Industry regulations help us maintain quality standards and benchmarks across virtually all Australian industries.
Regulatory bodies maintain tireless efforts across a variety of developmental initiatives, from advancing the healthcare sector with evolving technologies and diverse talent acquisition, to furthering tech and AI preparedness for Australian industries.
The issue is that developing industry regulations requires high-level insights from industry experts. These experts aren’t just required to be highly experienced professionals in their field or industry — they also need to be willing to build a working understanding of the legal system and policymaking in partnership with government agencies.
Naturally, professionals who can fill these roles in industry boards and across other regulatory bodies are in short supply, and especially so for emerging sectors like fintech and AI. So how can we fill in these gaps?
What qualifications are needed for regulatory affairs jobs?
In much the same way as consulting roles don’t come with specific qualifications, roles in the regulatory affairs sector are also not exactly prescriptive when it comes to academic experience.
Professionals just need to:
- be a leading authority in their industry, and
- have a working understanding of governance and policymaking.
As regulatory legislation often directly relates to protecting consumer interests (data privacy, cost management and so on), building familiarity with business law can also be beneficial. This makes pursuing advanced law degrees like a Master of Business Law an attractive upskilling pathway for seasoned industry professionals looking to take on novel challenges.
For emerging sectors like fintech and AI, possessing advanced qualifications that are relevant to these industries is also ideal. Thankfully, more Australian universities and learning institutes are integrating AI degrees and even commerce qualifications with a focus on fintech, ensuring that students with a keen interest in these evolving fields have a strong educational foundation to become thought leaders in these fields.
Key AU industries where regulatory reform is a top priority
Healthcare and aged care
For Australia’s healthcare sector, maintaining a consistent standard of quality across both patient care, as well as working environments for sector professionals, is paramount.
Regulatory bodies within the healthcare sector like the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and the Medical Board of Australia work in partnership with governmental agencies and NGOs to pioneer regulatory reform in the healthcare and aged care sectors that reflects the evolving needs of hospital patients, NDIS patients, Australians living in residential care facilities, and other consumer and patient segments within the healthcare sector.
Childcare services
Access to early childhood education and care (ECEC) services is vital to families nationwide. With skyrocketing demands to be met, however, there are dangers of early childhood learning centres failing to meet regulatory requirements that ensure quality standards for safety and educational enrichment for pre-school-aged children.
Although regulatory reform can help to outline foundational requirements for early childhood learning centres and their personnel, ensuring that early childhood educators meet qualification requirements (Cert IV in Early Childhood Education for centre staff, as well as advanced ECEC degrees for supervisors, centre directors, members on regulatory committeesand so on). These staff training standards help ensure a consistent output quality for age-appropriate education at early childhood learning centres.
Financial services and banking
RBA rate rises have dominated Australia’s news cycles for the past few years, with every interest rate hike manifesting in financial re-strategising for Aussie families. Banks and non-bank lenders are also being scrutinised amidst Australia’s cost of living crisis to ensure consumers are receiving ethical financial products (loans and credit cards with transparent rates, savings accounts that deliver interest as advertised and so on).
Following recent Senate Reports into the efficacy of self-regulating banks, the call for financial industry regulations grows stronger in Australia, with opportunities for industry experts like financial analysts to make their contribution in legislation and policy development.
Technology (AI, SaaS, etc)
With the global reach of companies like Afterpay, fintech has proven itself to be one of Australia’s fastest-growing industries. Fintech also exists at a fascinating intersection between financial services and technology, providing ample career advancement opportunities for specialists across both fields.
Other emerging tech sectors in dire need of regulatory development include SaaS (Software as a Service) industries, which are increasingly supporting small businesses and corporations in digitising operational processes ( such as marketing, administration and supply chain management) and AI.
AI is naturally dominating global media discourse, with regulatory authorities positing questions relating to copyrights and intellectual property, data security and quality management of AI outputs in industry-specific applications (such as to write legal documents and develop governmental policies).
With AI regulation also being a focal point for the Australian public, tech professionals with a keen interest in AI governance can find no shortage of positions across regulatory bodies within the tech sector.
Energy and utilities
Regulatory bodies like the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) and the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) work in partnership with lawmakers as well as energy companies to establish clearly defined rate and revenue caps across residential and commercial energy and utilities contracts. These regulated prices help ensure that energy rates stay affordable for Australian families and business owners, while also encouraging and facilitating desired consumer actions like solar adaptation.
For civil engineers, mining sector analysts and other related roles, a career in regulatory affairs with a focus on energy and utilities will see you shaping Australia’s energy market for the future.
Housing and construction
Australia’s housing crisis is exacerbated by ongoing labour shortages within the construction sector. These labour shortages themselves can be attributed to a lack of industry regulations protecting the safety of construction workers on-site, as well as the earning power of workers and apprentices.
Alongside working towards the best interests of industry workers, other regulatory concerns within the housing and construction sector also revolve around outlining minimum standards for new home builds (through state-operated building agencies), rental properties (through state-operated residential tenancy authorities and consumer affairs groups) and even operational requirements for real estate industry professionals.
Does a career in regulatory affairs suit you?
Developing expert-led legislation and reform processes is key to ensuring that industry regulations don’t just reflect the challenges of today, but are also concerned with the forecast of the future — both within their industry landscape and how gaps in regulations may affect everyday Australians.
For professionals with a keen interest in governance and problem-solving, a career in regulatory affairs is sure to provide potent opportunities to incite meaningful, systemic change within your industry.
Professionals can also easily find regulatory affairs roles online by looking through job listings or by reaching out to their industry network to find opportunities to make a contribution at a higher level through collaborations with personal mentors or recognised industry leaders.
Ultimately, positions in regulatory affairs can be potent aspirations and career goals for Australia’s next generation of professionals. It will be interesting to see what insights younger, future-oriented experts can bring to the table.
