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When you might need to restore a PPSR registration
Ending a registration on the PPSR is final - this means you can't change it or make it active again. If you didn't mean to end the registration, you may think creating a new registration with the same details will continue to protect your security interest. However, you may not have the same protection you had with the original registration. Not having a continuous registration, may mean that your interest loses its priority and you may not be first in line to enforce your registration in the case of a dispute.
To help continue to protect your security interest - if you’ve accidentally ended a registration, you can apply to us to have it reinstated. You can't do this if the registration expired on its own after reaching its end date.
If we decide to restore your registration, we will reinstate it on the PPSR. Legally it will be treated as if the registration hadn’t been ended at all.
The process has a few steps and you'll need to provide information about how and why it was removed.
Before making a decision to restore the registration, you'll need to provide us with information to establish that no other people will be affected by its restoration.
For example, if you accidentally ended your registration against a car and someone did a search on that car whilst your registration was missing, their search would not show your registration. If they then bought the car on the basis it appeared debt free, they would be adversely affected if we decided to restore the registration.
Because of this, we’ll only decide to reinstate a registration if it’s very unlikely that anyone else was affected by your registration not being on the PPSR.
Once you realise the error, it's important to act as quickly as possible to minimise your risk of not having a registration. Follow the steps below to complete the request.
How to apply to have a registration restored
Before you start
You will normally want to make a new PPSR registration with the same details as the registration you ended. If so, you should do this as soon as you realise you’ve accidentally ended a registration.
This helps to protect your interest in the collateral while we assess your request and means anyone who does a search will see your registration there.
Send us your request
Complete a Request to remove, restore or correct data form.
You'll also need to include the following supporting evidence:
- the circumstances around how your registration was accidentally discharged (including any relevant evidence)
- if you created one, the details of the new registration you made to temporarily replace the discharged registration (such as registration number or verification statement)
- a statement from the grantor (usually the owner of the collateral) saying they don’t object to the registration being restored
- information about the grantor's status if they are insolvent - either under external administration or personal insolvency
- If the grantor is in liquidation, also include a statement from the liquidator confirming they have no objection to the restoration.
- any details you have (such as contact details) about other parties who may be affected by the registration being restored
- copies of any PPSR searches you or anyone else has done after you ended the registration
- any other relevant information.
Note - It's important to know we may provide information regarding your request to other people who may be affected.
After you've completed the form and gathered your supporting evidence, send it all to us by email or post.
We’ll consider your application
Once we receive your application, we'll review it to make sure we have everything we need to make a decision. We may ask you for extra information if we need it.
We’ll also check if any transactions relating to your registration were made on the PPSR during the time your registration was missing. For example, we’ll look for:
- registrations created against the same grantor
- searches done using the grantor details
- searches done using the registration number
- searches done using the serial number (if there is one).
If we find any searches that you haven’t given us information about, we’ll check the details with you. It could be that you were the person who did the searches or you might know who did (e.g. an insolvency practitioner).
If you didn’t do those searches and you don’t know who did, it’s unlikely we’ll restore your registration as this may indicate someone else will be affected if we do.
We decide whether or not to reinstate the registration
Using all the information available, we will make a decision whether or not we can restore the registration. It may take several weeks for us to make a decision on your application.
We’ll let you know in writing once we’ve decided.
If we decide to restore - we'll restore the registration onto the PPSR and send you a verification statement with details of the registration. The registration will appear as it did before ending. Legally, this restored registration will be like it was never removed.
If we decide not to restore - we will send you a letter with the outcome. You can call us to discuss the reason why we made this decision. Possible reasons include if evidence shows another party has relied on the collateral being free of security interests, or if a long time has passed since the registration was mistakenly ended. You can also make a request in writing for a statement of reasons under section 13 of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977. We will provide you with a copy of this in writing within 28 days.
Appeals
If we made a decision not to restore your registration and believe you now have new information or want to raise an issue we can look at the matter again and potentially make a new decision.
If you believe the registration shouldn't have been restored - you can appeal our decision to restore a registration with the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART).
If you believe a registration should be restored - you can appeal our decision to not restore a registration under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 with the Federal Court of Australia.
We recommend seeking independent legal advice that relate to your personal circumstances.
More information
For more information about this process, including detail about the Registrar of Personal Property Securities (Registrar) power's to remove, restore or correct data can be found in the Practice Statement No 8 Restoration of Data.
Other enquiries
If you need to find out if a registration has been reinstated by us, you should contact the secured party (the person or organisation who asked us to restore it) first. If after contacting them you don’t get the information you need, contact us for further assistance.