There hasn't been much publicity about the arrival of the .au domain extension, released on 23 March 2022 and for those you’ve missed it or have forgotten about it, now is the time to protect your brand before time runs out.

Australian businesses have until 20 September to reserve their .au equivalent domain name before it becomes available to the general public.

If you already own the equivalent .com.au, .net.au or .org.au, you are permitted to register the .au version of that domain.

What is a .au domain name? 

.au domain extension is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) specifically for Australia and registration is only open to ABN/ACN holders. A domain name ending in .au signifies that the person or business using it has a connection in Australia.

.au domain names will be available for registration through a "Priority Allocation Process", by which .au domain names are reserved for registration by owners of existing third-level .au domain names for six months. From 24 March 2022 to 20 September 2022, owners of existing extensions such as com.au, net.au, org.au, asn.au, id.au, gov.au and edu.au have priority to register the exact matching .au domain names. After that date, that name will become available to the public.

Why register a .au domain

• Being a .au is more memorable and allows you to register a shorter domain name that customers can recall. 

• It aligns with other global domains such as .uk, .sg, .ca etc and is an all-Australian domain extension.

• Makes for an effortless experience typing a domain name into the address bar and one less thing to get wrong mistyping online.

• It is a good business practice to protect your brand name. After the priority period, others can buy your domain name.

• Helpful for website users accessing websites on mobile phones as it's shorter.

• Stop cybercriminals from owning your domain name.

How to register .au domain names?

If you currently own the .com.au version of a domain name, you are eligible for a" Priority Status" registration. Ensure you meet AUDA's eligibility criteria (Auda is the Australian governing body for .au domain names). 

IMPORTANT: The Priority period ends at 9.59am AEST on 21 September 2022 to secure your .au domain variant. From 8.00am AEST 4 October .au, direct names are released from priority hold and available for registration by the public.  

You can register your .au direct domain with your preferred domain provider.

For more information, visit: https://www.auda.org.au/tools/priority-status-tool

Author: Kerry L Chew, Partner nem Australasia

This article is based on research and opinion available in the public domain.