.au

.au Direct names sit at the top level of the Australian namespace, so a business can hold example.au rather than example.com.au. They launched in March 2022 and are the newest part of .au.

Anyone with an Australian presence can hold one, which makes .au the most open of the Australian namespaces. Existing holders of the matching com.au or net.au name had priority during the launch period.

• You need an Australian presence — an ABN or ACN, Australian citizenship or permanent residency, or an Australian registered trade mark.
• Unlike com.au, the domain name does not have to match your business or trade mark. Any available name can be registered.
• Names are allocated first come, first served to the first eligible applicant.
• You must remain eligible for the whole licence term.

• You can renew from 90 days before the expiry date, for a new term of one to five years.
• Renewing does not cost you time. The new term starts from the old expiry date, so nothing is lost by renewing late.
• If the licence expires, you have 30 calendar days to renew it. The domain usually stops resolving during this window, so the website and email go down.
• There is no redemption period. Once the 30 days pass the name is purged and becomes available to anyone on a first come, first served basis.
• You must still meet the eligibility rules to renew.

• Transferring between registrars is free. auDA does not permit a fee to be charged for it.
• You need the authorisation code for the licence. It is unique to each domain and is not your account password.
• If your current provider will not supply the code, you can request it yourself from auDA at pw.auda.org.au.
• The request must come from the registrant in writing, and you must still be eligible to hold the licence.
• The registrar must complete the transfer within two calendar days.
• Transferring does not change the expiry date and does not add time to the licence.

• Changing the registrant is a transfer of the licence to a different person or entity, not an edit to a contact record.
• The incoming registrant must meet the Australian presence, eligibility and allocation rules in their own right.
• They enter a new licence agreement, choose a new licence period, and pay the licence fee for that term.
• If you are selling a business, request the transfer within 28 calendar days of entering the contract.
• Updating contact details for the same registrant is not a transfer and has no effect on the term.

• .au Domain Administration Limited (auDA) administers the .au namespace: auda.org.au
• The registry is operated by Identity Digital Australia under contract to auDA.