Australia: PPSA deadline a timely reminder for the construction industry

In brief - Make sure you register your security interests in the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR)

Whether you are a principal, contractor, subcontractor, supplier or consultant, it is critical that you identify any interests that you need to register on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) and register them ASAP. If you don't you risk losing ownership.

Transitional period ends on 31 January 2014

At midnight on 31 January 2014, the transitional period under the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (PPSA) expires. It's therefore a good time to review the key traps that this, and the PPSA generally, might cause for those in the construction industry.

Take the test and see if you could be caught out by some of the common traps. (Please see also our earlier articles Last chance to perfect transitional security interests under the PPSA and How will the new Personal Property Securities (PPS) regime affect the construction industry in Australia?)

If the security interest is not sufficiently important or valuable you might make a commercial decision not to register it.

The validity and priority of a security interest ultimately depend upon documenting the arrangement and proper registration according to the formal requirements for registration. If you don't get that right then a PPSR registration won't save you.