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Case study

Fintech In-House Team Ships Features 2 Weeks Faster

6 in-house lawyers
Sydney, NSW
Financial Services
AML/CTF
Privacy
Product
The outcome

A 6-lawyer in-house legal team at an Australian fintech uses Quillio for Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) financial services licensing (AFSL and ACL), ASIC regulatory guides, AML/CTF Act 2006 (Cth) compliance, design and distribution obligations under s994B-994F, Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) including 2024 amendments, consumer credit, ePayments Code, and product counsel work. Product features now ship on average two weeks earlier because legal sign-off is no longer the critical path.

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The challenge

What they were trying to solve

Fintech product velocity is the company's competitive advantage. Legal review was the bottleneck on every feature release — target market determinations, variation assessments against the AFSL, design and distribution obligation checks, consumer disclosure updates, privacy impact assessments, and the UCT unfair contract terms regime. The team of six was responding to PRDs, not shaping them, and engineering teams had started routing around legal to hit release dates.

The solution

Why Quillio

Quillio was configured with the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) Chapter 7, ASIC Regulatory Guides (especially RG 274 on DDO, RG 271 on internal dispute resolution, and RG 78 on breach reporting), AML/CTF Act 2006 (Cth) and Rules, National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth) and the Code, Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) including 2024 amendments, Australian Consumer Law (ACL) including the 2023 UCT amendments, and the ePayments Code. Product counsel now turn around feature reviews in days, not fortnights.

Implementation

Pilot with one product squad over six weeks, embedded alongside engineering standups. Extended to all product squads in month two, with a lightweight "legal-in-a-ticket" workflow that gives engineers a structured request form. AML/CTF monitoring and DDO governance workflow added in month three.

Results

Measurable outcomes

Down 2 weeks on average
Feature release lag from legal review

Across product features requiring legal sign-off

3 days → 6 hours
Target market determinations

For new product variants under DDO RG 274

Down 60%
Privacy impact assessments

Including 2024 Privacy Act amendment readiness

Same-day
Breach reporting assessments

RG 78 reportable situations — from same-day engineering signal to same-day decision

Held at 6
Legal team headcount

Previously planned for 8 — hiring paused after Quillio delivered the capacity

"
Engineers were routing around legal because legal was the reason features shipped two weeks late. That's a cultural problem masquerading as a legal problem. Quillio fixed the throughput, which fixed the culture. We're now invited into PRDs on day one because we actually help.
Alex Y.
General Counsel · AU Fintech In-House Legal Team (anonymised)
In their day

How it works in practice

AFSL and ACL compliance under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and National Credit Act 2009 (Cth), design and distribution obligations under s994B-994F and RG 274 (target market determinations, review triggers), AML/CTF Act 2006 (Cth) program and reporting, Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) with 2024 amendments, UCT regime under the ACL post-2023, breach reporting under RG 78, and the ePayments Code.

What they avoided

Continuing to be the bottleneck engineering teams worked around, or expanding headcount in a tight funding environment where the CFO had already queried the legal budget.

Questions

Case study FAQs

Does Quillio understand fintech regulation?

Yes — Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), the full set of ASIC Regulatory Guides (including RG 271, 274, 78, 180, 209), the AML/CTF Act 2006 (Cth) and Rules, National Credit Act 2009 (Cth), ePayments Code, and the ACCC digital platform guidance.

Can it produce target market determinations?

Yes — TMDs under RG 274 with target market description, review triggers, distribution conditions, and information reporting obligations. Lawyers finalise the commercial judgment calls.

What about the 2024 Privacy Act changes?

Yes — the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) including the statutory tort of serious invasions, automated decision-making transparency requirements, and the children's online privacy code obligations.

Does it handle AML/CTF?

Yes — the AML/CTF Program, KYC procedures, SMR and TTR reporting, and the upcoming Tranche 2 extensions covering designated non-financial businesses.

Can it keep up with product sprints?

Yes — Quillio turns around most product legal reviews in hours, not days, which is the throughput product squads run at. The team uses a ticket-based intake that lets engineers self-serve first drafts for review.

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