.AU Domain Names

• Registration requirements
• Renewals
• Transfers
• Changes in ownership

This article explains the requirements and special procedures for .AU domain names. DNSimple supports registration, renewal, and transfer of .AU second-level domains and .COM.AU, .ORG.AU, and .NET.AU third-level domains.

Registration requirements

General requirements

All second-level .AU domain names:

• Require an Australian presence.

All third-level .AU domain names:

• Require an Eligibility ID type and valid Eligibility ID number. Acceptable Eligibility ID types are:
  • Australian Business Number
  • Australian Company Number
  • Trademark Number
• Require an Australian address.
• Must be an exact match, abbreviation, or acronym of the Registrant’s name, or otherwise closely and substantially connected to the Registrant.

.COM.AU and .NET.AU

To register a .COM.AU or .NET.AU domain name, registrants must be one of the following:

• An Australian registered company.
• Trading under a registered business name in any Australian State or Territory.
• An Australian partnership or sole trader.
• A foreign company licensed to trade in Australia.
• The owner of an Australian Registered Trademark.
• An applicant for an Australian Registered Trademark.
• An association incorporated in any Australian State or Territory.
• An Australian commercial statutory body.

.ORG.AU

To register a .ORG.AU domain name, registrants must belong to one of the following:

• An association incorporated in any Australian State or Territory.
• A political party registered with the Australian Electoral Commission.
• A trade union or other organization registered under the Workplace Relations Act 1996.
• A sporting or special interest club operating in Australia.
• A charity operating in Australia, as defined in the Registrant’s constitution or other documents of incorporation.
• A non-profit organization operating in Australia, as defined in the Registrant’s constitution or other documents of incorporation.

Renewals

.AU domains must be renewed no later than 10 days before the expiration date. Automatic and manual renewals are permitted as long as the domain is less than 90 days away from expiry. If the domain name is not renewed by the deadline, it enters redemption. The domain name will be removed from the DNS and cannot be updated. This period lasts for 31 days. During this period, the domain name can be restored for an additional fee.

If the domain name is not redeemed within 31 days, it will be removed from our system and will no longer be recoverable. It will be purged by the registry during the next purge cycle.

Transfers

.AU domains are not renewed for one year upon transfer. We do not charge for .AU transfers.

Changes in ownership

Any contact change that results in a change of registrant must be executed manually. A change of registrant occurs when you are modifying the Organization Name, First/Last Name, Eligibility ID type, or Eligibility ID number.

There’s an additional fee to change the ownership of a .AU domain — this fee includes a one-year extension of the domain registration, effective from the date the change is completed.

If you want to make this change, contact us, and we’ll be happy to help.

Inactive or deregistered eligibility ID type

If your domain has an inactive or cancelled ABN/ACN, the registrant must reactivate the existing eligibility ID type number on record before the registration can be transferred or renewed.

• ABR: Cancel/re-apply for an ABN
• ASIC: Reinstating a deregistered company

Where an Australian trademark number is no longer valid, the registration must provide alternative business information — either an ABN/ACN or a new trademark number — to maintain their eligibility to retain the registration.

If your domain has a deregistered ABN/ACN (where the legal entity has been deregistered or is deceased), the registry requires the following additional forms:

• Statutory Declaration
• Transfer of Domain Name Chain of Title Form

Please complete them to the best of your abilities — if you have any concerns, please contact the registry directly.