Definitions

PPSR
The Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) is the official government register of security interests in personal property – these are debts or other obligations that are secured by personal property. It’s an online noticeboard accessible by the general public 24/7 and is not a register of title or ownership of personal property.

The PPSR started on 30 January 2012 and replaced many state-based registers, (such as REVS and other vehicle registers and the ASIC Register of Company Charges), to form one national register.

Goods
Goods means tangible personal property, including:

  • crops
  • livestock
  • wool
  • extracted minerals, and
  • satellites and other space objects

It does not include financial property or an intermediated security.

Interested party
Any individual or business entity that is interested in a specific collateral registration and/or information held on the PPS Register.

Grantor
An individual or an organisation who owns or has an interest in the personal property to which a security interest is attached.

A grantor includes an individual or an organisation who receives goods under a commercial consignment, a lessee under a PPS lease, and a transferor of an account or chattel paper.

Registration
A registered financing statement (as amended from time to time) with respect to a security interest or personal property as prescribed.

Motor vehicle

  • Usually a car, truck, motorbike, tractor, caravan or trailer.
  • A motor vehicle must have a vehicle identification number (VIN), chassis number or manufacturer’s number.
  • It is self-propelled property:
    • built to travel wholly on land,
    • capable of at least 10km/h, AND
    • with one or more motors with total power greater than 200W.
  • It can also be:
    • machinery or equipment with wheels built to be towed at more than 10km/h (e.g. a trailer).
  • If the property runs on rails, tram lines or other fixed path it is not defined as a motor vehicle.

Before 1 July 2014
The law changed on 1 July 2014 to narrow the definition of a motor vehicle. Under the old definition, a motor vehicle had to:

  • be capable of at least 10km/h, OR
  • have one or more motors that have a total power greater than 200W.
  • under the new definition, a motor vehicle must have both characteristics.
  • for more information, see regulation 1.7 of the Personal Property Securities Regulations 2010.

Personal property
This is property to which the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) applies. It is property, other than land, buildings and fixtures to land including:

  • goods
  • motor vehicles
  • planes
  • boats
  • intellectual property (such as copyright, patents and designs), bank accounts and debts (sometimes known as receivables)
  • shares and other financial property
  • and private commercial licenses

It does not apply to direct water rights, nor to most government issued licenses or rights. See also consumer property, commercial property, financial property and intangible property.

Watercraft
A watercraft is a boat or vessel (other than a seaplane) that is used, or intended to be used, in navigation by water or for any other purpose on water that has:

  • a hull identification number, or
  • an official number, within the meaning of the Shipping Registration Regulations 1981, issued by the Registrar of Ships (within the meaning of the Shipping Registration Act 1981.

Migrated security interest
When the PPSR started, many registered security interests came over from existing registers to the PPSR and became PPSR registrations. These are known as migrated security interests.

Secured party
The person who holds a security interest in personal property.

Collateral
Personal property that has a security interest attached to it due to an agreement between a grantor and a secured party. For example, property that can be taken by a lender if a loan is not repaid.

When making a registration on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR), the collateral
must be described by a collateral class.

Collateral class
A set of categories used on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) to describe the collateral contained in a registration.
A registration must only relate to a single collateral class. It cannot be amended once a registration is completed.
Collateral classes are grouped into four broad categories:

  • tangible property – describes property that you can see or feel.
  • general property – all present and after acquired property (All PAAP) classes.
  • intangible property – describes property that you can’t see and feel but is not financial property (such as intellectual property and certain debts).
  • financial property – includes financial instruments and documents, like cash and
    shares.

Serial number
In relation to collateral, means a serial number by which the PPS Regulations require, or permit, the collateral to be described in a registration.

The PPS Regulations provide that the following may be described by serial number:

  • consumer property that is:
  • motor vehicle
  • watercraft, and
  • certain intangible property (patent, trademark, plant breeder’s right, and design).

The PPS Regulations provide that the following must be described by serial number:

  • consumer property that is:
  • motor vehicle
  • watercraft
  • certain intangible property (patent, trademark, plant breeder’s right, and design), and
  • aircraft (airframe, aircraft engine, helicopter and small aircraft).
  • commercial property that is:
  • aircraft (that is further described as airframe, aircraft engine, helicopter and small aircraft)

Intangible property
Intangible property, for the PPS Act and the PPS Register, means personal property that is not any of the following:

  • financial property
  • goods, or
  • an intermediated security (see ‘intermediated security’).
  • see definition of ‘intangible property’ under section 10 of the PPS Act