Property Law on ExcellentWiki - Legal Encyclopedia

Personal Property and Secured Transactions in Australia

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Personal property law in Australia underwent a fundamental transformation with the commencement of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (PPSA) on 30 January 2012. The PPSA replaced a fragmented and inconsistent collection of Commonwealth, state, and territory laws governing security interests in personal property — including the Bills of Sale Act legislation, the Companies Act charges registration system, and state-based laws on chattel mortgages, hire purchase, and conditional sales — with a single, comprehensive national regime. The PPSA, modelled on Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (United States) and the Personal Property Security Act (Canada), establishes a functional approach to security interests based on a single national register: the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR).

Property Law in Australia

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Australian property law is a complex tapestry of common law, equity, and statute, distinguished by two defining features: the Torrens Title System of land registration and the recognition of Native Title as a sui generis form of proprietary interest. The Torrens system, named after its South Australian founder Sir Robert Torrens, replaced the English system of private conveyancing with a state-guaranteed system of title by registration. The Native Title system, established by the High Court in Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (1992) 175 CLR 1, recognises the pre-existing rights and interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in land. Together with the common law estates, statutory tenures, and the equitable principles of property, these systems constitute the law of real property in Australia.