Using the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) can protect you as a business owner when you’re buying, selling, leasing or hiring business assets.
What is the PPSR?
The PPSR is a single access point for businesses and consumers to register and check security interest on personal property. Items that can be registered include:
- vehicles such as cars, boats or aircraft
- retentions on a construction contract
- stock in trade, artworks and equipment
- other goods, new or second-hand, whether owned by businesses or individuals
- intangible property, such as patents, copyright, commercial (not government-issued) licences, debts and bank accounts
- financial property such as shares, cash or cheques.
Why is the PPSR of benefit to me?
The register provides a low cost way to claim an interest in personal property, particularly in situations where the goods are no longer in your possession. For example, if goods are hired, rented or leased out, or if goods are left on building sites during the completion of a construction job.
Registering your personal property protects your interests in the goods or assets, should your customer default or become insolvent. If you register early, you have a better chance of being paid before other creditors.
If you’re not familiar with the PPSR, we encourage you to investigate its benefits before it’s too late. The easy-to-follow PPSR business guide is a great place to start.
Tip: PPSR registrations expire after seven years. If your registration expires it can’t be renewed or extended. To check the status of your PPSR registrations log in to the Personal Property Securities Register and access the free registrations due to expire report. You can then look to extend any existing registrations and select a new expiry date.
If you’re involved in construction
The construction industry can be particularly affected in relation to registering personal property, which may include:
- selling, leasing or hiring out construction plant and machinery, either separately or as part of works contracts
- supply of goods on retention of title terms
- equipment leases
- fleet management services, and/or fleet rental services
- selling or buying materials on hire purchase.
You can register with the PPSR to help protect your retention and any goods left on site.
Financiers may view registering with the PPSR positively, and may be more likely to loan to you. They can also check if your goods or assets have been registered, which could affect their decision as to whether to lend to lend to you.
Visit the construction page on the PPSR website for more detail.
What else can I do to protect my business?
In addition to registering for the PPSR, there are other safeguards you can put in place to protect your business. These include:
- having payment terms in place before providing credit to customers,
- understanding how you can recover debt for goods and services you’re supplied,
- finding out how to choose the best suppliers for your business.
Looking for advice on protecting your business?
If you have questions about the PPSR or getting paid on time, contact our free business advisory or dispute resolution services for help. You can access both services by calling 133 140.
