Have you registered your ".AU" domain name? If not, you may be at risk
New .au direct names
The shorter, simpler domain names are now available with “.au” as a new option for Australian web and email addresses.
Australian businesses yet to register their “.au” direct domain name maybe at risk of losing it to others, as the six-month priority allocation period for existing domain registrants approaches its end at the 20 September 2022.
What does your business need to do to register an exact match of an existing “.au” domain?
If your business has an existing eligible “.au” domain name (such as .com.au and .net.au), you have until 20 September 2022 to indicate whether you to intend to apply for the exact match of your name in .au direct via the The Priority Allocation Process or via your IT professional.
Warning: If you choose not to apply for the exact match of a name it will become available to the general public. Your existing domain names will all continue to operate as normal.
Registering the exact match of an existing .au domain you hold
If you hold a “.au” name in another namespace e.g. com.au, org.au. etc. created before 24 March 2022, you will have until 20 September 2022 to apply for its exact “.au” direct match.
The six-month period is known as the Priority Application Period.
Exact matches will be put on Priority Hold for the Priority Application Period to prevent them from being registered by others and to enable existing registrants the first opportunity to register (Priority Status) the exact match of their existing domain names.
E.g. If you are the registrant of getyour.com.au, and it was created before 24 March 2022, you will have six months to apply for getyour.au, if you would like to licence it.
You’ll be able to apply for the exact match “.au” direct domain name via a participating .au accredited registrar.
In most cases you’ll be able to register and begin using your matching .au direct domain name soon after you apply for it.
In some cases, there may be more than one applicant for the same “.au” direct domain name as there are different registrants that hold the same domain name licence in different namespaces.
For example:
- Tina is the registrant of getyour.com.au
- Gene is the registrant of getyour.net.au
Both names were created before 24 March 2022, so both registrants are eligible to apply for getyour.au
In these cases, the .au direct exact match will be allocated according to the Priority Allocation Process.
Applying to register your matching “.au” direct name is optional and has no effect on your existing domain names.
