Establishing Regulated Lending Programs: We offer a loan documentation drafting service which provides your lending business with the entire suite of loan documents required to finance NCC-regulated loans. Alternatively, we can review your existing loan documentation and update them (as required) to ensure compliance with the current legislative requirements

Preparing Internal Policy Documents: We assist lenders prepare and implement policies and procedures to comply with laws that regulate the provision of credit in Australia. This includes (but is not limited to) credit policies, responding lending policies, AML/CTF programs, privacy policies/statements, internal dispute resolution policies, enforcement procedures, hardship procedures and VOI procedures.

Providing NCCP Act Advice: We provide detailed and practical advice to lenders on a range of matters including licensing requirements, the ability of lenders to rely on existing exemptions available under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (and associated regulations) or applying for relief from ASIC, disclosure obligations and general issues around how to structure lending arrangements.

Providing Mortgage/Transactional Services: We offer full-service mortgage services for regulated lenders, from document preparation and execution right through to settlement – liasing with brokers, borrowers (including their advisers) and the lender to ensure a compliant and seamless process. Our mortgage/transactioanl service offering is enhanced by the fact that all of our lawyers have extensive advisory/regulatory experience and so, are able to more easily identify issues that many other of our transactional competitors will not. This is a feature of our offering that stands out in market.

Providing lenders with regulatory advice about the application of relevant Australian credit laws including those regulating credit licensing, responsible lending, banking, payments, AML/CTF, privacy, credit reporting and the NCCP Act generally

Assisting lenders to apply for and obtain (or vary) Australian credit licences, and then assisting those clients with their ongoing compliance obligations

Working closely with lenders to design and then introduce new credit products to market. This includes assistance with determining the target market for the credit product and then ensuring that the product is designed and structured in a manner that ensures that only customers that are within the target market are likely to apply for the product (to ensure compliance with a lender’s design and distribution obligations).

Applying for relief from ASIC from the legislative and regulatory requirements that apply to lenders. For context, ASIC has discretionary powers to grant relief (i.e., by exemption or declaration) from certain legislative provisions under ASIC RG 51. It may exercise these powers when a person (who does not satisfy any standard exemptions available in the law) applies for relief. There are three types of applications for relief: standard applications, minor and technical applications and new policy applications. Our lawyers have assisted several clients to successfully prepare and submit applications for relief.

Advising lenders on ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) arrangements and other exemptions under the NCCP Act