Businesses with an existing Australian domain name (eg. .com.au, .net.au) have until 20 September 2022 to secure the shortened .au equivalent.
Soon a new shorter, simpler top-level domain space will be available in Australia — the .au direct domain.
Instead of using the longer .com.au or .net.au domain names, businesses will soon be able to just use.au
So, instead of yourbusiness.com.au, you can register yourbusiness.au and use that as your website domain name.
Even if you don’t intend to use the shortened domain name, it’s still a good idea to secure the name, so that others can’t claim it.
As an existing registrant of a .com.au or .net.au domain name, you have the exclusive right to claim the equivalent .au domain name — but only before 20 September 2022.
.au direct names are general purpose and not exclusively for businesses – after 20 September 2022, they’re open to anyone with a verified connection to Australia who wants to create or manage an online presence for themselves or their organisation.
That means that individuals, including unscrupulous ‘domain squatters’ intent on extracting what amounts to a ‘ransom’, may attempt to secure your .au domain if you don’t exercise your right to secure it during the priority period.
It is highly recommended that you take a couple of minutes of your time and pay a small registration fee to secure your .au domain.
You will be able to apply for Priority Status via your existing domain registrar (eg. GoDaddy, Melbourne IT, Webcentral), or any other accredited registrar offering .au direct domain names, up until 20 September 2022.
There will be a fee for lodging an application and, like the prices of domain name registrations, this fee will vary between registrars.
You must ensure that you are eligible to hold the .au domain which forms the basis of your application. Your eligibility for your existing .au domain will be checked when you apply.
You will also need a priority token from the AuDA website for your application to be accepted.
