The auDA Australian Domain Name Administrator have just announced the new Direct .AU domain extension is going to be launched on March 24, 2022.
“The introduction of .au direct is the result of significant public consultation conducted in 2015, 2018 and 2019, and will bring Australia in line with many other country code Top Level Domains including the United Kingdom (.uk), Canada (.ca), the USA (.us) and New Zealand (.nz),” auDA notes.
Bruce Tonkin auDA’s own COO said this:
“The existing second level domains are widely recognised in Australian and internationally.
A key drawback of introducing names directly at the top level could be damage to the businesses of existing .com.au registrants, when registrations at the top level are made to trade off their reputations.
There would be a significant cost to businesses to try to protect their brands in the top level without any specific gain from a consumer perspective.”
COVID has destroyed SME’s and businesses … now its auDA turn to profit as they usually do regardless as a fake “Not For Profit”.
Whilst other cctlds have indeed increased their volumes of registration since opening up the top level of their ccTLD to direct registration, this has generally occurred at the same time as relaxing the policy for registrations as well as changing the price point.
AuDA has already significantly relaxed the rules for domain name registration since 2002, and the growth of the .au namespace has tracked the international average for growth.’
On its priority allocation process, auDA says .au direct names will be licensed through auDA accredited registrars and existing holders of a .au licence (e.g. a registrant who holds com.au will have the first opportunity to apply for priority status to register the exact match of their existing domain name at the .au direct level (e.g. getyour.au) through the process.
The trusted, reliable, and uniquely Australian .au domain has been supporting Australians online for more than 35 years and the launch of .au direct is an exciting innovation, delivering enhanced opportunities for Australian internet users.
Under the process, exact matches of all names in the Australian registry prior to launch will be reserved for .au direct during the six-month priority allocation period, commencing in March 24 2022.
The priority allocation process and priority status cut-off date were recommended by an independent Policy Review Panel following public consultation,” auDA concludes.
What is .au direct?
.au direct refers to domain names registered directly before the .au (e.g. getyour.au).
Why is .au direct being introduced?
.au direct is an exciting innovation for Australia’s Internet domain that will complement the existing suite of Australian namespaces (e.g. com.au and org.au) and:
- Deliver a wider choice of available names in the Australian domain
- Allow users to register shorter, more memorable online names
- Provide names that are easier to type and display on mobile devices.
The introduction of .au direct is the result of significant public consultation conducted in 2015, 2018 and 2019, and will bring Australia in line with many other country code Top Level Domains including the United Kingdom (.uk), Canada (.ca), the USA (.us) and New Zealand (.nz).
Existing .au domain registrations
It is important to note that existing domain registrations in the .au domain will continue to operate as they do today, provided the registration remains up-to-date. Eligible people will also continue to be able to register new names in the existing namespaces such as com.au, org.au, edu.au and gov.au.
Priority Allocation Process
.au direct names will be licensed through auDA accredited registrars.
Existing holders of a .au licence (e.g. a registrant who holds getyour.com.au) will have the first opportunity to apply for Priority Status to register the exact match of their existing domain name at the .au direct level (e.g. getyour.au) through the Priority Allocation Process.
Under the Process, exact matches of all names in the Australian registry prior to launch will be reserved for .au direct during the six-month Priority Allocation Period, commencing in March, 2022.
Where more than one registrant is eligible to apply for Priority Status for the same .au direct name, the name will be allocated according to priority categories, which are determined by:
- The existing domain name creation date
- The Priority cut-off date of 4 February 2018, as outlined in auDA’s Priority Allocation Process.
The Priority Allocation Process and Priority Status cut-off date were recommended by an independent Policy Review Panel following public consultation.
More information about the implementation of Direct .AU can be found here
You can also register the new extension on the launch date here
