The .au: who issues it
Guide 1 of 7
auDA licenses a .au domain, a registrar checks you, and a reseller sells through a registrar
Search results blur three roles. The Rules keep them apart: auDA issues the licence, the application goes through a registrar, and a reseller reaches the registry only through a registrar’s interface.
General information from auDA’s published rules, not legal advice. Published by Dotto, which runs a marketplace for .au names.
Three roles
auDA is the licensing body for .au. It issues the licence, and only where the registrar is satisfied of the conditions: the person’s identity is validated, the person is eligible, the name complies with the namespace’s allocation criteria, the name is available, the licence terms are agreed, the period is specified and the fee is paid (Rules 2.3.1).
You apply to a registrar, on the registrar’s form (Rules 2.2.1). A registrar must not act as your agent (Rules 2.2.7). An agent you appoint yourself may apply on your behalf, and must make sure you are recorded as the registrant (Rules 2.2.4 to 2.2.6).
A reseller offers .au registration services to the public but has no direct access to the .au registry database: it registers and manages names through an interface provided by a registrar. Not every registrar holding auDA accreditation sells to the public (auDA’s list of accredited registrars).
Every .au licence has a registrar of record, the registrar that manages it in the registry, and that is true even where the holder came in through a reseller (auDA’s transfer help page).
| Role | What it does | What it may not do |
|---|---|---|
| auDA | Issues the licence, where the registrar is satisfied that the conditions are met (Rules 2.3.1). | Will provide registry information to another person only where Australian law authorises or requests it (Rules 2.18.9). |
| A registrar | Checks the application and manages the licence in the registry, and, for a change of registrant, must transfer the licence within two calendar days of the request (Rules 2.13.3). | Must not act as an agent for a person making an application (Rules 2.2.7). |
| A reseller | Registers and manages .au names for the public through an interface provided by a registrar (auDA’s registrar list page). | Has no direct access to the .au registry database (auDA’s registrar list page). |
Applying for a name
Where there are competing applications for the same name in a namespace, the first complete application the registry receives is the one accepted; the date and time of receipt by the registry is the sole reference point (Rules 2.3.2).
An application must include the person’s legal name, contact details for service of documents, the administrative and technical contacts, evidence of the Australian presence and the applicable criteria, the name applied for, the licence period, agreement to the licence terms, and the licence fee (Rules 2.2.2).
A licence fee has two components: a wholesale amount charged by the registry operator, and a retail amount charged by the registrar (Rules 1.4). This site shows no amounts.
No proxy or privacy service may be used to apply: the Rules define them as services that register the name itself and licence its use on, or list alternative contact details while the beneficial user stays the registrant, and a Person does not include either (Rules 2.2.3, 1.4).
Every applicant also needs an Australian presence, and the ending sets what else: guide 2 sets every ending side by side (Rules 2.4.1).
Moving to another registrar
A licence can move between registrars. The registrant requests it in writing and provides a valid authorisation code, the registrant stays eligible to hold the licence, and no complaint, dispute resolution or court proceeding is running (Rules 2.13.8).
The Rules require no fee for a transfer between registrars, and auDA’s help page says the same (Rules 2.13.9; auDA’s transfer help page).
What it takes in time comes from auDA’s help page, not the Rules: once the new registrar has validated the information and the transfer is approved, it can take up to three days to take effect. That is a change of registrar. A change of registrant, which guide 4 walks through, is a different process with its own two-day rule (Rules 2.13.3).
Who keeps the record
The registry is maintained under a registry operator, a person accredited or licensed by auDA to maintain the registry or to provide registry services for it (Rules 1.4). The official .au WHOIS at whois.auda.org.au provides the full publicly available record of a licence; the tool on auDA’s website shows a summary of key information (auDA’s WHOIS help page), and guide 6 walks through it.