By Jeffrey Brown, a Principal of Matthews Folbigg, in our Insolvency, Restructuring and Debt Recovery Group.
It has now been over 10 years since the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) opened in Australia for the first time. When the PPSR went live in January 2012 Australia had for the first time a public ‘noticeboard’ of security interests in personal property, centralised on one database.
The number of new registrations on the PPSR reached a monthly peak in January 2014 when 281,010 new registrations were lodged. Since that time the number of registrations has seen a steady monthly decline, with the latest monthly figures showing 253 new registrations in March 2022 (ppsr.gov.au/about-us/news-engagement/ppsr-statistics). Is this a sign that the PPSR is being ignored by the companies and individuals that were supposed to be its key stakeholders?
A closer look at the statistics suggests that rather than becoming less relevant, the PPSR has matured and is now an accepted part of the securities and credit control landscape. Whilst new registrations have sharply declined since their peak, the number of searches of the PPSR have increased. In January 2014, the month that new registrations hit their peak, 595,261 searches of the PPSR were conducted. The latest statistics show that in March 2022, 1,075,067 searches were conducted. The rate of increase in searches was consistent across both registered users of the PPSR and casual users doing a one-off search (common in instances of private motor vehicle sales, for example). The steady increase in searches conducted by registered users of the PPSR is a strong indicator that credit collection and debt recovery staff within businesses are becoming increasingly familiar with and reliant upon the information contained within the PPSR when vetting new clients and also when deciding whether to register securities.
Although it seems that the PPSR is an accepted part of credit control in Australia, the legislation governing its use remains difficult to understand, particularly as to the timing of registrations and the impact that the appointment of a liquidator on a debtor company has on the validity of securities.
If you remain unsure of the finer points of the PPSR, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss your circumstances with you.
Should you wish to discuss or require any assistance, please contact a Principal of the Matthews Folbigg Insolvency, Restructuring & Debt Recovery Group:
Please contact
Jeffrey Brown on (02) 9806 7446 or jeffreyb@matthewsfolbigg.com.au
Stephen Mullette on (02) 9806 7459 or stephenm@matthewsfolbigg.com.au
