Newsflash: Launch of direct .AU domain registrations

As we informed you a few months ago here, direct .au domain name registrations will open on 24 March 2022 at 00:00 (UTC). These domains will be open to anyone with a verified connection to Australia. There are more than 17 categories of persons and circumstances which meet the ‘verified connection’ requirement including:

• Registrant is an Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident visa holder
• Registrant is a company, organization, association, cooperative, partnership, political party, trust, government entity, charity, educational institution, or partnership registered in Australia
• Registrant is the applicant or owner of an Australian trademark, where the domain name is an exact match of the Australian trademark application or registration

There will be a Priority Allocation Period where holders of domains in any other .AU namespace (e.g. .COM.AU, .ID.AU etc.) can apply for Priority Status to register the exact match direct .AU domain. Priority applications are split into 2 categories: those domain names registered before 4 February 2018 and those registered after, with the former taking priority.

The registry has published a very helpful flow chart to explain the Priority Allocation Period, including the process for name collision (where there are 2 applications for the same term), which can be seen here, and more general information on the process here.

When the launch opens on 24 March 2022, all .AU direct domain names that correspond to existing domain names in other categories (.COM.AU, .NET.AU, etc) registered prior to launch will be placed on Priority Hold for six months, until 20 September 2022. This means that the registrant of mydomain.com.au has six months to apply for mydomain.au, for example. If the application is not sent during this period these domains will become available on a first-come first-served basis after 20 September 2022.

We can accept applications now, ready to be processed on the opening on 24 March 2022. To check the fees or for further information, please contact your Domain Strategist or contact us directly.