Offering Direct .au Domain Registrations
 

You may be aware that 2022 will see the introduction of what are called direct .au domain registrations. Essentially this means that we can now, for example, register jezweb.au, effectively allowing for a 'top level' registration of .au in the same way that it's possible to register .us or .nz.

It's entirely optional but we think it's worth at least considering as part of the protection of a business brand and name for Australian businesses. There is a prioritisation to the process so that it's not a straight-out 'landgrab' from the start, such that if a business has had their .com.au for many years they will get first dibs on their .au.

If you would like us to attempt to reserve your .au domain/s once the application process begins please reply and let us know or fill in the form here: https://www.jezweb.com.au/directau/ 

The rest of this email goes into more depth on what this is all about and includes some of the questions and answers we have had so far.

For the official specifics and details from AUDA start here: https://www.auda.org.au/au-domain-names/au-domain-names/au-direct

Priority Status Tool
 

The application process for direct .au domain names will be starting at the end of March 2022. We can test who gets priority with this website: https://www.auda.org.au/tools/priority-status-tool

Checking Who Has Priority
 

Right now it will show ‘not applied’ for every domain since applications are not open but what you can see is whether there is an existing domain registered that infers priority.

When Does This Start?
 

The .au Domain Administration (auDA) has announced that direct .au domain name registrations will commence from 24 March 2022.

The .auDA Priority Rules will commence on 24 March 2022 at 00:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

This means 11 am on 24 March for Sydney (Daylight Savings), 10 am Brisbane and 8 am for Perth and 10:30 am for Adelaide.

When Can I Get my Exact Match Domain Name?
 

Exact matches e.g. jezweb.com.au registering jezweb.au will be put on Priority Hold for the Priority Application Period to prevent them from being registered by others and to enable existing registrants the first opportunity to register (Priority Status) the exact match of their existing domain names. 

E.g. If you are the registrant of getyour.com.au you will have six months to apply for getyour.au, if you would like to licence it.

Do I Need This Extra Domain Name?
 

Strictly speaking, no. If you have a domain name that no competitor would want then chances are there won’t be a rush to get the .au domain. Whether you ever use it as the main domain name for a business we would consider it worth protecting as part of the digital assets of a business. There are some good reasons for and against doing so, however, but regardless of your stance on the matter it is happening and applying for your business .au domain may lock out competitors with similar names or acronyms from registering it.

Can I Still Register .com.au?
 

Yes. For now we are thinking that sticking with that as the main domain name is a safe/conservative choice but its really up to each business owner to decide what domain name they prefer.

If you have a brand new business and no one has registered the .com.au, lets say you wanted to register
thisismynewbusinessanditsamazing.com.au you can register that anytime, and from the 24th of March

Should I Change My Website to the New Domain?
 

I would not be in a hurry to change a website or email from .com.au to .au. It has some implications for SEO and it could be years until the general public understand that businessname.au is correct and I can imagine a conversation like the following occurring.

Business Owner: Our email address is info@mybusiness.au

Customer: Sorry is that info@mybusiness.com.au

Business Owner: No we have changed to using mybusiness.au for our website.

Customer: Right so do i email info@mybusiness.au or info@mybusiness.com.au?

Business Owner: Yes. Either of those will be fine.

Customer: Emailing info@mybusiness.com.au now

Will People Understand What Something.au is as a Domain?
 

It's likely there will be advertising from AUDA and various registrars but I'm dubious about that filtering down to the great majority of people who do not have any specific interest in what is going on with domain name registrations. There are hundreds of other 'top level' domain names like .xyz, .art .fun .press .online .rent .site .space .monster etc and whilst there have been lots of registrations it's still rare to see them being used as the primary domain of a website.

This whole direct type of domain is something that other countries have already done, including New Zealand with the addition of .nz rather than .co.nz. It’s unlikely that there will be a rapid shift in the usage to ….au because it will take time for people to become familiar with it.

Let's revisit this question at the end of the decade. I would expect that some brands will start considering their usage of a .au domain in 2023. Initially, we will start seeing domain names like seek.au on billboards and kfc.au next to the cricket scores and I would think radio and tv advertising will switch to it because it's fewer words to say.

Do I Have to Register the Domain with Jezweb?
 

Nope. You are free to go through another provider if you wish.

How Much Will It Cost?
 

Each registrar will have their own pricing policy and there is likely to be some amount of 'first-year discount' going on because that can be a good marketing strategy. Everything we have seen thus far indicates the .au domains will cost the same as .com.au / .net.au etc.

For 2022 for a single year of a .au domain registration or renewal without any other services attached we are charging $30 + GST and a domain can be secured for up to 5 years at a time but usually we will simply auto-renew and invoice annually.

Many of our clients will have domain names included with their website hosting and we have no plans to make any changes to those arrangements whatever they may be.

How Long Do I Have to Decide?
 

Short answer: 24 March 2022 to 20 September 2022

If you already hold a .au name in another namespace e.g. com.au, org.au. etc. you will have six months from 24 March until 20 September 2022 to apply for its exact .au direct match. The six-month period is known as the Priority Application Period.

If there are no applications for a reserved .au direct from an eligible registrant name during the six-month Priority Allocation Period, that name will become available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis at the close of the Priority Allocation Period. 

Longer answer:

The Commencement Table below specifies the relevant timings for the .au direct implementation:

	Application Period	Priority Registration Period
Priority Status (Category 1)	24 March 2022 to 20 September 2022	Ongoing
Priority Status (Category 2)	24 March 2022 to 20 September 2022	24 March 2022 to 20 September 2022
General Availability	Not applicable	Not Applicable

1.3.3    .au Domain Administration must undertake a review of the .auDA Priority Rules at 12 months, 18 months, 24 months and 30 months after the Commencement date.

1.3.4    The Board of .au Domain Administration may, at its sole discretion, specify an end date for the Priority Registration of Priority Status (Category 1) domain names.

Do I Get Priority Because of My Business Name/Trademark?
 

Short answer: No

Longer answer:

No hierarchy of rights means that a person has no better entitlement to a name in a namespace than any other person and that no namespace is of greater or lesser value than another namespace. NOTE: For example, a trademark rights holder has no better entitlement to the same name in a namespace than any other person. 

Any Other Questions?