Associate Registrar, Student Governance and Compliance

Torrens University Australia; Sydney; On-site; AUD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Study support

B Corp culture

Internal opportunities

Job summary

Torrens University Australia is seeking a senior regulatory compliance leader to translate complex university regulations into practical, day-to-day processes for staff. You will own ESOS, the National Code, TEQSA/ASQA alignment, and PRISMS, CRICOS compliance, while guiding incident responses and regulator interactions.

You will oversee complaints and appeals, ensure procedural fairness and robust record-keeping, and drive improvements across the student lifecycle, including wellbeing and safety

Qualifications

• University background with senior experience in higher education student administration.
• Strong knowledge of ESOS Act and National Code and ability to apply to real work processes.
• Experience turning regulatory requirements into usable policies, procedures and controls.
• Hands-on experience managing student complaints and appeals, including high-risk matters.
• Experience leading responses to external complaints, investigations or regulators.
• Experience overseeing the student lifecycle including records and completions.
• Experience in student wellbeing and safety, including gender-based violence compliance.

Responsibilities

• Interpret and translate rules into clear policies, procedures, controls and evidence.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of ESOS, National Code, CRICOS, PRISMS, TEQSA and ASQA.
• Build a risk-based assurance framework for complaints, safety, completions and records.
• Identify regulatory changes early and adapt processes accordingly.
• Oversee complaints, appeals, misconduct and academic integrity matters; lead complex cases.
• Lead external complaints responses and regulator interactions; coordinate with Legal and Risk.
• Ensure compliant handling of sensitive disclosures; support gender-based violence compliance.
• Ensure accurate student outcomes, records and audit-ready reporting.
• Recruit, coach and develop your team for accuracy and service.

Skills

ESOS Act knowledge

National Code knowledge

Policy development

Case management

Stakeholder engagement

Leadership

TEQSA/ASQA knowledge

Education

Postgraduate qualification in a relevant field

Job description

At Torrens University Australia, making a difference is in our DNA. As a Certified B Corporation, we belong to a global community of future-focused companies using business as a force for good. We believe in the transformative power of education to change lives, families, communities – and the world. That’s why we’re on a mission to increase access to higher education, so learners from all walks of life can chase their dreams.

Just like our students, our employees are a diverse group who want to make an impact. When you join us, we give you the freedom to be bold, creative and courageous – with flexible working arrangements that allow you to bring your best. We’ve built a culture that celebrates community, collaboration and innovation, where people love what they do.

The role in a nutshell

Rules only protect students if they work in practice. This role takes the regulations that govern a university and turns them into everyday processes that staff can follow and that stand up to scrutiny.

You’ll be our go‑to expert on regulatory compliance in student administration, especially ESOS and the National Code for international students. You won’t only advise from the sidelines. You’ll get hands‑on with real complaints, appeals and regulator responses, then use what you learn to fix the process behind them.

You’ll report to the Academic Registrar and the Senior Director, Academic Services, and lead a team.

Why this role is different

Many compliance roles stop at “here’s the rule”. This one starts there. Your job is to answer the next questions:

• What does this rule mean for a student, an admissions officer or a faculty team?
• What process, check or record keeps us compliant every day?
• How would we prove it to a regulator or auditor?
• When the rules change, how quickly can we change the way we work?

What you’ll be doing

• Interpret the rules that apply to us and translate them into clear policies, procedures, controls and evidence requirements.
• Keep us on top of ESOS, the National Code, CRICOS and PRISMS for international students. Alongside these you’ll cover TEQSA, ASQA, the Higher Education Standards Framework, privacy and the Higher Education Support Act.
• Build and maintain a risk‑based assurance framework covering complaints, student safety, completions and records, so we know our processes work and can show it.
• Spot emerging regulatory changes early and adapt our processes before they become problems.

Hands‑on complaints and case resolution

• Oversee complaints, appeals, misconduct and academic integrity matters, and personally lead the complex and high‑risk ones.
• Make sure every case follows procedural fairness, natural justice, confidentiality and good record‑keeping.
• Use case trends to find root causes and stop problems recurring.

