.au Domains

Your guide to registering an Australian Domain Name

There is a common misconception that because you already have a company or business name, or a registered trademark, you have an automatic right to register the corresponding domain name. This is not the case. No-one has an automatic right to a domain name. Domain names are licensed on a "first come, first served" basis to eligible applicants. Prior to applying you should check that the domain name you are seeking is available - you can do this by visiting our registration page - Click here. You should also ensure that your proposed domain name is not infringing a registered trademark either in Australia or major overseas markets which you intend to target. Failure to do so could have costly repercussions for your business.

When completing the registration form for any .AU domain name, you must submit some additional information about the registrant. These additional fields are displayed in the Owner Information section of the Client Area registration form and in the Additional Domain Information section of the  registration form.

Note: These requirements apply to all new registrations, transfers in, and contact updates or changes.

Eligibility Type

This field is required for all .AU registrations. From the drop-down list, choose the reason that the registrant is eligible for the domain name. The Eligibility Type must correspond to the Eligibility Name. For example, if the registrant is using their company name to register the domain, then their Eligibility Type is Company. If they are using their registered business name to register the domain, then their Eligibility Type is Registered Business, even if they are also a company.

For .COM.AU and .NET.AU, the choices are Company, Partnership, Pending TM Owner, Registered Business, Sole Trader, and Trademark Owner. For .ASN.AU and .ORG.AU, the choices are Charity, Club, Incorporated Association, Non-profit Organization and Trade Union. For .ID.AU, the only available option is Citizen/Resident.

Eligibility ID Type

This field is required for all .AU registrations except .ID.AU. The options that you see in the drop-down list depend on what you choose in the Eligibility Type field. For example, if Eligibility Type is Charity, the only option available for Eligibility ID Type is Australian Business Number.

Eligibility ID

The number of the eligibility document. This number must correspond to the Eligibility ID Type that you chose. For example, if the Eligibility ID Type is Australian Business Number, then you must enter that number in this field. This is required for all registrations except .ID.AU; however, if you specify an Eligibility ID Type for a .ID.AU registration, then you must complete this field as well.

Important: The number that you enter in this field will be validated, and if you submit an incorrect number, the registration will fail.

Eligibility Name

The name on the Eligibility ID document. This field is required for all registrations except for .ID.AU.

Registrant Name

The legal entity name, such as the company name, incorporated association name, or individual's name. This field is required for all registrations.

Registrant ID Type

From the drop-down list, choose either Australian Business Number (ABN) or Australian Company Number (ACN). This field is required for all registrations except for .ID.AU.

Registrant ID

The registrant identifier number. This value must correspond to the Registrant ID Type that you chose (that is, the ABN or ACN) This is required for all registrations except for .ID.AU.

Important: The number that you enter in this field will be validated, and if you submit an incorrect number, the registration will fail.

Policy Reason

Choose the reason that the registrant is entitled to use the domain name. This field is required. Allowed values are:

1. The name exactly matches the acronym or abbreviation of the registrant's company or trading name, organization or association name, or trademark.

2. The name is connected closely and substantially to the registrant.

Renewals

Domain names may be renewed up to 90 days before the expiry date and up to 30 days after the expiry date. Regardless of when the domain name is renewed, the new expiry date is automatically set to 2 years from the previous expiry date.

Note: There is a three day grace period following the renewal, during which the renewal can be cancelled, and the renewal fee will be refunded.

If the domain name is not renewed by the expiry date, the status of the name becomes Expired Hold. The domain name is removed from the DNS, and the domain name cannot be updated; however, it can be renewed or transferred to another registrar.

If the domain name is not renewed within 30 days after the expiry date, the status changes to Expired Pending Purge, and the domain name cannot be updated, renewed, or transferred to another registrar. The domain name is then purged from the registry during the next purge cycle.

 

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