Protecting your business with the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR)

If you’re a tradie or small business owner and you let someone receive your gear, stock or tools before they’ve fully paid – the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) can help protect you.

It’s the government register where you can say, ‘That is still mine until I’m paid.’ To do that, you need a simple agreement in place – something in writing that says you’re keeping an interest in the goods or equipment until they pay you back. This is called a security agreement.

With a valid security agreement, you can register your interest on the PPSR. If the person you’re dealing with goes out of business, you’ve got a better chance at getting your goods back or being first in line to be paid.

The PPSR allows you to:

• Check if someone else has a legal claim (security interest) on goods or assets you intend to buy.
• Register your own security interest in the goods you sell, lease or rent out.
• Check before going into business/partnership with someone, to see if any of their assets are tied up in loans or debts. This can help you avoid surprises later on.

Personal property refers to items other than land, buildings or fixtures. Common examples include:

• Cars and all types of vehicles (e.g. trucks, trailers and caravans)
• Machinery and equipment
• Tools of trade
• Building materials that aren’t a building fixture (e.g. scaffolding, cables and temporary fencing)
• Stock or inventory (like clothing, wine, furniture)
• Livestock
• Intellectual property (like blueprints, graphic designs or technical processes)
• Goods on consignment such as jewellery, artworks or manufactured goods like wine, clothing etc.

You can find a full definition of personal property in our PPSR Glossary.

Having a written contract is important, but it might not be enough if the other party becomes insolvent. If you don’t register your interest on the PPSR, other people who have registered could get paid before you or keep your goods instead of you.

The PPSR can help protect your business in many ways.

Protect your tools of trade (including IP)

Tools and equipment left on site

If you’re leaving tools, stock or materials on-site you could lose them if the customer goes broke – even if you’ve got a contract.

Registering your interest on the PPSR helps protect your ownership. It shows that the tools or stock still belong to you until you’re paid in full. It gives you the legal right to claim them back if things go wrong.

Protecting your intellectual property

If you’ve created something valuable – like a custom design, prototype technical process or trademark – you can register your rights over that intellectual property (IP).

• ✔ Safeguard your creative work
• ✔ Reduce financial risk
• ✔ Reclaim what’s yours if a client can’t pay

Discover how a food product developer uses the PPSR to help protect their intellectual property.

Protect your assets when leasing, renting or hiring out equipment

If your business hires out equipment – like vehicles, machinery, tools or coffee machines – you still own those items. But if a customer becomes insolvent or refuses to return them, you could lose your gear.

A signed rental agreement isn’t always enough. PPSR registration improves your chance to get that equipment back if it is challenged or denied – especially during insolvency. It puts your legal ownership on record.

• ✔ Protect long-term hires and leases
• ✔ Back up your contracts with legal protection
• ✔ Reduce the risk of financial loss

Registration costs just $6 for 7 years – it’s a small step that gives you peace of mind and protects your assets.

Protect your income when clients fail to pay

If you provide goods or services before full payment – like under 30-day terms – you are offering credit. If the client doesn’t pay, or goes into liquidation, you could lose what you’ve supplied and miss out on getting paid.

This is especially important for businesses providing designs, prototypes, software or other IP-heavy work. Once it’s in the client’s hands, it could be tied up in legal or insolvency processes unless you’ve secured your interest.

A contract or invoice that says, ‘ownership stays with us until full payment,’ together with registration on the PPSR will give you the best chance at being paid or getting your goods back.

Speak to your advisor about adding a retention of title clause in your client contracts, including it on your invoices and registering these on the PPSR.

• ✔ Secure your interests in both goods and services
• ✔ Strengthen your legal rights before issues arise
• ✔ Don’t rely on contracts alone – register to stay protected

Protect your assets when they are in transit, on consignment or seized

In transit

When goods are on the move they can still be at risk. If the customer receiving them goes into administration before paying, you could lose ownership.

Even if you’ve got a clear contract and invoices, the law may consider goods in transit as part of your customer’s assets unless you’ve registered your interest on the PPSR.

