Commonwealth Numbered Acts

COMPANIES ACT 1981 No. 89 of 1981 - SECT 200

200. (1) Subject to this section, the provisions of this Division relating to
the giving of notice in relation to, the registration of, and the priorities
of, charges apply to and in relation to the following charges (whether legal
or equitable) on property of a company and do not apply to or in relation to
any other charges:

   (a)  a floating charge on the whole or a part of the property, business or
        undertaking of the company;

   (b)  a charge on uncalled share capital or uncalled share premiums;

   (c)  a charge on a call, whether in respect of share capital or share
        premiums, made but not paid;

   (d)  a charge on a personal chattel, including a personal chattel that is
        unascertained or is to be acquired in the future, but not including a
        ship registered in an official register kept under a law in force in
        the Territory relating to title to ships;

   (e)  a charge on goodwill, on a patent or licence under a patent, on a
        trade mark or service mark or a licence to use a trade mark or service
        mark, on a copyright or a licence under a copyright or on a registered
        design or a licence to use a registered design;

   (f)  a charge on a book debt;

   (g)  a charge on a marketable security, not being-

        (i)    a charge created in whole or in part by the deposit of a
               document of title to the marketable security; or

        (ii)   a mortgage under which the marketable security is registered in
               the name of the chargee or a person nominated by him;

   (h)  a lien or charge on a crop, a lien on wool or a stock mortgage;

   (j)  a charge on a negotiable instrument other than a marketable security.

(2) The provisions of this Division mentioned in sub-section (1) do not apply
to or in relation to-

   (a)  a charge, or a lien over property, arising by operation of law;

   (b)  a pledge of a personal chattel or of a marketable security;

   (c)  a charge created in relation to a negotiable instrument or a document
        of title to goods, being a charge by way of pledge, deposit, letter of
        hypothecation or trust receipt;

   (d)  a transfer of goods in the ordinary course of the practice of any
        profession or the carrying on of any trade or business; or

   (e)  a dealing, in the ordinary course of the practice of any profession or
        the carrying on of any trade or business, in respect of goods outside
        Australia.

(3) The reference in paragraph (1) (d) to a charge on a personal chattel is a
reference to a charge on any article capable of complete transfer by delivery,
whether at the time of the creation of the charge or at some later time, and
includes a reference to a charge on a fixture or a growing crop that is
charged separately from the land to which it is affixed or on which it is
growing, but does not include a reference to a charge on-

   (a)  a document evidencing title to land;

   (b)  a chattel interest in land;

   (c)  a marketable security;

   (d)  a document evidencing a thing in action; or

   (e)  stock or produce on a farm or land that by virtue of a covenant or
        agreement ought not to be removed from the farm or land where the
        stock or produce is at the time of the creation of the charge.

(4) The reference in paragraph (1) (f) to a charge on a book debt is a
reference to a charge on a debt due or to become due to the company at some
future time on account of or in connection with a profession, trade or
business carried on by the company, whether entered in a book or not, and
includes a reference to a charge on a future debt of the same nature although
not incurred or owing at the time of the creation of the charge, but does not
include a reference to a charge on a marketable security, on a negotiable
instrument or on a debt owing in respect of a mortgage, charge or lease of
land.

(5) For the purposes of this section, a company shall be deemed to have
deposited a document of title to property with another person (in this
sub-section referred to as the ''chargee'') in a case where the document of
title is not in the possession of the company if-

   (a)  the person who holds the document of title acknowledges in writing
        that he holds the document of title on behalf of the chargee; or

   (b)  a government, an authority or a corporation that proposes to issue a
        document of title in relation to the property agrees, in writing, to
        deliver the document of title, when issued, to the chargee.

(6) For the purposes of this section, a charge shall be taken to be a charge
on property of a kind to which a particular paragraph of sub-section (1)
applies notwithstanding that the instrument of charge also charges other
property of the company including other property that is of a kind to which
none of the paragraphs of that sub-section applies.

(7) The provisions of this Division mentioned in sub-section (1) do not apply
to or in relation to a charge on land.

(8) The provisions of this Division mentioned in sub-section (1) do not apply
to or in relation to a charge on fixtures given by a charge on the land to
which they are affixed.

(9) The provisions of this Division mentioned in sub-section (1) do not apply
to or in relation to a charge created by a company in its capacity as legal
personal representative of a deceased person or as trustee of the estate of a
deceased person.

(10) A charge on property of a company is not invalid by reason only of the
failure to lodge with the Commission or give to the company or another person
a notice or other document that is required by this Division to be so lodged
or given.