Is there a deadline for lodging a PPSR registration?

When should I lodge a registration?

Once a liquidator is appointed to a debtor, they are allowed to ignore any security interests registered during the 6 months leading up to their appointment if they hadn’t been lodged within 20 business days of the security agreement being formed. 

In a trade credit context, the security agreement is usually the completed credit application incorporating the supplier's Terms & Conditions (which, in turn, would be expected to include their Retention of Title right).

Thus, if a supplier fails to lodge their registration within 20 business days of receiving a credit limit application, they risk losing their security rights if a liquidator is appointed within the next 6 months.

Separately, the supplier needs to register their Retention of Title right before they deliver their goods to their customer in order to make sure they don't lose any Purchase Money Security Interest (PMSI) rights to which they might be entitled.  Although, where the goods represent a product that will be kept by the buyer for their own use, the PPSA allows an additional 14 days' grace.

Should I register against the ACN or the Trust ABN?

My buyer has an ACN but also has a Trust ABN – should I register against the company or against the trust?

We would recommend both. 

One registration can be lodged against two different ‘grantors’, so there shouldn't be any additional expense.  However, at the very least, a registration should be lodged against the Trust ABN.

The below chart is a handy reference to identifying a grantor:

Grantor Type	Grantor Details Required
Sole Trader	Full Name (as per driver’s licence) and date of birth
Sole Trader acting as Trustee	Trust ABN (if the Trust does not have an ABN, as per ‘normal’ Sole Trader)
Partnership	ABN
Partnership acting as Trustee	Trust ABN (if the Trust does not have an ABN, as per ‘normal’ Partnership)
Partnership without an ABN	Full name and DOB of each partner (or ACN’s of each if a corporate partnership)
Company with an ACN and no Trust involved	ACN
Company with an ACN acting as Trustee	Trust ABN (if the Trust does not have an ABN, as per ‘normal’ Company)
Corporate entity without an ACN	Full name of the business as per articles of association
Government Entity	ABN
Trust	Trust ABN (if no ABN, use rules per the trustee)

Update to the PPSR - R6d

A small update went into the PPSR over the weekend.  The main change has been long awaited and should be welcomed by all.

Previously, when lodging a new registration, the expiry period options only allowed for 25-year and indefinite periods to be chosen, for any other period, a specific date needed to be added:

With one of the most common registrations periods preferred by trade credit suppliers being 7 years, having to specifically add an end date was, not only a nuisance but also fraught with the opportunity for error.

This has now been fixed and users from this morning onwards are able to simply select a 7-year registration period and let the PPSR calculate the end date:

Not an especially radical change but one that should make life just a little bit easier, and that's nice.