.au domains FAQ
Eligibility, registry rules, and quirks of the .au namespace.
Who can register a .com.au or .net.au?
A registered Australian commercial entity. In practice that means you need:
- An ABN (Australian Business Number), or
- An ACN (Australian Company Number), or
- An RBN (Registered Business Name).
You also need a “close and substantial connection” between the registered entity and the domain name itself. The 2008 rule that required a literal name match was relaxed — a brand or product name owned by the entity is usually fine.
Can a non-Australian entity register .com.au?
A non-Australian entity can apply if it holds a registered Australian trademark that matches the domain. The trademark needs to be granted (not pending) and active. Otherwise no — the registry will reject the application.
For everyone else, direct .au (since 2022) requires Australian presence too — ABN/ACN for businesses, residency for individuals.
What about .org.au?
Non-commercial Australian organisations: charities, associations, professional bodies, sporting clubs. ABN required for the organisation. The registry checks that the organisation type is non-commercial.
What about .id.au?
Personal use. Australian citizens or permanent residents. No ABN required — your name on the registration is enough. The domain must relate to your personal identity (your name, a personal handle, a hobby).
What about .asn.au and .gov.au?
.asn.au — Australian associations, sports clubs. Needs ABN.
.gov.au — Australian government bodies only. We don’t sell .gov.au; it’s restricted to government entities that apply directly to auDA.
Can I have WHOIS privacy on .au?
No. auDA mandates public WHOIS for .au TLDs — name, address, email, and phone are public. Set the toggle to privacy: true and we silently ignore it on .au.
If your contact data needs to be hidden, use a registered address (e.g. an accountant’s office) and a role-based email.
How long is the renewal grace period?
.au registries give a 30-day renewal grace after expiry. After grace, the domain is released — there’s no formal redemption period like .com has. This means once a .au domain has dropped, it’s gone, and someone else can register it.
We send 30-day, 14-day, 7-day, and 1-day pre-expiry notifications. Auto-renew is on by default for everything we register.
Can I transfer .au domains?
Yes. .au transfers are registry-mediated and near-instant once you’ve supplied the auth code. There’s no 60-day lock like ICANN gTLDs — you can register a .au and transfer it elsewhere the same day if you want.
Can I have multi-year registrations on .au?
Yes. .com.au and .net.au accept 1–5 year registrations (most TLDs allow up to 10, but .au policy caps it). Renewals can extend beyond the initial term, also up to 5 years.
What’s the deal with .au direct (no second-level)?
Since March 2022, anyone with Australian presence can register a name directly under .au (e.g. example.au instead of example.com.au). The application rules are identical to .com.au. Existing .com.au holders had a priority-allocation window in 2022; that’s closed now.
Why does my .au registration ask for an “eligibility id”?
The registry wants to verify the ABN/ACN. You upload it once via /v1/orgs/{org_oid}/contacts/eligibility, we verify against the ABR, and store the result. Future .au registrations reference the eligibility id rather than re-uploading the ABN every time.
Can I register a name that infringes a trademark?
The registry doesn’t pre-screen for trademarks (that’s auDA’s general rule), but auDA runs a Dispute Resolution Policy (auDRP) — the trademark holder can file a complaint, and you may lose the domain if the panel rules against you.
We surface a trademark_risk flag on valuations (and search results when the risk is high). Heed it.
What does it cost compared to .com?
Wholesale .com.au is around 16 AUD/year (varies with USD/AUD exchange). Retail at DomainGenius reflects the wholesale split — see /pricing for current numbers.