Students and Graduates Payments Settlements

It’s a view not many get to see. When you buy a coffee, pay a bill or send money to a friend, it’s likely the transaction will involve exchanging money between different financial institutions. Those payment obligations (and most other non-cash payments in the economy) will ultimately settle across accounts that financial institutions hold with the RBA and access through RITS, a piece of critical national infrastructure owned and operated by Payments Settlements department. The funds in these accounts, also known as reserves, allow financial institutions to settle obligations between themselves using central bank money, the ultimate risk-free asset. RITS also settles many of these obligations individually in real time, eliminating exposures between financial institutions that could threaten the stability of the financial system if not settled when due.

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Find out more about Payment Settlements at the RBA.

The Payments Settlements graduate program

Start your RBA career in Payments Settlements and you will:

• Become a payments expert.
• Gain unique insights into how the RBA, and central banks more generally, achieve some of their policy objectives through the operation of critical interbank settlement infrastructure.
• Work with other areas of the RBA on a diverse range of matters including payments innovation and regulation, liquidity facilities, financial stability and technology.
• Collaborate with payments industry stakeholders to improve the efficiency and resilience of payment operations, ensuring RITS meets evolving international best practice for financial market infrastructures.
• Contribute to the quality, governance and compliance of RITS, helping ensure the system operates within strong legal, risk and operational frameworks.
• Research and analyse payment trends and industry developments that help shape the RBA’s settlement services.
• Help design, test and deliver changes to critical systems, building confidence that new and existing services work effectively in complex environments.
• Be supported to develop skills and experience that will help you achieve your career ambition.

Graduates joining Payments Settlements may commence under one of the following streams.

Strategy & Analysis

You will directly contribute to the strategic development and innovation of RITS, ensuring it remains secure, stable, and efficient in the face of a rapidly changing payments landscape. Responsibilities include analysing data to inform business policy and design, collaborating with other departments and external partners to support the Bank’s broader policy objectives, and understanding developments in global payment systems to inform the direction of Australia’s financial infrastructure.

Apply for the Strategy & Analysis Stream

Membership & Governance

You will contribute to managing relationships with financial institutions and payment system operators, developing a deep understanding of the critical role RITS plays in their payments businesses and operations. You will assist in the management of the legal frameworks and agreements that underpin RITS, and the arrangements that govern its operation. You will liaise with a range of financial institutions seeking access to RITS, supporting the assessment and onboarding process. Additionally, you will engage with the operators of other payment or market systems that link to RITS, evaluating the adequacy of their operational and contingency arrangements with respect to the smooth functioning of RITS.

Risk & Compliance

You will provide risk expertise to support the department in achieving its strategic objectives. In doing so, you will identify and present ideas to uplift the department’s risk culture. As part of a team of risk professionals sitting in the department, you will gain hands on experience implementing the RBA’s risk management framework, ensuring the department’s operations and risk practices align to the framework and the RBA’s risk appetite. The role requires engagement with the department, key business partners (including the IT, procurement, and finance teams) and the RBA’s Chief Risk Officer and Audit teams. Appealing to graduates with business, operations, legal, compliance or risk exposure, the opportunity presents a great opportunity to learn, coach, train, and influence.

Apply for the Risk & Compliance Stream

Quality Control

You will help safeguard the quality and reliability of critical national infrastructure by delivering automated testing across multiple levels. Using state-of-the-art test automation frameworks, you will help ensure existing systems continue to work when changes are introduced, reduce risk, and maintain confidence in the critical systems we run. You will develop and execute test suites, analyse results to identify defects, and support stable test environments. Working closely with developers and business analysts, you will help build a strong shared quality mindset while developing solid technical judgement and problem-solving skills in high-assurance, mission-critical systems.

Apply for the Quality Control Stream

Business Analysis

You will help the department achieve its strategic objectives by contributing to the delivery of important projects and security initiatives. In the role, you will collaborate with a diverse range of technical and business stakeholders to ensure critical payments systems remain operational, secure, and resilient. You will develop practical skills in business analysis, project delivery, and stakeholder engagement, while learning how to translate complex requirements into meaningful system and process improvements. The role will challenge new starters to think critically and solve problems in a dynamic and technology driven domain. During this journey, you will build strong foundation business skills while developing highly transferable capabilities across payments, technology, and business

Apply for the Business Analysis Stream

Eligibility criteria

We’re looking for dynamic, motivated graduates who are interested in learning about the critical role of the central bank in operating payments systems – enabling the flow of money in the economy. You should be a strong communicator, a collaborative team player, and driven to support good payment system outcomes for Australia.

• You hold or are completing a degree with strong achievement in economics, law, or another Commerce or STEM field.
• Completion of a significant research project (e.g., honours or capstone) is desirable.
• You hold Australian permanent residency or citizenship, or New Zealand citizenship.
• Include a cover letter with your application, indicating a preference (if any) for one of the two areas above.

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