PPSA deadline looms

Written on the 7 February 2014 by Macmillans Waller Fry

Businesses need to ensure that their interests are correctly registered on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR).

Here are some key points to think about in the lead up to the end of the transitional period:

Security interests need to be perfect under the PPSA by 30 January 2014. Perfection is most commonly achieved by registering the interest on the PPSR. Registration is a relativley simple and inexpensive process.

• If a security interest remains unperfected after the end of the transitional period: subsequent purchasers or lesser of the secured property may acquire or lease it free of the security interest.
• the security interest will lose in any priority contest with another security interest over the same property which has been perfected.
• the security interest may be lost on the insolvency of the gantor.

Certain security interests were automatically migarted to the PPRS, however, this does not mean that the process was free of errors. It could be preferable to re-register migrated security interests before 30 January 2014.