.au Domain – A guide to the .au Priority Allocation process

If you have an existing website domain that ends with ‘.com.au, .net.au, .org.au, .edu.au etc’ You may be eligible to apply for your new .au domain.

The .au Domain Administration (auDA), was launched earlier this year creating Australia’s newest domain namespace – .au direct.

The new namespace provides eligible registrants the option to register an equivalent .au direct domain name for the first time.

For Example:

if you hold ‘hendersonaccounting.com.au’, you can apply for Priority Status to register the domain ‘hendersonaccounting.au’.

Registrants with an existing .com.au domain name licence registered prior to 24 March 2022 are eligible to apply for a direct match of their .au direct domain name through the Priority Allocation Process.

The Priority Allocation Process is now open and will close on 20 Sept 2022.

Please note that if you choose not to register the direct match of your domain name in the new namespace by 20 September, it will become available to the general public from that date.

While registering your .au direct domain is not mandatory there are several advantages of having a .au domain name:

The most important thing is that it is easy to remember and type – making it a smart branding strategy
It also protects your brand identity, restricting competitors from registering a similar name
And finally, a .au domain is a great way to show that you’re proudly Australian.

To Apply:

You may have already received an email from your domain registrar (i.e., VentraIP, GoDaddy, Bluehost) with an invitation to apply for your .au direct domain. If you have received this email and have not yet registered your .au direct domain name, follow the links in the email to register.

If have not already and you want to register the .au match of your existing domain name:

To check your priority category and/ or see if there are other registrants eligible for the .au direct name you seek, you can use auDA’s Priority Status Tool.

If you have an account with a domain registrar log into your account and begin the application process for your .au domain.

Ensure that the registration and ownership details you enter match those of your original .com.au, .net.au, .org.au, .edu.au etc account. This will include address, email, name of ownership entity, ABN, ACN and other contact details.

Note that there are registration fees payable to register any domain, including the .au domain.

You should receive instant notification of your .au registration, however in some cases it may take the registrant some time to ensure that your application is not a “contested name”. Please see below for further explanation:

More information on .au direct and the Priority Allocation Process is available on the auDA website.

You can find out information about your existing domain name licence here: https://whois.auda.org.au/.

If you need assistance with the .au registration process please contact Shae Isaac from The SAM Agency and she will be happy to assist. Alternatively you can contact our office at admin@hendersonaccounting.com.au and we can forward your details to The SAM Agency.