• ✔ Don’t assume the goods are safe just because they’re moving
• ✔ Register early – ideally before shipping

On consignment

Selling products on consignment means you’re trusting someone else to hold and sell your items – but you still own them until they’re sold. That might be jewellery displayed in a boutique, artworks shown in a gallery or specialty stock held by a reseller.

Even with a contract, you may not be able to reclaim your items unless you register them on the PPSR. They could be sold off to pay the business’s debts and you’re left with nothing.

Registering your interest on the PPSR protects your legal rights to reclaim your goods. It’s simple, low-cost and gives you peace of mind when you’re trusting others to hold your stock.

• ✔ Protect valuable stock on display or on loan
• ✔ Avoid losing unique or high-value items like jewellery, art or design pieces
• ✔ Strengthen your position in case the business fails

When goods are seized

If your goods are in someone else’s possession and that business is under investigation, in financial trouble or dealing with legal issues, their assets – including your goods – could be seized.

If you haven’t registered your interest on the PPSR, authorities or creditors may not recognise your claim to those goods.

If you’ve registered, your interest is publicly recorded. This strengthens your legal standing and gives you a better chance at getting your property back, whether it’s seized by a liquidator, a creditor or a government authority.

• ✔ PPSR gives you priority over unregistered claims
• ✔ Register before problems arise, not after

Know what you’re buying: second hand goods

Buying second hand equipment for your business (e.g. vehicles or machinery) can be a smart move but it comes with risks. The item might still have money owing on it and, if it was used as security for a loan, the lender could repossess it, even after you’ve paid for it.

Before you buy do a quick PPSR search costing $2. It tells you if the item is listed as security for someone else’s debt. If it is, and they haven’t paid it off, you could lose the item, even if you bought it in good faith.

A PPSR search takes a few minutes online and all you need is:

• The serial number of the item you’re buying e.g. VIN for a vehicle, chassis number for a trailer or serial number for a machine (this type of search is called a – serial number search).
• The name and business details (like the ACN) of the business you’re buying goods from (this type of search is called an organisation grantor search).

It’s a small step that could save you from a big loss.

• ✔ Avoid nasty surprises
• ✔ Make sure the seller really owns the item
• ✔ Protect your investment

Improve your credit rating

Access to finance is essential for many small businesses looking to grow, invest in equipment or manage cash flow. Using the PPSR can support your business’s financial profile and make it more attractive to lenders.

By registering your security interests, such as goods supplied on terms, leased equipment or retention of title arrangements, you demonstrate that your business takes asset management and risk seriously. It shows potential lenders that you have clear, enforceable rights over your property and that you understand how to protect your interests.

This level of transparency and good record-keeping can help improve your creditworthiness.

• ✔ Improve your standing with banks and lenders
• ✔ Demonstrate sound business practices
• ✔ Strengthen applications for loans or credit

Read our information sheet about accessing finance and the PPSR.

It is important to end (or discharge) your registration when you no longer have an interest in the property.

For example, your interest may end if you loaned money to someone for them to buy goods and they have made their final loan repayment.

The PPSR helps small businesses protect themselves, but it’s important to use it properly. You should only register if there’s a valid, agreed security arrangement in place.

Using the register improperly can lead to serious consequences. AFSA takes compliance seriously and can take action, including issuing civil penalties, if the PPSR is used incorrectly or in a coercive or harassing way. Always make sure your registration is based on a consensual agreement and done for the right reasons.

Learn more or report something that causes you concern.

• Create an account and register the assets you have a security interest in
• Search the PPSR

• Talk to your bookkeeper, accountant, or asset broker to see how to best use the PPSR as a tool for your business.
• If you are a small business owner or sole trader experiencing financial difficulty you can contact Small Business Debt Helpline for free financial advice.
• Additional resources can be found on the small business support page of the Australian Financial Security Authority.

More information

Our PPSR playlist on YouTube has many short videos to help you understand how the PPSR can help your business.

Learn about the benefits of the PPSR in your industry in our Education Hub.