This qualification recognises the body of knowledge and skills common to competent compliance officers at a practitioner level across public sector organisations. Compliance officers typically carry out frontline functions, often involving direct contact with compliance subjects and members of the public. These functions include assessing levels of adherence to regulatory requirements and carrying out any appropriate interventions to educate, assist, or compel compliance subjects to achieve and maintain compliance. Compliance officers may also undertake investigations.

People awarded this qualification are able to demonstrate knowledge and skills in: problem solving, legal systems as they relate to the public sector regulatory environment, making compliance decisions and/or recommendations, business structures and corporate liability, intelligence analysis process, informing and assisting compliance subjects, responding to calls for service, conducting compliance checks, planning and managing compliance operations, the conduct of significant compliance operations, and carrying out compliance investigations.

Depending on preference, candidates will be able to select an appropriate option from the wide ranging Core Elective. Examples of such options are presentation skills, evidence search, audio visual evidence capture, exhibit management, and safe conduct in compliance situations with potential for conflict.

Compliance officers who conduct investigations in their work may wish to complete the optional strand in Investigations. People who have completed this optional stand are able to manage investigations file documentation, carry out investigations, and demonstrate interviewing skills. They are able to carry out one of the following in a compliance investigations context: planning and controlling a search for evidence, examining and managing scenes, using audio and/or visual equipment to capture and secure evidence, managing exhibits, or giving evidence in a judicial hearing.

People entering this qualification will have been awarded the National Certificate in Public Sector Compliance (Foundation) (Level 3) [Ref: 1664], which represents the knowledge and skills that underpin, support, and are common to public sector compliance practitioners, or will have demonstrated equivalent knowledge and skills.

People completing the core requirements of this qualification may wish to complete this qualification's optional strand in Investigations and/or progress to the National Diploma in Public Sector Compliance Investigations (Level 5) with optional strands in Prosecutions, and Civil Appeal Proceedings [Ref: 1666] depending on their chosen career path. There are 23 compulsory credits in common between this qualification and Ref: 1666.

People awarded this qualification may also choose to undertake the level 4 National Certificate in Intelligence Analysis [Ref: 0999] as an introduction to the field of intelligence analysis and/or progress to the level 5 National Diploma in Intelligence Analysis [Ref: 0899].