30 January 2019 will mark the 7-year anniversary of the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR).
The PPSR is described as the single, Australian register where details of security interests in personal property (i.e. property that is not land or fixtures to land (i.e. real estate and buildings)) can be registered and searched.
According to Infotrack, over 120,000 seven-year security interests that were registered when the PPSR was first established in 2012 are set to expire within the next few weeks.
How can I protect my business?
The PPSR protects businesses that sell on terms, such as retention of title or consignment, as well as those who hire, rent or lease out valuable goods, machinery, vehicles and equipment. Businesses should register their interest in goods they have yet to receive payment for, thereby reducing the risk of becoming unsecured and losing priority in the goods if the customer does not pay or becomes insolvent.
Why do I need to renew?
With this deadline looming, it is now more important than ever to check on your existing registrations and make sure they’re extended so that you don’t lose protection over your interests. Once your registration expires it can’t be extended or renewed and your ownership in the goods may no longer be legally recognised. It is therefore crucial that you correctly extend your registrations before they naturally expire to protect your interest. If you re-register after expiry you may rank behind, and therefore lose priority to, another secured party already on the register.
What can you do to check what registrations expire soon?
You should check the status of all your PPSR registrations and extend or renew them as needed. Note that some registrations were automatically transferred from other registers to the PPSR, so even if you don’t think the upcoming deadline applies to you, we are recommending our clients double check.
We can assist by:
Reviewing your registrations and determining which ones (if any) are due for renewal;
Checking the details of any seven year registrations and making any necessary updates;
Extending your registrations to continue to secure your interest;
Registering new or expired security interests; and
Reviewing your terms and conditions of trade and other documents to determine whether security interests arise and whether they need to be registered.
If you require any assistance with reviewing and renewing your existing security registrations or have questions regarding PPSR registrations, please contact our commercial team:
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