Personal property
Under the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth), personal property is defined as any form of property other than land, buildings or fixtures that form part of it or a right (such as water rights), entitlement or authority.
The most common examples of personal property are:
- art
- boats
- caravans
- cars
- crops
- inventory
- livestock
- plant and machinery
- shares
Personal property also includes non-material items such as:
- accounts
- intellectual property
- investment instruments, or
- licences.
To be considered personal property, one person must be able to transfer the ownership of the property to another person.
Some legislation may exclude the PPS Act provisions.
In other cases, there may be an entitlement under a Commonwealth, state or territory law that declares that the right or entitlement is not personal property for the purpose of the Personal Property Act.
Section 10 of the PPS Act sets out the legal definition of this term.
What are personal property securities?
A personal property security is when a business or individual person (the secured party), takes an interest in personal property as security for a loan or other obligation, or enters into a transaction that involves the supply of secured finance.
An example is when a person borrows money from a bank and offers the personal property such as a new car that is purchased with the loan, as security for the loan. The bank’s interest over the car is a personal property security.
More information is available on the PPS key concepts information sheet.