The Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) is a national online register that can protect consumers when buying personal property by providing them with information. Personal property can include all forms of property other than real estate. This information can include whether the property you are buying has a security interest attached to it. If you buy something subject to security interest, the person or entity with that interest can repossess it. A security interest is an interest in personal property that secures payment of a debt regardless of the form of the transaction. The collateral must have a security interest attached in order for the security interest to be enforced against the grantor.
For a security interest to attach to collateral, the grantor must have rights in the collateral and accept payment or does an act by which the security interest arises. For a security agreement to be enforceable against someone other than the grantor, it must be in writing and signed by the grantor.
The relevant legislation is the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) which covers security interests in personal property.
If you own a business that has a security interest in property, you can register your interest to legitimately show that you have certain rights over that property. You can register your business interests to ensure you protect yourself from loss if a customer defaults on a loan or fails to meet their obligations.
If you want to make sure the property you are buying does not have a security interest, you can conduct a search for $2.00 which can provide you with a search certificate detailing the results of the search.
You should conduct a PPSR search when buying large purchases from a private seller, purchasing equipment for your business, anything that might be under finance or used as collateral, conducting transactions with a seller that uses stock as collateral, extending credit or offering a loan or making an investment in an individual or a business.
How do I register a security interest?
To register a security interest, you should have evidence of your security agreement. After this, you will need to create a PPSR account, provide relevant information on the nature of your interest, and follow the websites instructions to register your interest. Once you have registered an interest, you need to let the grantor know by providing them with a copy of the verification statement.
How to conduct a search
You can either search by grantor, by individual item or by a PPSR number. The grantor is the individual or company whose property may have security interests on it. You can search a grantor by their ABN, their name and other information. You can search for 
individual items such as cars, boats and intellectual property usually by a VIN number, serial number or patent number. If you are looking for a specific registration, you can search the PPSR number.