Governance Risk Management & Compliance

GRC Systems Compliance In Australia: Key Requirements Before You Buy

Wraps up in 15 Minutes

Author: Gavin Altus

Published On February 26, 2026

If you’re looking to invest in a GRC system, compliance is probably at the top of your priority list – and rightly so.

In Australia, organisations face increasing scrutiny from regulators, higher expectations from stakeholders and serious consequences when compliance falls short.

Choosing the wrong GRC system can leave you exposed, even if the software looks impressive on the surface.

Many organisations make the mistake of buying a GRC platform based on features, price or brand recognition, without fully checking whether it supports Australian compliance requirements.

This often happens when global systems are introduced without local alignment.

The result is a platform that looks powerful but struggles to meet WHS obligations, privacy expectations or audit evidence requirements.

Compliance in Australia isn’t just about having policies in place. Regulators expect you to demonstrate accountability, provide clear evidence and show that risks and incidents are actively managed.

Your GRC system plays a critical role in making this possible. If it doesn’t support local requirements properly, your organisation carries the risk, not the software provider.

This guide is designed to help you avoid that situation. It walks you through the key compliance requirements Australian organisations must consider before buying a GRC system.

What Does ‘Compliance’ Mean in the Context of GRC Systems?

When people talk about compliance, they often mean different things.

Some think it’s about following laws and regulations. Others see it as preparing for audits or ticking off obligations on a checklist.

In the context of GRC systems, compliance means something more practical and far more important – it’s about proving that your organisation consistently meets its obligations.

Understanding this distinction helps you choose the right system.

Compliance Is More Than Rules

In Australia, regulators don’t just want to know that you have policies or procedures in place.

They want evidence that those policies are followed, reviewed and updated, and that risks and incidents are actively managed. This means compliance isn’t just about intent, it’s about action and documentation.

A GRC system supports compliance by:

structuring how you manage obligations
recording actions taken
tracking responsibilities
storing evidence
providing audit trails

Without this structure, compliance becomes difficult to demonstrate, even if your organisation is doing the right things.

Organisational Compliance vs System Compliance

It’s important to understand the difference between your organisation being compliant and your GRC system being compliant.

Organisational compliance depends on how well your people follow processes and meet obligations.
System compliance depends on whether your GRC platform supports those processes properly.

A system that lacks audit trails, evidence tracking, or accountability features can undermine your compliance efforts, no matter how committed your team is.

What Regulators Expect to See

Australian regulators typically expect organisations to demonstrate:

clear ownership of risks and obligations
documented controls and treatments
records of incidents and investigations
evidence of corrective actions
regular reviews and updates
accurate, accessible reporting

Your GRC system should make all of this easy, not force you to create workarounds.

How GRC Systems Enable Compliance

A well-designed GRC system doesn’t just store information. It actively guides your compliance processes by:

prompting users to complete required tasks
sending reminders and escalations
linking risks, incidents and controls
creating time-stamped records
generating regulator-ready reports

This ensures compliance is built into everyday operations, not treated as a last-minute exercise.

Why Australian Compliance Requirements Are Different

If you’ve ever compared Australian compliance requirements with those in other countries, you’ll know that Australia operates in a particularly strict and detailed regulatory environment.

This is one of the main reasons why not every GRC system is suitable for Australian organisations – even if it works well overseas.

Understanding what makes Australian compliance different will help you avoid buying a system that simply isn’t fit for purpose.

A Regulation-Heavy Environment

Australia has strong expectations around safety, accountability, privacy and ethical conduct.

Regulators don’t just issue guidelines – they actively enforce them. This means organisations are expected to maintain high standards at all times, not just during audits.

Compliance obligations often apply across multiple areas at once, including:

workplace health and safety
privacy and data protection
ethical sourcing and modern slavery
operational risk and resilience
governance and accountability

A GRC system must be capable of supporting all of these areas together, not in isolation.

