In November 2006, the Australian Attorney-General released a
discussion paper on the proposed national personal property securities
(PPS) register,Registration and Search Issues.

The discussion paper is the first in a series of three discussion
papers dealing with key PPS reform policy issues. The second discussion
paper will deal with priorities,
conflict of laws, insolvency and enforcement issues.The third
discussion paper will deal with issues specific to possessory security
interests.

This review is about the creation of a national register that will consolidate all security interests that are created by a contractual agreement and which are held over personal property.

The Privacy Commissioner has released her comments on the first discussion paper.

She observed that:

Currently, it would be difficult for a casual browser to obtain all
the pieces of information required to build a comprehensive profile of
any one person with regard to security interests held over their
personal property. The proposed register would consolidate this
information into one centralised database which may allow a casual
browser to more easily know all or most of the security interests held
over the personal property of an individual.

The Office has some reservations about the privacy implications that
may arise from the ability to develop a financial profile of any one
individual, either in relation to the personal property they hold or in
relation to the extent of their indebtedness or, in some cases, the
extent of the security interests a particular individual holds.