Protecting your business assets

If you’re a builder or small business owner and you provide goods, stock or building supplies to a customer before receiving full payment, the PPSR (Personal Property Securities Register) can help protect your business.

It’s the government register where you can say, ‘That is still mine until I’m paid or it is returned.’ 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. This is called a security agreement.

With a valid security agreement, you can register your legal claim (security 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.

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 the lender could repossess it, even after you’ve paid for it.

Before you buy, do a quick PPSR search. It costs just $2 and 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 and the money you’ve paid, even if you bought it in good faith.

A PPSR search takes a few minutes online. The most common ways to search are:

• By serial number of the item you’re buying e.g. VIN for motor vehicles
• By the seller’s details (organisation grantor search) – Usually their ACN, or in the case of an individual sole trader - their name and date of birth as listed on their driver’s licence.

Doing both types of searches can give you greater confidence that what you’re buying isn’t attached to someone else’s debt.

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

PPSR protects interests in all goods that are not land or fixtures to land - that includes your business assets.

Common examples include:

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

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

Having a written agreement is important, but it might not be enough if the other party goes out of business. The PPSR gives legal backing to your written agreements. If you don’t register your interest on the PPSR, other people could get paid before you or keep your goods instead of you.

The PPSR can help protect your business in many ways.

Protecting your intellectual property

If you’ve created something valuable like a design, recipe, or trademark - you should first register ownership with IP Australia (or the relevant authority).

The PPSR is different. It doesn’t show who owns the IP, it records your legal right to enforce payment when you license, sell, or supply that IP under a contract.

✔ 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 refuses to return them or goes out of business, you could lose your equipment.

A signed rental agreement isn’t enough. PPSR registration improves your chance to get that equipment back if it is challenged or denied – especially if the customer goes broke. It puts your legal ownership on record, so others know you have priority.

✔ 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

Registering on the PPSR declares your interest in the goods or property you’ve supplied under a security agreement.

This can mean you’ll have a legal right to be first in line to be paid or the right to reclaim those goods if your customer goes broke.

Important: PPSR doesn’t cover unpaid work or services on their own. It won’t guarantee payment for your time but if you’ve supplied goods, it can help you get those goods back or recover their value if your customer can’t pay.

A retention of title (ROT) clause in your contract or invoice, together with a PPSR registration, gives you the best chance of being paid or getting your goods back.

A typical retention of title clause says:

“Title for goods you have supplied will remain with you as the seller until you have received full payment”.

✔ Secure your interests in goods and intangible products

✔ 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 broke 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 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

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.

Know what’s registered against you and your business

When applying for finance it is helpful to know if there are outstanding registrations on property you may want to use as collateral. The number and type of registrations may also impact your borrowing capacity.

Read our information sheet about accessing finance and the PPSR.

Maintain your registrations

Review registrations you have made on the PPSR to help keep your business up to date and reduce the risk of old or inaccurate registrations causing you to lose protection.

Expired or inaccurate registrations will not provide legal backing to your contracts and mean the PPSR cannot protect you if a customer can’t pay you.

Learn about how to view your existing PPSR registrations.

• 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 best to 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.

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.

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.

Learn more about the timing rules on the PPSR and your obligations to maintain and end your registrations.

Using the register improperly can lead to serious consequences. AFSA takes compliance seriously and can issue 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.