Somebody has to be able to say no to an agent. Usually nobody has been hired to.
FERG Search is a specialist recruiter for AI governance and responsible AI leads in Australia and New Zealand, permanent and contract: the people who decide which AI uses are allowed, how agents are reviewed and monitored, and who answers for them on the Microsoft stack. Every search is run by the founder, Fintan Ferguson.
Most businesses we speak to have an AI policy. Far fewer have a person whose job is to apply it: to keep the register of agents, review a new use before it goes live, and stop one that is not behaving. That seat is moving from a side project to a role, and the brief is often written before anyone has agreed what the role is.
First shortlist within 48 hours of an agreed brief.
The people who own the decision.
- AI governance leads and heads of responsible AI.
- AI risk and assurance managers.
- Agent oversight owners working with Agent 365 and Microsoft Purview.
- Privacy and data governance specialists moving into AI.
- Copilot and AI adoption leads who own usage policy as well as uptake.
Checked technically and commercially, before you meet them.
- The AI use they stopped or changed, and how they made the case.
- The register, review or approval process they set up, and whether people use it.
- How they work with security, privacy, legal and the teams building agents.
- Whether they know the Microsoft tools well enough to see what is actually running.
What the seat pays.
AI governance briefs stall when the seat is budgeted as a policy writer and the job is stopping things.
AI governance bands are not in the first edition of the FERG Search Salary Guide. Until then, ask: we will give you the band we are seeing accepted, declined and countered for the seat you are briefing.
10 December 2026. Automated decisions go on the record.
From 10 December 2026, Australian businesses covered by the Privacy Act have to say in their privacy policy when personal information is used in automated decisions that could significantly affect someone. Every agent that approves, declines, ranks or routes a person becomes a question for the privacy policy, and someone has to know which agents those are.
New Zealand’s rules are different. The board question is the same: who decided this agent was allowed to do that?
Straight answers on AI governance and responsible AI.
Who recruits AI governance and responsible AI leads in Australia and New Zealand?
FERG Search recruits AI governance leads, responsible AI leads and AI risk managers for Microsoft partners and end users across Australia and New Zealand, permanent and contract. The founder, Fintan Ferguson, runs every search from Melbourne.
What does an AI governance lead actually do?
Keeps the register of AI uses and agents, reviews new uses before they go live, sets the rules for testing and monitoring, and has the authority to pause something that is not behaving. On the Microsoft stack that means working with Agent 365, Microsoft Purview and the security team, not only writing policy.
Does AI governance sit with security, legal or the AI team?
In the businesses we see, it works best as its own seat reporting close to the executive, with security, privacy and the AI builders all feeding into it. Put it inside the AI team and it marks its own homework. Put it inside legal and it often cannot see what is running.
What changes on 10 December 2026?
Australian businesses covered by the Privacy Act must explain in their privacy policy when they use personal information in automated decisions that could significantly affect a person. It is a transparency rule, and meeting it means knowing which systems and agents make or shape those decisions. Take legal advice on how it applies to you.
Can a privacy or risk professional move into AI governance?
Yes, and it is the most common route we see. The step is understanding the technology well enough to know what to ask: what data an agent sees, what it can do on its own and how it is monitored.
Brief an AI governance role.
Tell us how many AI uses are live today, and who would know if one went wrong.