Government's Response to the PPSR Review

Bruce Whittaker completed his formal review of the PPSR in March 2015 and his report, containing 394 recommendations, was put to Parliament at that time.  I first wrote to the Attorney Generals' Department in September 2016 asking what progress had been made in assessing the review's recommendations and have begun making something of an annual habit of it ever since.

The request for information and the formal response from the AGD after 18 months consideration can be found HERE, and the response after 30 months can be found HERE.  Some 44 months on from the PPSR Review's release I've received the following response to my latest enquiry requesting an update on the progress of its consideration:

Thank you for your email about the Government’s response to the Review of the Personal Property Securities Act. I am sorry for the delay in responding to you.

Regarding timelines, while the department has made considerable progress on the response to the Review, we are currently consulting with a range of industries and stakeholders regarding a number of the more complex recommendations in the Review.  Following the conclusion of this consultation, the Government intends to release its response to the Review. This is to provide stakeholders with notice of the Government’s position on the review as soon as possible. Following this, the department will undertake broader consultation on the corresponding exposure draft legislation. We are not in a position to provide a release date at this time, but will keep you updated.

With all due respect to the AGD, this doesn't represent any advance on their update last year in which they advised:

The Government intends to release an Exposure Draft of a Bill to amend the Act and a prototype PPS Register, for public consultation. Stakeholders will have an opportunity to provide comment on the Bill and the Register before the Government takes further action to implement the recommendations of the Review.

The Government will make further announcements about the timing of public consultation on the Bill and Register.

If anything, the latest response seems to represent something of a step backwards.

At this stage, it might be worth pointing out that it 'only' took around 2 years from the passing of the 2009 Act to commencement of the Register in the first place (not that anyone considered that to be particularly quick) and we are now approaching 4 years from the presentation of the Review's findings without the Government having even released a response for consultation let alone an implementation strategy.

With so many finding the registration of their security interests on the PPSR an overly complicated exercise fraught with the possibility of error, it is disappointing that there is such delay in implementing recommendations designed to simplify the process and remove many of the Act's pitfalls.

Progress of the PPSR Review Report - UPDATE

I wrote to the Attorney-General's Department (AGD) in September 2016 asking what progress had been made during the 18 months following the tabling in Parliament of Bruce Whittaker's final report of the Review of the Personal Property Securities Act.  

My request for information and the AGD's response were the subject of a post of mine at the time - see here.

A year later, with no action evident from the AGD, I thought I'd try again.  As before, I reproduce below my request and the AGD's subsequent response.

My request (27/09/2017):

It's been 30 mths since Bruce Whittaker's Report of the Review of the Personal Property Securities Act was tabled in Parliament.

What progress has been made since that time in moving to implement its recommendations, both legislatively and operationally? 

 I'd also appreciate an indication as to the timetable for implementation. 

I am sure that the Gov’t is keen to ensure that all parties are given due consideration and that reform must be executed with care and diligence. I also appreciate that the response to the review must be progressed as a comprehensive package rather than on an ad hoc basis in order to achieve its aims to reduce complexity and burden without prejudicing the interests of any party.

However, 30 mths have now passed with only one of the Review’s 394 recommendations having any reflection in subsequent legislation.  Surely, by now, an efficient Gov’t administration will be in a position to provide information on implementation timeframes and intentions.

The AGD's response (31/10/2017):

Thank you for your email of 27 September 2017 regarding implementation of the Review of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (the Review).

Since the Review was tabled in Parliament on 18 March 2015, the Government has prioritised development and passage of the Personal Property Securities (PPS Leases) Act 2017 (the PPS Leases Act). The PPS Leases Act has reduced the regulatory burden imposed by the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 Act (the Act) on the hire and rental industry by increasing the term of a PPS lease from at least one year to at least two years, providing that an indefinite lease is not a PPS lease unless and until it has been in force for two years, and making other amendments.

The Government has given close consideration to the 394 recommendations made by the Review and conducted targeted consultations with stakeholders. The Government intends to release an Exposure Draft of a Bill to amend the Act and a prototype PPS Register, for public consultation. Stakeholders will have an opportunity to provide comment on the Bill and the Register before the Government takes further action to implement the recommendations of the Review.

The Government will make further announcements about the timing of public consultation on the Bill and Register.

I hope this information is of assistance.

Taking the AGD's response at face value, a new PPSR seems to be on the cards rather than merely some tweaks to the existing register!

By way of recap, some of the changes recommended in the review included removing the need to designate security interests as PMSIs or as the supply of items for inventory, as well as taking away the requirement to identify grantors that are trustees of trusts by their trust's ABN.

I'll probably write again next year to the AGD with a follow-up enquiry regarding progress on this matter, but, in the meantime, I'd be grateful if any stakeholders that have been on the receiving end of 'targeted consultations' could get in touch with me and, perhaps, shed some light on the manner in which the AGD's thinking has been progressed.

Progress of the PPSR Review Report

It's been around 18 months since Bruce Whittaker's final report of the Review of the Personal Property Securities Act was tabled in parliament.  The report made a little under 400 recommendations concerning ways in which the PPSR could be improved - many of which involved substantial simplifications to the registration process.

So, in the absence of any update as to progress in following up the report's recommendations I decided to write to the Attorney General's Department to ask how things were progressing.  In truth, I had almost forgotten I'd done so, but, this afternoon, I received a reply.

I reproduce the body of the reply, in full, below (drafting errors included), but first I'll show you my original request, and leave it to you to judge to what extent the response addresses the request.

My request:

It's been about 18 months since Bruce Whittaker's Final Report of the Review of the Personal Property Securities Act was tabled in Parliament.   

I'd like to know what progress has been made since that time in moving to implement its recommendations, both legislatively and operationally.  I'd also appreciate an indication as to the timetable for implementation.

The AGD's response:

Dear Mr Miller,
  

Thank you for your enquiry regarding the progress of the independent statutory review (the Review) of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (the Act). The Review makes 394 recommendations aimed at reducing complexity and improving the accessibility of both the Act and the Personal Property Securities Register and includes number of recommendations which would reduce the regulatory burden on the equipment hire industry.
  

The Government is working towards implementation of these reforms while ensuring that the rights and interests of all parties are given due consideration. Reform to the Act will have an economy-wide impact and must be executed with due care and diligence. The Act carefully balances the rights of secured parties, lessors and financiers on the one hand, against those of grantors, lessees and borrowers on the other. The response to the Review must be progressed as a comprehensive package rather than in an ad hoc fashion, if it is to achieve the aim of reductions in complexity and regulatory burden without prejudicing the interests of any party.
  

The Attorney-General’s Department hopes to be in a position to provide information about implementation time frames in the near future.

 Thank you again for your enquiry.