What is title?

Australian land is held under the Torrens system. The register kept by the state or territory titles office is the authority on who owns each parcel and what is registered against it, so ownership follows registration rather than a paper deed in a drawer.

Goods work differently. There is no register of ownership for a truck or a packaging line, only a register of security interests, the Personal Property Securities Register. Ownership of goods usually passes under the contract of sale and the invoice, which is why those documents get checked so carefully at settlement. Vehicle registration is not proof of ownership: it records the registered operator, the person who may use the vehicle on the road.

Who holds title is the difference between the main finance structures. Under a lease the lessor owns the asset and you pay to use it. Under a hire purchase the financier owns it until the final instalment, then title passes to you.

Under a chattel mortgage or a secured loan you own the asset from day one and the lender registers a security interest instead. That structure is what allows repossession if repayments stop, even though the asset is legally yours throughout.

For property, a title search shows the registered owner, any mortgages, easements, covenants and caveats. For a vehicle or a machine, a PPSR search against the VIN or serial number shows whether a financier has registered an interest in it. HPI is overseas shorthand some buyers use for a vehicle history report that bundles a PPSR search. There is no equivalent check for equipment.

Buying goods that still carry someone else's registered interest is a real risk, because the financier can recover the asset from you even though you paid for it. A search and a written inspection record before you hand over money are cheap by comparison.