Quality auditing and compliance are both incredibly important areas of any business’s operations. An individual or team will oversee the way the business works and/or what the business offers to ensure the quality of products, services and business operations are at the highest level of compliance.
Quality auditing can relate to ensuring the quality of products and services within a business. Professionals in this role work closely with an organisation to make sure quality standards are being met. Those working in Compliance are generally known as compliance officers or compliance managers. Like auditors, they can work both directly with a company or contracted out. This is a common profession in government bodies, and enjoy working in a range of different industries and workplaces.
The benefit of a career in quality auditing and/or compliance is that professionals with skills and experience in quality assurance and compliance are required in a multitude of industries, particularly fast-growing industries like manufacturing, medical and healthcare, supply chain and transport and finance.
Working in a quality auditing or compliance role is about identifying problems and risk factors to reduce and resolve. Employers are looking for individuals who have excellent attention to detail for this reason. Problem-solving is a big part of the job, as coming up with recommendations and advice for organisations to improve quality or meet compliance standards is imperative. As a skilled quality auditing or compliance professional, you must have great communication skills, be able to work well under pressure and time constraints, as well as be an honest and integrity-based individual.
Health and Safety Managers are responsible for managing all of a business’s WHS requirements on behalf of an employer. They ensure that the workplace complies with all relevant WHS laws. This role requires a higher level of technical knowledge and responsibility than a Work Health Safety Advisor, and often are responsible for more employees and departments within a larger organisation.
Quality Managers or quality assurance managers oversee all quality processes, procedures and programs to make sure the standards exceed governmental requirements and match the quality standard of the company. They can manage a team of quality professionals and auditors, assess compliance and also be involved with customer engagement for product/service feedback.
Internal auditors are qualified professionals who provide evaluations to a business on their quality processes and standards, and recommend improvements and changes to be made. They are either employed independently or considered to be independent of the company to ensure they can properly audit the business operations and processes.
Compliance officers can range from entry-level responsibilities to mid-level, and work in a variety of industries. Professionals in this role can have many responsibilities including auditing, training staff in work health and safety practices, looking at financial compliance, risk assessment and management, and keeping up to date with relevant legislation surrounding compliance.
A Health and Safety Advisor is responsible for advising management on any workplace health and safety issues that may arise, either existing or potential future risks. They identify risks within the business, manage all safety issues, train staff and communicate with internal and external stakeholders about improving the safety standards within the organisation.
Compliance coordinators are heavily involved with collecting and assessing data for an organisation, as well as writing detailed reports and recommendations to improve compliance standards and processes.
Professionals in this role are involved in improving a business’s standards in quality processes, as well as conducting inspections, and proposing solutions to potential quality issues that may arise.
Health and Safety Officers are responsible for implementing and improving safety systems within an organisation. They are responsible for identifying risks and hazards and putting the right processes and controls in place to remove, mitigate or reduce risk to employees. Depending on the size of the organisation, Health and Safety Officers may have a different primary role within the business and have WHS responsibilities on top of that role.
A Work Health and Safety Coordinator ensures all OHS guidelines are followed within a workplace and are usually responsible for providing operational assistance and advice to the organisation regarding the day-to-day management of WHS risks. Depending on the size of the organisation, this job title is similar and interchangeable to WHS Officer and Health Safety Advisor job titles, however in larger organisations there may be multiple WHS Coordinators working within a team under the management of a Health and Safety Manager.
Quality inspectors are responsible for conducting reviews of products when they are being made to ensure they are meeting industry and company standards. This includes running quality tests, writing up reports and identifying risks or issues.
Compliance officers can range from entry-level responsibilities to mid-level, and work in a variety of industries. Professionals in this role can have many responsibilities including auditing, training staff in work health and safety practices, looking at financial compliance, risk assessment and management, and keeping up to date with relevant legislation surrounding compliance.
Health and Safety Managers are responsible for managing all of a business’s WHS requirements on behalf of an employer. They ensure that the workplace complies with all relevant WHS laws. This role requires a higher level of technical knowledge and responsibility than a Work Health Safety Advisor, and often are responsible for more employees and departments within a larger organisation.
Quality Managers or quality assurance managers oversee all quality processes, procedures and programs to make sure the standards exceed governmental requirements and match the quality standard of the company. They can manage a team of quality professionals and auditors, assess compliance and also be involved with customer engagement for product/service feedback.
Internal auditors are qualified professionals who provide evaluations to a business on their quality processes and standards, and recommend improvements and changes to be made. They are either employed independently or considered to be independent of the company to ensure they can properly audit the business operations and processes.
Compliance officers can range from entry-level responsibilities to mid-level, and work in a variety of industries. Professionals in this role can have many responsibilities including auditing, training staff in work health and safety practices, looking at financial compliance, risk assessment and management, and keeping up to date with relevant legislation surrounding compliance.
A Health and Safety Advisor is responsible for advising management on any workplace health and safety issues that may arise, either existing or potential future risks. They identify risks within the business, manage all safety issues, train staff and communicate with internal and external stakeholders about improving the safety standards within the organisation.
Compliance coordinators are heavily involved with collecting and assessing data for an organisation, as well as writing detailed reports and recommendations to improve compliance standards and processes.
