Amendments to Personal Properties Securities Legislation


Amendments to Personal Properties Securities Legislation

On Wednesday 19th March 2014, the Government introduced a bill into parliament to amend the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 so that leases of serial numbered goods of 90 days or more will no longer be deemed to be personal property securities leases.

The Explanatory Memorandum introduced the Bill in the following terms:

This Bill proposes to amend the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (the PPS Act) so that leases of serial numbered goods of 90 days or more will no longer be deemed to be PPS leases for the purposes of the PPS Act. This will simplify the deeming provisions in the PPS Act and minimise the need for small and medium hire businesses to make registrations in respect of leases of a term of less than 12 months.

The change will bring the PPS Act into alignment with personal property securities (PPS) regimes in other common law countries (such as New Zealand and Canada) where a lease is deemed to be subject to PPS laws where the lease is for more than 12 months or an indefinite term. To the extent that their activities cross over into these jurisdictions, this alignment may have benefits for Australian financiers, businesses and legal practitioners.

These amendments, if passed, will be welcomed by businesses which have had to grapple with issues involving short-term leasing and hire of goods for terms of under 12 months. It is important to note that if passed these provisions will not affect any lease and hire arrangements entered into prior to the date of the amendment.

Learn more about the changes by viewing the Personal Property Securities Amendment (Deregulatory Measures) Bill 2014 and the full Explanatory Memorandum.

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Our Property Lawyers