A new online compliance forum will help provide guidance to brokers struggling to come to terms with the NCCP regime.

The forum, launched by Holley Nethercote Commercial Lawyers, will provide a platform for brokers to seek legal advice and compliance assistance from experts, as well as communicate with industry peers. Holley Nethercote solicitor Sonnie Bailey told Australian BrokerNews the law firm will be active on the forum to provide advice.

"Our core business is providing specialist legal advice, so if we get the same question from different clients we might de-identify our answer, and post the Q&A online," Bailey commented.

In addition to posts by specialist compliance lawyers, Bailey said the law firm has sought out other compliance experts to take part in the forum and offer guidance to brokers.

"We have an insurance broker who will post a Q&A monthly, and are in discussions with RG 146 providers as well as compliance consultants who will post regularly. So you will have lawyers and compliance professionals taking part in the discussions. We invite advisers from outside of our firms to contribute and showcase their knowledge, too," Bailey said.

Holley Nethercote solicitor Kathryn Wardrobe told Australian BrokerNews most of the law firm's ACL-holder clients are financial planning businesses, for whom the task of compliance is "not a new concept". However, the online forum will cater to those still wrestling with enacting compliance procedures on an ongoing basis. Wardrobe said this changeover was proving difficult for some in the mortgage broking industry.

"Mortgage brokers, pay day lenders and even some accountants have struggled with not only having the required policies and procedures in place, but ensuring that those policies and procedures are followed on an ongoing basis. There is, in some cases, a reluctance to accept compliance as part of the day-to-day operations of the business. It is achieving this cultural shift which is proving most challenging," she commented.