A Strong Focus on Evidence and Accountability

One of the biggest differences in Australia is the emphasis on evidence. Regulators typically want proof that you are managing risks properly, not just statements saying that you are.

This includes evidence such as:

documented risk assessments
incident investigation records
corrective actions and follow-ups
policy reviews and approvals
staff acknowledgements
audit histories

If your GRC system can’t easily produce this information, compliance becomes harder to demonstrate – even if the work is being done behind the scenes.

Why Global GRC Platforms Often Fall Short

Many global GRC platforms are built with broad, international use in mind.

While they may offer powerful features, they often lack alignment with Australian requirements, particularly around:

WHS incident workflows
privacy breach reporting expectations
modern slavery documentation
industry-specific obligations
local terminology and processes

In some cases, organisations are forced to customise heavily or build workarounds, which increases cost, complexity and risk.

Australia’s Enforcement Culture

Australian regulators tend to focus on outcomes, not just processes. They expect organisations to take responsibility, act quickly when issues arise and continuously improve their controls.

This means your GRC system must support:

clear ownership of actions
timely reporting
consistent follow-through
continuous monitoring

A system that only works as a static repository won’t meet these expectations.

The Importance of Local Alignment

When a GRC system is designed with Australian compliance in mind, it naturally aligns with how organisations here operate. This includes familiar workflows, appropriate reporting formats and features that reflect real regulatory expectations.

Local alignment reduces friction, improves adoption and gives you more confidence that your system will stand up to scrutiny when it matters most.

Core Australian Regulatory Requirements Your GRC System Must Support

Before you buy a GRC system, you need to be confident that it can support the specific regulatory requirements Australian organisations are expected to meet.

These requirements aren’t optional, and they apply across multiple areas of your operations. A GRC system that can’t support them properly may leave gaps that only become visible during an audit or regulatory review.

Below are the core Australian regulatory areas your GRC system must be able to handle.

1 – WHS Legislation & Incident Reporting Requirements

Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) obligations apply to almost every organisation in Australia.

Regulators expect you to provide a safe working environment and to actively manage hazards and incidents.

Your GRC system should support WHS compliance by allowing you to:

capture incidents quickly and consistently
record near misses and hazards
guide investigations using structured workflows
assign corrective and preventive actions
track completion and effectiveness
maintain a full audit trail

Without these features, WHS reporting becomes fragmented and difficult to defend.

2 – Privacy Act & OAIC Compliance

Privacy is a major compliance focus in Australia, especially as cyber risks continue to increase. Under the Privacy Act, organisations must protect personal information and respond appropriately to eligible data breaches.

A compliant GRC system should help you:

identify and track privacy risks
record privacy incidents and breaches
document investigation steps
manage breach response workflows
store evidence for audits or reviews

This ensures you can demonstrate that privacy risks are being managed proactively, not reactively.

3 – Modern Slavery Act Obligations

Many Australian organisations are required to assess and report on modern slavery risks within their operations and supply chains.

Even if reporting isn’t mandatory for you, stakeholders increasingly expect transparency.

Your GRC system should support:

supplier risk assessments
documentation of due diligence activities
tracking mitigation actions
storing supporting evidence
preparing reports over time

Managing this information manually can quickly become overwhelming, especially as supplier networks grow.

4 – APRA CPS Standards (For Regulated Industries)

If you operate in regulated sectors such as financial services, superannuation or insurance, APRA’s CPS standards are critical.

These include CPS 230, CPS 234 and CPS 220, which focus on operational resilience, information security and risk management.

A suitable GRC system should help you:

document operational risks
map controls to CPS requirements
track incidents and disruptions
monitor cyber and information security risks
maintain clear accountability

Without structured tools, meeting APRA expectations becomes significantly harder.

5 – ASIC & Financial Services Expectations

ASIC places strong emphasis on conduct, accountability and governance. This applies not only to large financial institutions but also to many organisations offering financial products or services.

