In Amal Security Services Pty Limited (Trustee) v The APF Custody Company Pty Ltd [2026] FCA 1486, decided on 8 October 2026, the Federal Court gave a security trustee more time to register its security interest on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) after registration had been missed for around ten months. The Court granted relief because the failure was inadvertent. However, it reserved the right for any liquidator, administrator or deed administrator appointed within six months of the late registration to apply to undo the order.

What happened

The case arose from a private credit structure. Notes were issued to an investor in about August 2025, and the proceeds were lent to a property developer, secured over land in Liverpool, NSW. The security package included a security trust deed and a general security deed, each dated on or about 29 July 2025.

Under the general security deed, the fund manager, acting for the security provider, was responsible for making sure the security was registered on the PPSR. It wasn’t. The security trustee’s officer candidly accepted that she had not checked whether the manager had registered it. The problem came to light only in late June 2026, when the trustee’s lawyers raised it, and registration was made immediately. By then the underlying loan was in default and receivers had been appointed to the borrower.

The trustee applied under section 588FM of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) for an order fixing a later time for registration. The grantor did not oppose the application. Justice Jackman accepted that the delay was caused by “inadvertence or accident”, meaning human error or oversight by the manager. He described a ten-month delay as substantial, but gave weight to the fact that registration was made almost immediately once the error was found.

Because there was no evidence about the grantor’s financial position, the Court fixed 25 June 2026 as the registration time. It also reserved liberty for any liquidator, administrator or deed administrator appointed to the grantor within six months of that date to apply to discharge or vary the order.

Why it matters

Under section 588FL, a security interest that is registered late can vest in the grantor if the grantor goes into liquidation or administration, or executes a deed of company arrangement, within six months of registration. If that happens, the lender is left unsecured. A section 588FM order can cure the problem, but this decision shows the cure may be conditional. Until the six-month window closes, the security remains exposed.

This affects banks and non-bank lenders, private credit managers, note issuers and security trustees, as well as borrowers and guarantors in structured property finance. Insolvency practitioners appointed within the window should check for orders like this one.

What you should do now

• Verify every PPSR registration yourself. Obtain the verification statement, or run a search, within 20 business days of the security taking effect, even if a manager, borrower or adviser is responsible for registering.
• Review your existing loan book, particularly note-funded and trust structures, for missing or defective registrations. Check grantor details, trustee capacity and collateral class.
• If you find a gap, register at once and get advice promptly on a section 588FM application. Speed and a clear explanation of how the error happened both matter.
• If you obtain an order, diary the six-month period and keep a close watch on the grantor’s solvency until it ends.
• Build a registration check into your settlement checklist and into the security trust deed itself.

If you would like us to review your security registrations, or you have found a gap, please contact Angelo Conti, Managing Principal. angelo.conti@madgwicks.com.au

Source: Amal Security Services Pty Limited (Trustee) v The APF Custody Company Pty Ltd, in the matter of The APF Custody Company Pty Ltd [2026] FCA 1486 (Jackman J, 8 October 2026): https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2026/2026fca1486

The information provided in this article is general in nature and cannot be relied on as legal advice, nor does it create an engagement. Please contact one our lawyers listed above for advice about your specific situation.