Completing collateral description fields, for example, is not mandatory, leaving the field blank may be annoying to liquidators but completing it with anything other than a statement that encompasses all you supply (or are ever likely to supply) may mean that you are placing an additional limitation on the collateral to which your security rights will apply.
Similar concerns apply to attaching documents to your registration. You don't 'need' to attach a document for your registration to be effective, but, having attached a document you then need to ensure it is kept up to date and relevant to your dealings with your grantor for the life of your registration lest it potentially be used against you in restricting your security rights.
Of course, as I've written previously (here), the PPSR is essentially a Notice Filing System rather than a Transaction Filing System and filing documents with your registration tends to just show that you really don't understand the changes that have taken place!
However, the legal profession loves documents and while there are a great number of lawyers that have a clear and insightful understanding of the PPSR there are probably an even greater number that haven't got to grips with it at all and don't really appreciate the extent to which things have moved on from the old ASIC Register of Company Charges.
Against this background, we were recently asked by one of our clients to lodge a registration for them with a set of documents to be attached.
Up to this point in time, I'd never paid much attention to the PPSR's attachments function, I knew it was there but I'd never used it. However, when I went looking, the little button to upload an attachment was nowhere to be found - certainly not where I recall having seen it in the past.
After a frustratingly long time searching, I finally found a reference on the PPSR's website under their 'What Can Be Amended' tab stating:
Note: currently account users are unable to add an attachment to a PPSR registration due to a security update. This does not impact on the ability to complete new PPSR registrations.
Given that only account users are able to lodge or amend registrations, the distinction that 'account users' as opposed to, simply, 'users' being unable to add attachments seemed a little strange, however, armed with the clue that this related to a security update, I was able to search a little more smartly and eventually found the following statement from the PPSR's Release Management page for 'Release 3':
A security update that is required to maintain the performance of the PPSR will mean users will be unable to add an attachment to a registration. A solution to restore this functionality is being investigated. Please note that this does not impact on the ability to complete new PPSR registrations.
Release 3 was put into effect in early December 2014.
With almost 2 years having elapsed, I thought I'd write to the PPSR asking them how their investigation into "a solution to restore this functionality" was progressing.
I got an answer this morning advising:
A solution to restore attachment functionality is still being investigated. No timeframe has been provided.
I can't help but suspect, given that attaching documents to a registration has no positive impact on the effectiveness of that registration, this is not a functionality we will ever see restored, however, I am disappointed that the PPSR are claiming that, already two years into a continuing investigation, there is no indication they've been able to find a solution. Either the claims of an investigation taking place are being grossly exaggerated or the PPSR has been throwing a load of money away on a long-running investigation to restore something that simply isn't necessary.
Unfortunately, I've now gone from not really caring about adding attachments to registrations to being very interested in how this long-running investigation of theirs unfolds!
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