From 30 January 2012 the Personal Property Security Act 2009 (Cth) (‘PPS Act’) fundamentally alters the operation of the law relating to non-land security interests and affects related transactions. It affects all of your clients who have non-land assets or any security interests.
It is a national regime which provides for the registration of security interests over personal property and the provisions significantly impact on the operation of general commercial and contract law principles. The PPS Act captures commercial transactions which would previously not have been treated as registerable security arrangements – such as retention of title arrangements and commercial consignments.
As a result, it is essential that advisers who are involved with commercial transactions understand the scope and reach of the PPS Act.
This paper considers the fundamentals of the PPS Act, such as the concepts of ‘security interests’, ‘attachment’, ‘perfection’ and ‘purchase money security interests’. Regard is also given to the practical implications of the PPS Act in the context of some common commercial transactions and arrangements.