candidates have an equitable opportunity to participate. Adjustments may include modifications to the recruitment process, accessible formats, specialist equipment, or other practical supports. If you require any adjustments, please include this information in your application or contact the nominated contact officer to discuss your needs.

For further information about the RecruitAbility Scheme, please visit the APS RecruitAbility Scheme Guide for Applicants.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Before preparing your application for the High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA), please read APSC’s Principles for candidate use of AI in recruitment.

These principles are designed to support the responsible use of AI throughout the recruitment process, while ensuring fairness, transparency and the integrity of merit-based selection. They provide clear guidance on how AI may be used to assist with your application, as well as outlining the types of AI use that are not appropriate in APS recruitment processes.

Candidates are expected to comply with these principles and maintain the authenticity and integrity of their application at all stages of the recruitment process.

Next Steps

Please find a copy of the Position Description here: External Candidate Pack

Applications close on Sunday, 22 November 2026 at 11:59pm AEDT.

To apply, please submit your CV together with a suitability statement to our recruitment partners, Robert Walters.

A full position description is available to download on www.robertwalters.com.au/hsra.html or via request.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are encouraged to apply.
To apply please click apply or call Robert Kruger on +61 2 8289 3230 for a confidential discussion.