Why Regulated Financial Services Roles Take Longer to Fill

In most industries, a vacancy is a resourcing problem. In financial services, it can be a regulatory one. Advice, risk and compliance roles carry licensing, qualification and accountability requirements that shrink the candidate pool and stretch hiring timelines well beyond other sectors. With major regulatory changes landing across 2025 and 2026, workforce planning has become inseparable from compliance planning. 

Why do compliance and risk roles take longer to fill? 

Compliance and risk roles take longer to fill because the candidate pool is defined by regulation, not by the job market. Many roles require specific qualifications, licensing conditions, accountability obligations or regulator-facing experience, and every organisation in the sector is competing for the same small group of people at the same time. 

Several factors compound the delay: 

• Qualification and licensing requirements rule out otherwise capable candidates, so vacancies cannot be filled by adjacent hires without long lead times for training. 

• Regulatory reform creates simultaneous demand. When a new standard lands, every regulated entity needs the same expertise in the same quarter. 

• Accountability regimes make senior candidates cautious. Executives weighing roles with personal accountability obligations take longer to move and expect more due diligence in both directions. 

• Counter-offers are common. Experienced risk and compliance professionals are usually retained hard by their current employer. 

Which regulatory changes are shaping financial services hiring in 2026? 

The changes with the biggest hiring impact in 2026 are APRA’s operational resilience standard CPS 230, the financial adviser qualifications standard, and Payday Super. Each creates demand for a specific type of expertise, and together they are pulling on the same limited pool of risk, compliance and operations talent. 

CPS 230 commenced on 1 July 2025, with transitional arrangements for pre-existing contractual arrangements of non-significant financial institutions running to 1 July 2026. The standard requires APRA-regulated entities to strengthen operational risk management, business continuity and management of service provider arrangements, which is driving demand for operational risk specialists, third-party risk managers and resilience-focused compliance professionals. 

In advice, the qualifications standard took effect on 1 January 2026, requiring advisers to hold an approved qualification or rely on the experienced provider pathway to keep advising retail clients. In superannuation, Payday Super requires employers to pay super at the same time as salary and wages from 1 July 2026, lifting demand for superannuation operations, administration and member services capability. 

What is the outlook for financial adviser supply? 

Adviser supply remains tight, with numbers on ASIC’s Financial Advisers Register sitting around 15,000, close to the lowest level since the register began. ASIC reported 15,469 relevant providers on the register in late 2025 ahead of the qualifications deadline, and numbers have since edged below that mark. 

For employers, the implication is structural rather than cyclical. New entrants must complete an approved degree and a professional year before advising retail clients, so supply responds slowly no matter how strong demand becomes. Firms building adviser capacity are increasingly growing their own, recruiting associate advisers and supporting them through the professional year. 

How do you plan a workforce in a regulated financial services environment? 

Workforce planning in a regulated environment means mapping hiring needs against the regulatory calendar, building lead time into every licensed or accountable role, and developing internal pathways where external supply is constrained. The organisations that fill regulated roles fastest start earliest. 

Practical steps that work: 

• Map upcoming regulatory milestones and identify the roles each one requires, ideally two to four quarters ahead. 

• Treat lead times realistically. Senior risk, compliance and advice hires routinely take a full quarter or more from brief to start date once notice periods are counted. 

• Build succession and internal mobility for accountable roles, so a resignation does not leave an obligation uncovered. 

• Grow entry pathways, including associate adviser programs and graduate risk and compliance intakes. 

• Keep warm relationships with the passive market. The best regulated-role candidates are rarely applying to advertisements. 

Frequently asked questions 

What is CPS 230?  

CPS 230 is APRA’s prudential standard for operational risk management. It commenced on 1 July 2025 and requires APRA-regulated entities to strengthen operational resilience, business continuity and the management of service provider arrangements. 

How long does it take to fill a compliance role in financial services?  

Senior compliance and risk roles commonly take a quarter or more from brief to start date, once search time, licensing checks and notice periods are counted. Planning should begin well before the vacancy opens. 

What qualifications do financial advisers need in 2026?  

From 1 January 2026, advisers must hold an approved qualification or rely on the experienced provider pathway to continue providing personal advice to retail clients, and new entrants must also complete a professional year. 

Ready to build your financial services hiring plan? 

Hiring in a regulated environment rewards preparation. It takes an understanding of the regulatory calendar, realistic lead times for licensed and accountable roles, and access to candidates who are not actively looking.  

At Fuse Recruitment, we partner with financial services employers across compliance, risk, financial planning, superannuation and broking to plan and deliver hiring that keeps pace with regulatory change. If you are planning your workforce for the year ahead, get in touch with our financial services team to build a hiring plan that starts before the deadline does. 

This article is general information only and does not constitute financial advice.