Professionals in this role are involved in improving a business’s standards in quality processes, as well as conducting inspections, and proposing solutions to potential quality issues that may arise.
Health and Safety Officers are responsible for implementing and improving safety systems within an organisation. They are responsible for identifying risks and hazards and putting the right processes and controls in place to remove, mitigate or reduce risk to employees. Depending on the size of the organisation, Health and Safety Officers may have a different primary role within the business and have WHS responsibilities on top of that role.
A Work Health and Safety Coordinator ensures all OHS guidelines are followed within a workplace and are usually responsible for providing operational assistance and advice to the organisation regarding the day-to-day management of WHS risks. Depending on the size of the organisation, this job title is similar and interchangeable to WHS Officer and Health Safety Advisor job titles, however in larger organisations there may be multiple WHS Coordinators working within a team under the management of a Health and Safety Manager.
Quality inspectors are responsible for conducting reviews of products when they are being made to ensure they are meeting industry and company standards. This includes running quality tests, writing up reports and identifying risks or issues.
Compliance officers can range from entry-level responsibilities to mid-level, and work in a variety of industries. Professionals in this role can have many responsibilities including auditing, training staff in work health and safety practices, looking at financial compliance, risk assessment and management, and keeping up to date with relevant legislation surrounding compliance.
A day in the life of a quality auditing professional or compliance officer varies greatly depending on the industry. In general, professionals in these roles can expect to be writing, viewing or assessing reports, meeting with stakeholders or other employees, communicating new or improved procedures or policies to teams and department heads, conducting audits or compliance assessments and more. Quality auditors in certain industries such as manufacturing may need to visit different plants or locations, or, as a skilled quality assurance professional, visit different practices in the healthcare sector. Compliance officers can work autonomously or within a team reporting to a compliance manager and have a financial and data analysis focus with assessing operational processes or business activities.
Compliance challenges in the finance sector
Reports on the top compliance challenges that organisations experience show that there are three major and consistent challenges faced in compliance, particularly in the finance sector:
Resource constraints (42%)
Time (35%)
Capability (23%)
Improving visibility in compliance
Since the Royal Commission, data shows that Australian business leaders in this sector have in fact taken a strong approach to ensure visibility is increased in compliance, with almost 75% of surveyed executives reporting this increase, which is significant to the approximately 45% reported in 2017. (IDM, 2019)
This opens up plenty of career opportunities for professionals seeking a compliance career, with Seek reporting a strong job growth trajectory for compliance managers, with 9.8% projected job growth in five years (SEEK).
As the world adapts to post-COVID, in the work world, quality auditing and compliance have never been so important. Deloitte’s survey of executives around the globe identified that 90% of leaders feel their company would greatly benefit from an increased auditing approach to all business operations, to be more prepared for risks in these times.
“Adhering to sound internal controls principles and practices, employing robust systems of quality control and entrenching a culture of ethics and integrity can go a long way to helping an organisation remain resilient in times of crisis.” – Forbes, 2020
Having one of the best compliance certifications under your belt will allow you to be prepared to confidently step into a variety of business compliance roles. Develop key skills in risk management and compliance risk functions, leadership and quality auditing.
100% Online Learning
Approx 14-16 months part-time
Approx 12 months full-time
Compliance Manager$94,000
Compliance Coordinator$68,000
Compliance Officer$66,000
Enhance your Quality Auditing career and refine your skills to manage and implement quality measurement procedures and audits, ensuring compliance across your organisation. Learn to manage the quality of projects and processes, develop continuous improvement initiatives, and to get the most out of your team.
100% Online Learning
Approx 14-16 months part-time
Approx 12 months full-time
Quality Assurance Coordinator$69,000
Quality Manager$98,000
Internal Auditor$71,000
Develop a basic understanding of occupational health and safety law, and how to navigate the technical aspects related to WHS processes within any organisation. Learn how to best contribute to WHS decisions, supporting their implementation and influencing change within your organisation.
100% Online Learning
Approx 10-12 months part-time
Approx 8 months full-time
Safety Officer$69,000
Work Health Safety Coordinator$72,000
Health Safety Advisor$85,000
Develop key occupational health and safety skills and strengthen your ability to make informed decisions, preparing you to take on leading WHS roles within any organisation. Consolidate and develop your skills around risk analysis and incident response while increasing your ability to lead WHS practices.
100% Online Learning
Approx 12-14 months part-time
Approx 12 months full-time
Work Health Safety Coordinator$72,000
Health Safety Advisor$85,000
Health and Safety Manager$117,000
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Our team, assessments and feedback are all focused on helping you in your career, not just completing your course. As the only RTO offering this, our guarantee is part of our ongoing work to go beyond just a piece of paper.
[I] started on the tools … [then went on to study] project management/construction management, which then saw me lead into the role I am now and the company that I’m with. Everyday I use the topics learned, it doesn’t end at study, from risk assessing to quality control and so on.
[It] was good to get first-hand knowledge from people who have done this for many, many years. I was able to implement that in my learning, which has now rolled over into my career.
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My experience with Jenni the career counsellor was exceptional…The feedback was so helpful. She was encouraging too, and made me feel more sure about how to ‘sell myself’ to the target employers. I am very impressed with CAL’s careers hub – many resources that I will use. Thank you very much for your help.
– Samantha M.
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