The Australian government and the various State governments have agreed to establish a National
Register of Personal Property Securities which will commence early in 2012.
Personal property to be recorded in the register is any form of property other than land, buildings or fixtures, which form part of that land. It can include tangibles such as cars, art, machinery, crops; as well as intangibles such as intellectual property and contract rights.
A personal property security is when a secured party (such as a company, individual or other entity that has a security interest in a grantor’s collateral, such as:
- taking fixed and floating charges;
- long term and finance leases;
- chattel mortgages;
- retention of title arrangements;
- commercial consignments; and
- factoring)
takes an interest in personal property as security for a loan or other obligation, or enters into a transaction that involves the supply of secured finance. An example is when a person borrows money from a bank and offers it as collateral or security for the loan. The bank’s interest over the collateral is a personal property security.
The register will be available for searching by secured parties. Other people who wish to search the register can create an account or search as a casual user. A fee is payable to search the register. Search criteria that can be used include:
- grantor detail, or
- the serial number of certain types of property.
Consumer motor vehicles will only be able to be searched by serial number.
If you are securing finance by mortgaging these types of properties, then you need to be aware that the details will appear in the Personal Property Securities Register and be available for access Australia wide.