Your GRC system should support:

conduct risk tracking
governance documentation
incident and breach reporting
evidence of corrective actions
clear reporting for regulators and boards

This level of transparency is essential for demonstrating compliance.

6 – ISO Standards Alignment (Optional but Common)

Many Australian organisations align with international standards such as:

ISO 27001 (information security)
ISO 31000 (risk management)
ISO 45001 (work health and safety)

While these standards aren’t always mandatory, they’re often expected by partners, regulators or auditors.

A GRC system should make it easy to:

map controls to standards
store evidence
track reviews and audits
demonstrate ongoing compliance

Mandatory Functional Compliance Requirements in a GRC System

Understanding regulations is one thing, but your GRC system also needs the right functional capabilities to support those requirements in practice. These are the non-negotiable GRC features that allow you to demonstrate compliance clearly, consistently and confidently.

If a system lacks these core functions, it may leave serious gaps – no matter how good it looks on the surface.

Evidence Management & Audit Trails

In Australia, being compliant isn’t enough – you must be able to prove compliance. That means having clear, accessible evidence for every key activity.

Your GRC system should provide:

time-stamped records of actions taken
full change history for risks, incidents and policies
automatic audit trails that can’t be altered
easy access to evidence during audits

Without proper audit trails, even well-managed compliance programs can fail under scrutiny.

Role-Based Access & Accountability

Regulators expect clear accountability. They want to see who is responsible for risks, incidents, obligations and approvals.

A compliant GRC system must allow you to:

assign owners to risks, incidents and tasks
define roles and permissions
restrict access to sensitive information
demonstrate accountability at all levels

This ensures responsibilities are clear and actions don’t fall through the cracks.

Policy Governance & Version Control

Policies are central to governance, but only if they’re current, approved and followed. A GRC system should help you manage the entire policy lifecycle.

Key capabilities include:

version control to prevent outdated documents being used
approval workflows
review and expiry dates
staff acknowledgement tracking
a single source of truth for all policies

These features are critical when regulators ask how your policies are maintained and communicated.

Compliance Obligation Registers

Australian organisations often manage dozens – or even hundreds – of compliance obligations. Tracking these manually is risky and inefficient.

A GRC system should include:

a central obligations register
clearly assigned owners
due dates and recurring schedules
automated reminders and escalations
evidence links for each obligation

This ensures obligations are managed proactively, not discovered after deadlines are missed.

Incident & Breach Management Workflows

When incidents or breaches occur, regulators expect fast, consistent and well-documented responses.

Your GRC system should support:

structured incident reporting
investigation workflows
corrective and preventive action tracking
breach response documentation
complete audit trails of decisions and actions

This is especially important for WHS incidents, privacy breaches and operational disruptions.

Regulator-Ready Reporting

Reporting shouldn’t require days of preparation. A compliant GRC system allows you to generate accurate, defensible reports quickly.

Look for systems that offer:

exportable reports
real-time dashboards
filtering by risk, incident or obligation
board- and regulator-ready formats

Clear reporting reduces audit stress and improves confidence across leadership teams.

How to Validate a GRC System’s Compliance Before Signing a Contract

Even if a GRC system looks good on paper, you shouldn’t assume it will meet your compliance needs without testing it properly.

Validating compliance before you sign a contract is one of the most important steps in the buying process. It helps you avoid costly mistakes and ensures the system will stand up to regulatory scrutiny.

Here’s how you can confidently validate a GRC system’s compliance fit.

Run a Compliance-Focused Demo

Many demos focus on high-level features, dashboards and design.

While these are important, you should steer the demo towards compliance scenarios that reflect your real-world needs.

During the demo, ask to see:

how incidents are reported and investigated
how evidence is stored and retrieved
how audit trails are generated
how obligations are tracked and reported
how accountability is assigned

If the vendor can’t show this clearly, that’s a red flag.

