Introduction
The Director Compliance at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development leads risk-based regulatory activity in biosecurity, food safety and animal welfare. The brief covers monitoring, education and enforcement as well as the policies and legislation that support those programs. It is a senior executive role with significant public, industry and environmental consequences.
If you are working out how to apply for Director Compliance, show the strategic decisions behind a regulatory program. Explain how you prioritised risks, chose a mix of interventions, managed scarce resources and measured whether compliance improved. Make the scale of your executive responsibility clear.
The department asks for a CV and a cover letter addressing suitability, without a page limit in the public advertisement. Use the letter to connect your regulatory leadership with the specific biosecurity, food safety and animal welfare remit. Give the reader a clear view of your executive judgement and the teams or programs you led.
Read the official Director Compliance vacancy. Applications close 7 October 2026 at 11:55 pm. Check the employer application page for current instructions before submitting.
In this guide
- Role snapshot
- Application requirements
- Candidate evidence
- Example application structure
- Before you submit
- Help with your application
Director Compliance role snapshot
| Role | Director Compliance |
|---|---|
| Organisation | Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development |
| Location | Sydney or regional NSW, with hybrid working |
| Employment | Ongoing full-time; Senior Executive Band 1 |
| Pay | Total remuneration package $238,174 to $263,868 including superannuation |
| Job reference | 510261 |
| Closing date | 7 October 2026 at 11:55 pm |
| Official details | View the NSW Government vacancy |
Application requirements for Director Compliance
- Curriculum vitae.
- Cover letter addressing suitability for the position.
Essential role requirements and eligibility
The successful applicant may need a police check, health assessment and other pre-employment assessments. The public advertisement does not state a mandatory qualification; confirm the full role-description conditions.
Candidate evidence for Director Compliance
The role calls for leadership of risk-based regulatory programs, education and enforcement strategy, high-level policy and legislative direction, cross-divisional collaboration, and advice to executives and the Minister’s Office amid competing government and industry priorities.
| Evidence area | What to demonstrate |
|---|---|
| Risk-based regulation | Describe how you allocated monitoring and enforcement effort according to harm, likelihood and industry conditions. State the result. |
| Executive judgement | Show how you advised a senior decision-maker when legislative constraints, stakeholder demands and resource limits pulled in different directions. |
| Service leadership | Explain how you built a team or cross-divisional model that improved regulatory service quality and accountability. |
Example application structure for Director Compliance
Use the cover letter to demonstrate executive judgement in a regulatory choice. The CV can then establish the size of the programs, teams and budgets behind that judgement.
| Part | What to include |
|---|---|
| Opening | Set out your regulatory leadership scope and connection to the department’s three priority domains. |
| Strategic program | Use a risk-based compliance program to show design, choice of interventions and measured outcome. |
| Complex advice | Describe a contested policy or operational decision and the recommendation you gave. |
| Close | Explain the leadership approach you would bring to the division; use the CV for a fuller record of scale and results. |
What the panel needs to see
- Proportionate choices across education, monitoring and enforcement.
- Evidence of executive influence under competing pressures.
- Clear ownership of program outcomes and staff leadership.
Before you submit
- Confirm the role description and application form requirements.
- Make the cover letter and CV consistent about the scale of your leadership.
- Use verifiable outcomes without disclosing protected regulatory material.
Return to the official Director Compliance listing for the application link, closing date and any updated instructions.
Help with your Director Compliance application
For an executive application, show how you made choices with incomplete information and competing public interests. The reasoning behind a regulatory decision is as important as the number of programs overseen.
We can help organise a senior regulatory record into a clear account of risk choices, public outcomes and leadership scope. Governance and Risk application support can help you prepare the written application, while the current shortlist lets you compare other roles. You review the final documents and submit them through the employer’s portal.