Senior Compliance Officer

About the role

The Senior Compliance Officer will manage the day-to-day compliance function for AIP FS Pty Ltd (AFSL 700016) and lead the operational workstream to vary the AFSL to add general financial product advice to retail clients while retaining its wholesale scope. Reporting to the COO, this is a hands-on senior individual-contributor role with direct exposure to Responsible Managers, the Risk and Compliance Committee and the Board. The role will provide independent advice and escalation while personally completing the monitoring, supervision, assessments, registers, reporting, training, investigations and remediation required to keep the licence and business control environment effective.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the AFSL variation workstream (AFSL providing general financial product advice to wholesale and retail clients), including authorisation scoping, application inputs and evidence, coordination of specialist advisers, ASIC information requests and a controlled readiness plan.

• Complete a business-wide retail gap assessment and update affected policies, procedures, disclosures, client journeys, contracts, registers, systems, training and records before launch; permit no retail activity before authorisation and formal readiness sign-off.

• Maintain the compliance framework, obligations register, compliance calendar and core registers covering incidents and breaches, complaints, conflicts, representatives, training, marketing approvals and regulatory correspondence.

• Assess incidents and potential breaches, conduct investigations and root-cause analysis, advise on reportability, prepare notifications and verify remediation to closure.

• Coordinate Responsible Manager and organisational competence evidence, licence conditions, representative appointments, financial requirements, annual obligations, audits and regulator engagement.

• Own the ASIC lodgement calendar and portal process: prepare, coordinate required approvals or signatures, submit and retain evidence for reportable situations, annual financial statements and audit materials, licence and Responsible Manager changes, representative and auditor notifications, IDR data and other applicable AFSL returns.

• Maintain the compliance arrangements for retail and wholesale general financial product advice, including the FSG, general advice warnings, client classification, complaints and IDR, AFCA, marketing review, representative competency and Design and Distribution Obligations where applicable.

• Maintain and enforce the prohibition on personal advice across representative authorities, processes, training, templates, communications and supervision.

• Design and execute a risk-based monitoring and supervision program covering representative communications, presentations, webinars, marketing, client interactions, disclosures, complaints, client classification, training and records.

• Perform scheduled, thematic and event-driven reviews; document samples, evidence, findings and risk ratings; distinguish isolated errors from systemic weaknesses and escalate material matters promptly.

About you

• 10+ years' financial services compliance experience, including at least five years with senior, hands-on responsibility for operating an AFSL compliance function.

• Direct experience leading or materially supporting an AFSL application or variation and implementing operational readiness for retail general financial product advice.

• Recent experience in an AFSL providing general financial product advice to retail and wholesale clients; wholesale-only or personal-advice-only experience is insufficient.

• Demonstrated monitoring and representative supervision experience, including risk-based sampling, evidence review, findings, escalation, remediation and effectiveness testing.

• Substantial AML/CTF experience across scope assessment, risk assessment, program design, CDD, beneficial ownership, PEP and sanctions screening, ongoing monitoring, AUSTRAC reporting, training and assurance.

• Strong knowledge of the Corporations Act and relevant ASIC requirements; asset consulting, investment management, SMA, platform or Responsible Entity experience is highly regarded.

• Tertiary qualification in law, finance, commerce, risk or a related discipline; recognised compliance or risk qualifications are highly regarded.

• Senior, hands-on operator — forms a defensible view, influences senior stakeholders and personally executes the work.

• Independent and courageous — challenges assumptions and escalates material concerns without delay.

• Commercially pragmatic — builds proportionate, workable controls without compromising obligations.

About us

At Aequitas Investment Partners, we empower independent financial advisers and AFSLs to scale efficiently and profitably. Through institutional-grade SMAs and rigorous investment governance frameworks, we simplify investment operations and free advisers' time to focus on what counts most — serving their clients. As we enter our next phase of growth, we are strengthening the compliance capability supporting our AFSL, asset consulting services and broader business operations.

Benefits

• Meaningful Ownership: You will have genuine accountability for shaping and operating the compliance function, with direct access to senior decision-makers.

• Breadth of Exposure: The role spans AFSL compliance, investment governance, enterprise risk and the practical control environment of a growing asset consulting business.

• Senior Influence, Hands-on Work: You will be trusted to advise at Board and executive level while remaining the practitioner who turns decisions into evidence and outcomes.

• Flexibility & Autonomy: As a boutique investment firm, we operate with agility and focus on outcomes, sound judgement and accountability.

• Purpose & Scale: You will help build the disciplined, scalable governance required for the next phase of Aequitas' growth.