Lifting the burden of compliance

Keeping up to date with legal compliance is a time-consuming and complex job, and for many organisations, it is a burden that is difficult to manage with limited resources.

No organisation is absolved from regulatory obligations. Failure to meet compliance can result in fines, censure, reputational damage and, in some instances, even the prospect of prison time for directors.

Laws change every day, and without a dedicated in-house team or the funds to engage external lawyers, organisations can be unaware of new obligations or changes to existing regulations. For many organisations, a third option has provided an affordable solution to keep them on track.

Natalie Franks, the chief executive and legal counsel of Law Compliance, a legislative compliance service initially developed for the public and private Victorian health sectors, says outsourcing compliance makes sense for a range of organisations, regardless of their size.

“Our cost-effective products are useful to all types of organisations and we assist hundreds of profit and not-for-profit organisations across Australia,’’ she says.

‘‘Our clients range from small rural services to national organisations and ASX listed companies with complex reporting structures.

“For example, we’ve been providing public hospitals with this tool since 2003 because they’ve always had an accreditation requirement and need assistance for keeping up to date. We are in over a hundred public hospitals across the country because they can see the value in it.”

The products are designed to help organisations meet Australian and international standards which require an up-to-date legal compliance register (such as ISO 45001, ISO 14001 and AS 4801), the governance requirements of the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) standards, as well as the aged-care Quality of Care Principles.

Considering the vast number of applicable laws in Australia, it’s no mean feat being able to service a range of clients that, among others, covers government departments, aged care, churches, charities, homelessness and housing providers, universities, child, youth and family services, alcohol and drug services, as well as consultancy firms, mining and resource providers, aboriginal health providers, retailers and zoos.

“We can do it efficiently for them because that’s all we do,’’ Franks says. ‘‘We have a whole team of lawyers and that’s all they do – there’s just no way that an organisation with limited resources has the ability to do it comprehensively or properly.’’

Some organisations start in-house, even relying on an intern to prepare a list of relevant legislation while focusing on delivering their core work, she says. That’s understandable, but it doesn’t address the reality of treating compliance as a living, breathing part of any business operation.

“They often have someone who is getting newsletters and they might hear about things and that’s how they keep up to date,’’ Franks says. ‘‘But it’s not comprehensive. It really relies on people having an interest.”

Specially developed technology and systems allow the compliance solicitors to quickly determine what laws apply to an organisation and keep those organisations up to date on changes to those laws.

“We can provide them with a tool that tells them about all the laws they have to comply with,’’ Franks says. ‘‘It monitors those laws and keeps them up to date, and then they can use their resources to implement any changes needed as they happen.

“We are unique because we literally cover absolutely every law they must comply with. It means boards and executives have comfort that there is a comprehensive system in place.’’

It’s a selling point for many, Franks says.

“The system provides compliance reports across the organisation and enables directors to provide signoff on legal compliance. It can provide peace of mind.”

Rather than checking on an ad hoc basis for updates that need to be made, Franks says this approach mitigates the risk of financial penalties, legal action, prosecutions and reputational damage.

“Another reason people come to us is because they’ve missed something and are faced with a legal risk, and often that has financial consequences because they simply did not know about a change in law.”

From a cost perspective, it is not comparable to hiring in-house compliance specialists or engaging lawyers, she says.

“It’s a massive cost saving,’’ Franks says. ‘‘We can spread the cost across hundreds and hundreds of organisations. You just couldn’t do it yourself for the same price and for the same level of accuracy.”