The Commonwealth Government on Tuesday introduced a bill into the federal parliament to amend the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) to provide the Attorney General the flexibility to delay the commencement date of the PPSA (currently 30 January 2012).
The PPSA currently has a built in "drop dead" commencement date of 1 February 2012. Whilst the Attorney General already had the power under the PPSA to bring that date forward, he is not able to make a determination to move that date backwards.
The commencement of the PPSA has previously been delayed a number of times, from an initial expected date of May 2011 to early October 2011, to 31 October 2011 to the currently envisaged commencement date. Whilst the government has indicated that it is committed to getting to the commencement date as soon as possible, it appears to be mindful of the need to ensure that the electronic register - the centrepiece of the PPS reforms - has full functionality once introduced, so that parties can transact with a high degree of certainty.
As we continue on the road to PPSA commencement, we should bear in mind that there may soon be scope for the commencement date to again be moved backwards by the Attorney General. It seems that any such movement will ultimately depend on the finalisation of testing of the electronic register over the next month or so, and an assessment of its potential stability at the intended "go live" time.
Whilst this may be welcome news to SME's who are only beginning to comprehend the impact of this important reform on their day to day operations, there may be frustration on the part of some larger market participants who are reaching the peak of their preparations and training for PPSA well in advance of the commencement date.
