.AU is the country code TLD for Australia and is administered by the Australian Domain Name Administrator (auDA). As of April 12th, 2021, auDA changes licensing, validation, and security requirements to maintain public confidence in the zone and create more uniform requirements across TLDs.
Important: Domains no longer meeting the new eligibility requirements after April 12, 2021, cannot be renewed in the OpenSRS system.
- New eligibility requirements for .COM.AU and .NET.AU
- New eligibility requirements for .ORG.AU
- Registrant requirements
- Renewal process
- Restore process
- Complaint process
- Glossary of terms
- Additional resources
New eligibility requirements for .COM.AU and .NET.AU
In the new rules, an Australian trademark is used to meet the Australian presence requirement for COM.AU and NET.AU.
Note: We are only listing the applicable changing policies. The rest of the TLD policies will remain the same.
| TLD | Previous policy | New policy |
| .COM.AU .NET.AU |
Domain names must be an exact match, abbreviation, acronym of the Registrant's name or trademark, or otherwise closely and substantially connected to the Registrant. |
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| Who is impacted | What they should do |
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Current foreign companies, legal entities, persons who use the Australian trademark meet the Australian presence requirement, where their com.au or net.au domain is not an exact match of their Australian trademark. |
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For all other persons where an Australian presence is established and met all the eligibility criteria, the domain being applied must match a person's Australian trademark.
This example of registering a domain illustrates what is considered a match of an Australian trademark.
Note: Below image is for illustrative purposes only
New eligibility requirements for .ORG.AU
As per the new changes, auDA wants to ensure the ORG.AU namespace functions more clearly as Australia’s not-for-profit sector identifier.
| TLD | Previous policy | New policy |
| .ORG.AU |
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| Who is impacted | What they should do |
| Current Registrants using their unincorporated association as the basis for their eligibility for an ORG.AU name, who can not register with the Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission’s (ACNC). |
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Registrant requirements
Registrants must continue to ensure their information is complete, true, and accurate throughout the registration period. Registrants must notify their resellers of any changes within 14 calendar days after becoming aware of the change.
| Registrant | Registration details | |
| Registration certificate | Following the changes on April 12th, registrants will receive a registration certificate after each successful registration. | |
| Registrant validation | Registrants will undergo further validation of identity, their ability to meet registration requirements, and their Australian presence. |
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| Address Validation |
The registry requires that OpenSRS validates the registrant’s name and address. |
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Renewal process
All upcoming changes apply to domain renewals. OpenSRS will continue to check eligibility at renewal. Existing domains that don’t comply with the new requirements will become ineligible for renewal.
Note: If eligibility cannot be obtained, consider renewing the domain for the maximum term before April 12, 2021.
Renewal for .COM.AU and .NET.AU
If a person uses their Australian Trademark to meet Australian Presence, this requirement must be fulfilled at domain renewal. If the trademark is no longer valid, then a person must meet another criterion; otherwise, they can no longer hold that domain license.
Renewal for .ORG.AU
Unincorporated associations must be listed on the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). At domain renewal, this requirement must be fulfilled.
Note: All other renewal policy remains the same.
Restore process
Domain deletion policy remains the same. However, in the new rules, Registrants are now allowed to restore a deleted domain within two days of the deletion. A restoration fee will apply.
Complaint process
OpenSRS Compliance assists with problems or requests surrounding .AU domains. As of April 12th, 2021:
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- OpenSRS compliance remains the main point of contact for complaints.
- OpenSRS is required to suspend or cancel a domain within 24 hours after becoming satisfied that someone is in breach. OpenSRS will allow the registrant to update details or rectify the breach. During this time, domain transfer is not allowed.
- Breaches not rectified within 30 days will result in the domain's deletion, making it available again for registration.
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Glossary of terms
| Exact match | An exact match means that the domain name being applied for is identical to one, some, or all of the words or numbers used in the Person’s legal name, business name, or Australian Trade Mark. The domain name must use the words or numbers in the same order as they appear in the Person’s legal name, business name, or Australian Trade Mark and must not include any additional words or numbers. The following are not included: •commercial status identifiers such as ‘Pty Ltd’; •DNS identifiers such as com.au; •punctuation marks such as an exclamation point or an apostrophe; •articles such as ‘a’, ‘the,’ ‘and ’or ‘of’; and •ampersands. |
| Unincorporated association |
An unincorporated association is not recognized as a separate legal entity to the members associated with it. It is a group of people who agree to act together as an organization and form an association. The group can remain informal, and its members make their own rules on how the group is managed. |
| ACNC | Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. |
| Australian trademark |
A trademark is your registered brand and is used to distinguish your business from other products and services. A trademark can be a letter, number, word, phrase, logo, image, sound, movement, shape, or scent. |
Additional resources
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