Risk
Be part of cultivating Westpac's competitive edge in the market by striking the right balance between protecting and optimising business.
What we do for our customers
We deliver a superior customer experience by being Trusted Partners, offering leadership and oversight in sound risk management.
As Fast Enablers, we collaborate widely to make Westpac the preferred bank. We build trusted relationships through effective risk management and deliver safe and innovative solutions for our customers.
We support a sustainable business by fostering a strong risk culture and delivering the best outcomes through collaboration, smart risk-taking, and constructive challenge.
Important information
As a graduate in our Risk Division, your rotations will provide hands-on experience in key areas of risk management to gain essential skills and knowledge for a rewarding career in Risk.
Rotation areas may include Credit Risk, Market Risk, Cyber Risk, Data Risk, Financial Crime and Non-Financial Risk.
You’ll experience:
- Real business work challenges and build a broad understanding of how risk supports the bank and its customers
- A holistic learning journey as all rotations are fully supported with on-the-job training, impactful project work, practical development workshops, and keynote events
- Ongoing support and guidance from experienced professionals.
12-month program with 2 x 6-month rotations.
Immerse yourself in a 12-month program with rotations designed to provide diverse experiences and insights to inform your Risk career.
We empower our graduates to shape their career paths. You’ll have the opportunity to customise the experience by submitting your preference for a rotation within our dynamic Risk teams.
Sydney, NSW Based Program.
Join our graduate program to bring a curiosity for how risk is evolving, including the impact of new technologies, AI, data, and demonstrate the ability to translate insights into meaningful risk oversight, challenge and decision-making in an increasingly complex and dynamic environment.
We’re looking for graduates who are:
- Purpose driven, motivated to make a positive impact and continually learn
- Tech confident, an adopter of new tools and ways
- Data confident to inform insights and decisions
- Risk and compliance aware to understand standards that support responsible decision-making
- Cyber aware and interested in identifying and mitigating cyber risks
- Innovative, bring fresh ideas and enjoy solving challenges
- Show initiative, steps up, contribute towards strong outcomes.
Successful graduates will have a degree background in a quantitative field, AI or data-focused disciplines, including actuarial studies, modelling, mathematics, statistics, data/computer science and related fields.
There’s lots of opportunities for learning and growth to optimise your role performance and career progression, supported by Risk Business Champions, experienced leaders, and mentors. You’ll benefit from:
- Comprehensive training: Receive on the job training and mentorship from industry experts to strengthen your ability to add value, ethically and professionally throughout your career
- Diverse experiences: Work on real projects across various risk domains
- Career growth: Fast-track your career with opportunities within the bank
- Collaborative environment: Join a team that values innovation, integrity, and teamwork.
Our dedicated Risk Learning team will streamline your professional development. From enhancing your people skills and effectively collaborating in teams, to acquiring deep technical knowledge and skills in Risk, you’ll have access to a comprehensive learning suite designed to ensure your success in the Risk function.
A career in Risk could lead to roles such as:
- Business Analyst
- Modeller
- Risk Manager
- Risk/Quantitative Analyst
You will be fully supported by the colleagues and mentors you've connected with throughout your graduate experience to help you discover and achieve your career goals.
Eligibility and how to apply
We’re looking to fill our programs with original thinkers and innovators from all degrees of study. We embrace diversity, recognising the value people bring to us with their individual differences, qualities, ideas and insights.
To apply for our graduate program:
- You must be in your final year of study of a university degree.
- You must have completed an undergraduate or postgraduate degree within the past three years.
- You also need to be an Australian or New Zealand Citizen or an Australian Permanent Resident when you apply.
What you can expect
When you start
You’ll start with us as a permanent employee in February each year. Your program will vary based on the business area where you choose to work.
Throughout the program
We’ll provide loads of learning and support to help you make the most of the experience. The program is structured to help you identify your focus areas. Tailored training sessions build and strengthen your technical and soft skills - accelerating your personal and professional career development.
Day-to-day
You’ll complete a rotational program to help you to learn about different parts of your business area. It’s packed full of different roles, teams and project experiences. At the end of your program, you’ll be supported to find a role that best suits your capabilities and interests.
Expect to contribute from day one and have an impact on the business.
Expect plenty of opportunities to get involved in grad life where you can build your networks and friendships with those you work with, including business leaders, project leads and program sponsors.
Expect to be able to give back. Join numerous communities, volunteering and sustainability initiatives - rounding out your whole work life experience.
What our graduates have to say
“Joining the Westpac Risk Graduate Program has been the most rewarding experience of my early career. After studying a Bachelor of Actuarial Studies at UNSW, I applied for the Risk Grad Program at Westpac after learning about the bank, its dedication to keeping our society safe and secure, and after reading this very page that you are on now!
The 3x4 month rotations was a fantastic exposure to teams that a quant Risk Grad like me could excel in, by helping me gain new skills from modelling to key analytical insights in the treasury space and non-financial risk. This allowed me to discover how Risk is a part of everyone’s role and the impacts felt throughout the bank.
What stood out to me most was the culture – everyone from senior leaders to fellow grads, genuinely cared about my development and pushed me to achieve my “wins”.
Since rolling off the program…
I now work in the Market Risk team in WIB & Treasury risk.
Whilst I didn’t have a rotation in this team, the skills I had acquired through my rotations – banking and balance sheet insights in liquidity, modelling and coding skills in model risk, and a forward-looking risk mindset in non-financial risk – made me feel confident to join this team!”
Katherine, Risk Graduate.
I completed a Bachelor of Actuarial Studies and Commerce, and in my spare time I love to exercise and stay active - I'm competitive by nature, so anything with a scoreboard and I'm in!
I chose the Risk Graduate Program at Westpac because I wanted to understand how risk genuinely adds value to a financial institution - as a strategic partner that shapes decision-making across the bank. If I'm honest, films like The Big Short sparked my curiosity early on - the idea of understanding what's really going on beneath the surface of the vast world of financial markets stuck with me.
Being part of a graduate community with a vast support network was crucial in helping me navigate through my early career years.
Since rolling off the program…
I now work in Capital Risk, a team I didn't rotate through during the program. However, my rotations in Mortgage Risk, Credit Risk Modelling, and Market Risk gave me exactly the foundation I needed - a strong quantitative toolkit and the risk-mindset that's essential in a Line 2 role.
The program had a well-rounded view of how risk connects across the bank and supports its different strategic goals. I'm still learning something new every day, but I can confidently say that the graduate program gave me the confidence and skills to hit the ground running.
Billy, Risk Graduate.
Explore other graduate programs
See all Graduate and Summer Intern programs.
PPR
Discover the various functions within a banking organisation and gain insight into how the bank works structurally.
Finance & Accounting
Join us in our mission to create and protect value and drive strategic decision making.