Test Real Audit Scenarios

Instead of asking generic questions, test the system using realistic scenarios.

For example:

“Show me all WHS incidents from the past 12 months with corrective actions.”
“Generate a report showing our top risks and controls.”
“Demonstrate how a privacy breach would be recorded and tracked.”

A compliance-ready system should handle these requests easily and quickly.

Check How Configurable the System Is

Australian compliance requirements vary by industry, size and risk profile. Your GRC system should be flexible enough to adapt to your needs without heavy customisation.

Look for the ability to:

configure risk scoring
adjust workflows
tailor reports
add or update obligations
map controls to different frameworks

If changes require constant vendor intervention, the system may become expensive and slow to maintain.

Involve the Right People Early

Compliance validation shouldn’t be done in isolation. Involve key stakeholders such as:

compliance and risk teams
WHS or safety managers
IT and security teams
legal or governance representatives

Each group will identify different issues and ask questions you may not have considered.

Look for Red Flags Before You Commit

Some warning signs to watch out for include:

vague answers about compliance capabilities
limited audit trail visibility
difficulty exporting reports
features locked behind costly add-ons
lack of understanding of Australian regulations

If you notice these issues during validation, it’s better to walk away early.

Conclusion

When it comes to choosing a GRC system in Australia, compliance should always come first.

Features, pricing and brand names matter, but they mean very little if the system cannot support your regulatory obligations or stand up to scrutiny when it matters most.

The right GRC platform gives you confidence – not just that you’re compliant today, but that you’ll remain compliant as requirements continue to evolve.

If you’re looking for a solution designed specifically with Australian compliance in mind, Sentrient’s GRC System is one of the strongest options available.

It supports key Australian requirements across WHS, privacy, modern slavery, risk management and audit readiness, all within a simple, intuitive platform.

With strong evidence management, clear accountability and reporting built in, Sentrient helps you demonstrate compliance with confidence.

Ready to choose a GRC system with confidence?

Book a personalised demo of Sentrient’s GRC System today and see how an Australian-aligned solution can support your compliance obligations now and into the future.

FAQs

1. What does GRC compliance mean in Australia?

GRC compliance in Australia means your organisation can demonstrate that it meets legal, regulatory and industry obligations across governance, risk and compliance. It’s not just about having policies, it’s about having evidence, accountability and clear processes that regulators can review.

2. Are global GRC platforms compliant with Australian regulations?

Not always. Many global platforms are designed for international use and may not fully support Australian requirements such as WHS incident workflows, Privacy Act expectations or Modern Slavery documentation. This is why local alignment is so important when choosing a system.

3. What regulations should a GRC system support in Australia?

At a minimum, your GRC system should support WHS obligations, privacy requirements, incident management and audit evidence. Depending on your industry, it may also need to support Modern Slavery Act reporting, APRA CPS standards, ASIC expectations or ISO frameworks.

4. How can I tell if a GRC system is audit-ready?

An audit-ready system allows you to easily produce evidence, reports and audit trails. You should be able to show who did what, when it was done and what actions followed. If generating reports takes hours or relies on manual work, the system may not be audit-ready.

5. What happens if my GRC system doesn’t meet compliance requirements?

If your system can’t support compliance properly, your organisation carries the risk. This can lead to failed audits, regulatory findings, fines, reputational damage and unnecessary stress. Fixing the issue later often costs more than choosing the right system upfront.

6. How does a GRC system support WHS compliance?

A GRC system supports WHS compliance by providing structured incident reporting, investigation workflows, corrective action tracking and complete audit trails. This ensures safety issues are managed consistently and documented properly.

7. Why is Sentrient suited to Australian compliance needs?

Sentrient is designed with Australian organisations in mind. It supports local compliance expectations, offers strong evidence management and provides clear accountability across risks, incidents and obligations. Its focus on simplicity and local alignment makes it a strong option for compliance-focused buyers.