The short version
Hoist Assets searches organisations and serial-numbered property. It does not search individuals. This is enforced at the API boundary, not in marketing copy.
Why the line exists
Hoist Assets operates on an org-only scope: organisation-grantor and serial-number searches only, no PII. AFSA's B2G Account framework is the channel for direct PPSR access. Whether B2G Account Customers may run searches as a relay on behalf of identifiable end users (the customer-trigger model) is the question Hoist Assets has put to AFSA under PPSR General Conditions §1.8 written-approval pathway. Hoist Assets does NOT currently operate this model in production and does NOT claim any existing carve-out. To stay inside this scope, our API rejects requests whose target is an individual grantor before any AFSA call is made.
What the rejection looks like
POST /v1/ppsr/search
{ "grantor_name": "Jane Smith", "grantor_dob": "1980-01-01" }
→ 400 Bad Request
{
"error": "individual_grantor_not_supported",
"message": "Hoist Assets is org-only: individual-grantor searches are not supported. Use AFSA direct or a reseller with a different scope.",
"documentation_url": "https://assets.hoistai.com/trust/npii-boundary"
}You can reproduce this in sandbox. The grantor_name and grantor_dob fields are absent from the OpenAPI schema; pass them anyway and the validator rejects the request.
What you can still do
The boundary stops us searching by individual identity. It does not stop you cross-referencing data you already have. If you know a counterparty's vehicle VIN, the serial-number search returns what the PPSR says about that VIN — including the secured party. If you know their ABN, the organisation search returns registrations against that organisation. Combine those with other systems you operate and you can build a richer counterparty picture; we just don't initiate the personal-identity step.
If you need individual searches
Use AFSA direct (afsa.gov.au) or a reseller with a different scope (e.g., InfoTrack, Equifax PPSR Online). We're not the right tool. We chose this constraint deliberately so we could ship a product that did one thing well rather than negotiate a wider AFSA agreement.
Verification
Read the OpenAPI spec at /.well-known/openapi.json. Grep it for grantor; the only matches are secured_party and registered_grantor_organisation. No grantor_individual. No person_search. No licence_lookup.