auDA will proceed to public consultation this year on draft updates to the .au Licensing Rules, to give effect to the recommendations of the .au Licensing Rules Review.
auDA is now preparing consultation materials:
- A marked-up version of the .au Licensing Rules setting out the proposed changes to the Rules; and
- A proposed implementation plan to support a considered transition to the updated Rules.
The consultation will also be supported by an explanatory guide.
Proposed changes to com.au and net.au allocation criteria
auDA proposes to allow existing com.au and net.au domain name licences to continue to operate under the current allocation rules. No current registrant of a domain name licence will be affected by the proposed changes to the allocation criteria.
com.au and net.au are distinguished from other namespaces by requiring a registrant to meet both eligibility and allocation criteria.
The eligibility criteria for com.au and net.au set out who can register a com.au and net.au domain name, and require that the registrant both has an Australian Presence and is a Commercial Entity. There are no proposed changes to the com.au and net.au eligibility criteria.
The allocation criteria are intended to demonstrate a connection between the domain name and the name of the associated commercial entity. Under Australian law, a commercial entity must register a business name if the entity runs a business in Australia and is not trading under its own name. The current allocation criteria for com.au and net.au require the domain name to be derived from the legal name of the registrant, or its registered business name or registered trademark, or the name of a service, good, event, activity or premises that the registrant provides.
In its Final Report, the external Policy Advisory Panel recommended that the allocation criteria for com.au and net.au be tightened to be a Match of a personal name, registered name or registered Australian trade mark.
Under the current .au Licensing Rules an exact match is not necessary. This is not proposed to change.
Next steps
No final decisions have been made on the proposed changes to the .au Licensing Rules or their implementation. Public consultation is planned to open later this year, and auDA encourages all interested parties to participate and continue to provide their feedback.
Any changes to the rules that are approved by the auDA Board will be subject to a review by an external Policy Advisory Panel within 5 years.
ENDS
Notes
Under Australian law, a commercial entity must register a business name if the entity runs a business in Australia and is not trading under its own name.
A registered name or registered trademark can contain the name of registrant’s service, good, event, activity or premises.
Under the licensing rules, a domain name is a Match to a business name if it contains one, some or all of words or numbers used in the business name. For example, a Person with a Business Name ‘Forexample Publishing’ would be able to register forexample.com.au, forexamplepublishing.com.au, forexample-publishing.com.au, and publishing.com.au as domain names.
Additional information related to the .au Licensing Rules Review and external Policy Advisory Panel can be found on the following webpages:
- .au Licensing Rules Review 2025 webpage
- Phase 1 consultation submissions
- Phase 2 consultation submissions
.au Licensing Rules changes are made in accordance with the Process for the Development and Review of auDA Published Policies.