Personal property is considered to be any form of property other than land, buildings or fixtures which form a part of that land. This can include cars, boats, caravans, art, machinery and crops as well as intangibles such as intellectual property and contract rights. The Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR took over from the REVS (Register of Encumbered Vehicles) Queensland and Bills of Sale Register in 2012.
The purpose of the register is to determine the priority for secured creditors in the event that a debtor defaults or goes into liquidation.
Because registrations for personal property on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) have been able to be undertaken since January 2012, we are coming up to the register’s 7 year anniversary in January 2019, and this means that those registrations which were registered for a period of 7 years or less are coming up for renewal/will expire in January 2019. Because the ‘7 year or less’ registrations were the cheapest available option, there are an estimated 120,000 registrations which will require action prior to January 2019 to ensure they remain active, and priority order is maintained.
The registration period for certain registrations in respect of motor vehicles, watercraft and other property which may or must be described by a serial number, (for example certain items of plant and machinery), were limited to a maximum of seven years in duration, and therefore those registered in January 2012 will lapse in January 2019 unless they are also extended.
It is important for anyone who holds a security registration to review this regularly, and make sure that they are aware of their renewal/expiry dates so they can take any action necessary to ensure that they don’t become unsecured. Even if the registrations were originally recorded through a different register, they would have been automatically transferred to the PPSR so it is always best to check even if you are not certain that a current deadline is applicable to you.
There is a handy PDF resource available here (https://www.ppsr.gov.au/sites/g/files/net3626/f/PPSR-business-guide.pdf) which is issued by the Australian Government and can help to explain the PPSR further.
If you need assistance in checking your registrations, or enquiring about how to register a security interest in general, our experienced Gold Coast lawyers can provide professional and experienced advice tailored to your particular circumstances.
Please feel free to telephone our law office today on 5563 8970 to arrange an appointment with one of our solicitors.
