Act by 20 September to secure priority registration for a ‘.au’ domain name

Domain name changes

Australian domain names no longer require three components for registration.

This change was brought in to give domain name holders a simpler option than current domain names options, such as ‘.com.au’ or ‘org.au’ domain names.

Priority application period

The priority application period for existing holders of domain names will end on 20 September 2022. During this period, domain names created on or before 4 February 2018 will have priority over domain names created after this date.

Where there are two similar domain names created before 4 February 2018, for example ‘domainnmame.org.au’ and ‘domainname.com.au’, the two holders must come to an agreement of where the corresponding ‘.au’ domain name should be allocated. Where no agreement is reached, the ‘.au’ domain name will remain unallocated.

Post priority application period

A consequence of the domain name change is that once the priority application period expires on 20 September 2022, ‘.au’ domain names will be able to be registered by eligible persons and companies.

The only requirement to be an eligible person is that the individual or company has an Australian presence. Generally, an individual will have an Australian presence where they are an Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident and a company will have an Australian presence where it is registered under the Corporations Act. Other entities, such as registered organisations, cooperatives and charities can also have an Australian presence.

It will not be a requirement after the priority application period for a registrant to hold a corresponding existing domain name. Further, it will be difficult to challenge the registration of a domain name after 20 September 2022 for any basis other than the Australian presence requirement.

Conclusion

Current domain name holders must act quickly to avoid a situation where the corresponding ‘.au’ domain name is held by a third party.

To do so, current domain name holders should register their domain name through a registrar or reseller listed on the .au Domain Administration Ltd (.auDA) website.

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This article in no way constitutes legal advice. It is general in nature and is the opinion of the author only. You should seek legal advice tailored to your individual circumstances before acting on anything related to this article.