As you are now aware, the Personal Property Securities Act ("PPSA") and the Register it established, kicked off on 30 January 2012. Under the PPSA, data held on certain registers that had previously recorded security interests in personal property- such as the ASIC register of charges - had to be "migrated" across to the new, national PPS Register (the "PPSR").
Security Interests on the Move
The process of migrating the information from numerous registers into one single database was both complex and time consuming.
The PPSA has certain rules about what information is to be recorded in the PPSR and in the process of migration, not all of this information may have been captured or transferred across to the PPSR.
An example of this is a PPSR search showing no Australian Company Number (ACN ) recorded for the Secured Party, or one in which the name of the Secured Party has been omitted for a particular security interest registration.
Find and Claim Process
As a result of the difficulties encountered during the migration process, a 'Find and Claim' process has been set up to allow you to search the Register, identify your security interests as a secured party and claim them as yours.
As a starting point, it is advisable to open up an account with the PPSR and set up a Secured Party Group (SPG) on the register with your correct details. You can then apply by email to enquiries@ppsr.gov.au for the ability to undertake a 'find and claim' to locate your migrated security interest on the Register within the catalogue of migrated interests.
It then becomes a matching exercise to identify and claim your migrated security interest, and allocate them to your personal SPG.
Why bother with a 'Find and Claim'?
There are a number of reasons to carry out this exercise:
- By correctly claiming your security interest, and correcting any errors in the data, you will help to maintain the overall accuracy and integrity of the PPSR;
- It avoids anyone else claiming your registered security interest as their own down the track; and,
- It allows you to effectively deal with your security interest such as by way of amendment or discharge.
So be proactive ... seek, find and claim.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.