What it does
The Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (PPSA) establishes a comprehensive national regime for the creation, registration, perfection, priority, enforcement and taking free of security interests in personal property. It applies to security interests irrespective of their form or label, focusing on their substance as interests securing payment or performance of obligations (s 12(1)). The Act covers attachment of security interests (s 19), third-party enforceability (s 20), perfection by registration, possession or control (s 21), priority contests (Part 2.6), rules for buyers and lessees taking free (Part 2.5), enforcement after default (Chapter 4) and the operation of the Personal Property Securities Register (Chapter 5).
Key operational elements include deemed security interests for transfers of accounts or chattel paper, commercial consignments and PPS leases (s 12(3)). The Register, maintained by the Registrar (s 147), enables public notice via financing statements describing secured parties, grantors and collateral (s 153). Perfection requires attachment, enforceability against third parties and one of registration, possession (s 24) or control (ss 25-29) (s 21(1)). Unperfected interests generally lose priority to perfected ones (s 55(3)) and vest in the grantor on specified insolvency events (s 267(2)).
Chapter 2 provides core rules: security agreements (s 18), attachment (s 19), perfection (Part 2.3), proceeds (s 31), transferred/returned/relocated collateral (ss 34-40) and taking free (ss 43-53). Chapter 3 addresses special collateral: crops/livestock (ss 84-86), accessions (ss 88-97), processed/commingled goods (ss 99-103) and intellectual property (ss 105-106). Chapter 4 mandates commercially reasonable enforcement (s 111), including seizure (s 123), disposal (s 128), retention (s 134), notice requirements (ss 130, 135), proceeds application (s 140), redemption (s 142) and reinstatement (s 143). Contracting out is permitted for non-consumer collateral (s 115).