The Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) allows Australian businesses to safeguard their security interests (money owed to them) and make informed commercial decisions. Businesses register on the PPSR by completing an online form hosted by the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA).
For a PPSR registration to be effective, businesses must provide key information in the online registration form. Our previous research indicated some less experienced users get some of these details incorrect. This is a problem because even a small mistake can render the registration invalid.
In response to BETA’s previous recommendations, AFSA implemented enhancements to the PPSR system, processes and supporting information. We evaluated two of these enhancements using randomised controlled trials (RCTs).
- We redesigned the review screen at the end of the PPSR registration form. The new review screen did not affect accuracy.
- We introduced a new question layout and added prompts. These changes were effective – almost halving the number of incorrect transactions.
Part 1
Trial start and end dates
17 December 2020 – 10 March 2021
Ethics approval
Macquarie University Human Research Ethics (ref: 52020932222681), 1 December 2021
Experimental design including randomisation
A randomised controlled trial (RCT) with PPSR user accounts randomised to the business-as-usual or new review screen conditions conducted on a rolling basis. Randomisation was conducted by AFSA as registrations were created.
Intervention
The PPSR registration form included a new review screen with two key changes. Firstly, a pop-up appeared prior to the review screen. The pop-up explained that inputting incorrect details may render the registration invalid. Secondly, users were required to confirm that each set of details (Secured Party, Grantor, and collateral details) they entered into the form were correct.
Control condition
The business-as-usual PPSR registration form.
Outcome
The primary outcome was transaction accuracy. The secondary outcome was self-reported ease-of-use of the registration process.
Sample size
Expected sample size of 4,940 transactions; final sample size was 3,631 transactions.
Other
This trial was publicly pre-registered on the AEA registry, record number AEARCTR-0006971.
Part 2
Trial start and end dates
29 July 2021 – 20 October 2021
Ethics approval
Macquarie University Human Research Ethics (ref: 520211034730302), 15 July 2021
Experimental design including randomisation
A randomised controlled trial (RCT) with PPSR user accounts randomised to the business-as-usual or new Grantor page conditions conducted on a rolling basis. Randomisation was conducted by AFSA as registrations were created.
Intervention
The PPSR registration form included a new Grantor page with a new layout and prompts. The new layout asked a series of questions about the Grantor, which guided the user to the right identifier in a more intuitive way. We also introduced five prompts, which appeared if users made one of five common mistakes.
Control condition
The business-as-usual PPSR registration form.
Outcome
The primary outcome was transaction accuracy. The secondary outcomes were self-reported ease-of-use of the registration process and completion rates.
Sample size
Expected sample size of 1,500 account holders; final sample size was 1,567 account holders.