External complaints and regulators

• Lead our response to external complaints and investigations, including matters referred to the National Student Ombudsman.
• Prepare clear, evidence‑based submissions, bring in input from Legal, Risk, Compliance and academic teams, and make sure agreed recommendations are carried out.
• Escalate serious findings and potential breaches to the right people, promptly.

Student safety, wellbeing and GBV compliance

• Provide oversight to support compliance with the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender‑based Violence.
• Make sure responses to sensitive disclosures are caring, well documented and follow the right referral steps.

Records, completions and reporting

• Be accountable for accurate student outcomes, reliable academic records and audit‑ready reporting on complaints, safety, completions and graduation.

Leading people

• Recruit, coach and develop your team, and keep them focused on accuracy, accountability and good service.

What you’ll bring

• A university background, with senior experience in higher education academic or student administration.
• Strong, practical knowledge of the ESOS Act and the National Code, and the ability to apply them to real work processes. You should also have strong knowledge of TEQSA, ASQA and the Higher Education Standards Framework, and working knowledge of CRICOS and PRISMS.
• Proven experience turning regulatory requirements into policies, procedures and controls that people actually use.
• Hands‑on experience managing student complaints and appeals, including complex and high‑risk matters.
• Experience leading responses to external complaints, investigations or regulators.
• Experience overseeing the student lifecycle, including progression, records and completions.
• Experience in student wellbeing and safety, including sensitive disclosures and gender‑based violence compliance.
• Proven ability to lead a team and deliver results in a complex environment.
• A postgraduate qualification in a relevant field, or equivalent professional experience.

Great to have

• Qualifications or certifications in governance, compliance, risk or investigations.
• Experience using data, digital tools and AI to improve case management and reporting.

The kind of person who’ll thrive

• Hands‑on and strategic. You can work through a difficult case in the morning and redesign the process behind it in the afternoon.
• Agile. Regulations change and urgent matters arrive without warning. You pivot quickly without losing accuracy.
• Practical. You explain complex rules in plain language and build processes people can follow.
• Fair and level‑headed. You balance compliance with empathy and keep responses proportionate.
• Confident with senior people. You can advise leaders and challenge constructively across Academic, Legal, Risk and Student Services.

This is a permanent, full‑time position that can be based at any of our campus locations: Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide or Brisbane.

Good to know

You’ll work closely with the Provost and Deputy Vice‑Chancellor (Academic), Academic Board, faculties, Legal, Risk, Compliance, Internal Audit and external regulators. The role may occasionally involve travel, work outside ordinary hours, and attendance at governance meetings and graduation ceremonies.

Bold, modern and agile, we’re Australia’s fastest‑growing university, going from 164 students in 2014 to 40,000+ alumni across 115+ countries and 2000+ staff today. In 2020, Australian Financial Review named us one of the country’s most innovative companies. As we continue to establish ourselves as a truly global university, we never lose sight of our student‑centric approach. Supported by teams of passionate people, you’ll find endless opportunities for professional development and career progression.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and committed to creating an inclusive workplace. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion, age, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or any other protected characteristic.

We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for all positions.

What we offer:

We support your personal passions, development and wellbeing, to make your working life a more rewarding experience. At Torrens University Australia, you’ll benefit from:

• Study free in a course/degree related to your position
• B Corp certified university – values driven, and purpose led
• Access to internal opportunities - Be supported to learn, grow and move across the organisation

Hiring process

We aim to provide you with the information you need at each stage of this process to help you present your best self. If you have any accessibility requirements, please contact your recruiter at [e-mail] for confidential support. We are committed to ensuring an equitable, barrier‑free application process and have a Reasonable Adjustment Procedure in place to support you throughout the recruitment process.

Job reference: R31044

To ensure a fair and thorough review process, applications for this role will close on Wednesday 4th November.

Please note, we may close applications earlier should a suitable candidate be identified. You can expect to hear from our Talent Acquisition team after this date with updates regarding your application.