What Is a .au Domain: The Definitive Guide to .au Domains

September 22, 2023February 5, 2024 by Lisa Baltes

For almost 30 years, if you were browsing the internet in Australia, the most prevalent websites you visited online would almost always be using .com, .com.au or .net.au. This is changing, as there’s a new Australian domain name now available: the shorter, sharper .au.

With the launch of .au domain names, officially dubbed ‘.au direct’, Australian internet users might be wondering, what is a .au domain? Put simply, the .au domain is a new domain registration option for Australians that has slightly less stringent registration requirements. Gone are the days of everyone looking to buy a .com.au domain, as .au is the first viable alternative Australian domain on offer to the public.

The .au direct domain provides a massive leap forward for the Australian domain name industry because it’s registerable without the registrant needing some type of business ID number, such as an Australian Business Number (ABN). It’s the domain for all Australians, not just Australian businesses.

Before we wax lyrical about the future of .au domains, let’s look back at the humble beginnings of the Australian domain industry.

A Look Back At Domains In Australia

Way, way back in the year 1986, Australian domains got their start. That was the year when the .au country code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD) was first created.

In those initial years of .au domains, they were managed and governed by the University of Melbourne and all registration and renewal services for .com.au plus other Australian second-level domain names like .net.au and .org.au were done for free. Quite the bargain.

Can you imagine going back to the early 1990s and registering a bunch of generic word domains for free? In hindsight, it looks genius but not many people knew or cared about the internet at the time, a bit like crypto in the early 2010s.

All good things must come to an end and the era of free Aussie domains stopped in 1996. The internet had stopped being seen as some crazy toy used exclusively by computer geeks, so domain names had started to become more in demand. To take advantage of the growing popularity, the commercial arm of Melbourne University started charging around $150 AUD per domain. Pretty steep price increase!

In March 1997, a class action lawsuit was launched as plans were put in place to delete any domain that had previously been registered for free should the current owner not pay the new fees. Thankfully, the lawsuit was successful in putting the deletion plans on hold.

By 1999, a range of industry stakeholders agreed that it was time for a governing body to be put in place, that was not-for-profit and whose sole responsibility was to look after all Australian domains and protect their integrity. Thus, the .au Domain Administration (auDA) was formed and they still look after all Australian domains to this very day.

As you can tell, those early days for Australian domains come across as a bit messy. Once we reached the 2000s though, things settled down and the Australian domain name industry remained somewhat boring, until the year 2022.

The .au Launch And Present Day

There was a lot of back and forth between the various Australian domain industry stakeholders during the 2010s, but the result was that Australia needed a new domain name and that domain was going to be .au.

Launch plans were finalised. And to prevent a wild gold rush of people trying to register every domain in sight, auDA created a window (late ‘21 and early ‘22) for people to officially express interest in .au domain names they wanted. You know, calling dibs.

From then on, all the names were assigned in order of priority. First, existing Australian domain name owners could register their matching .au domain. If multiple domain owners wanted to register the same domain, such as two parties owning the same name in .com.au and .net.au variations, then an auction would be held, and the highest bidder would obtain the .au.

Then the wider public had their shot. While they couldn’t register .au domains in advance, like existing owners, they were able to submit pre-orders, which would be sent for registration on a first-come, first-served basis, as soon as .au went live.

The launch happened in March 2022 and hundreds of thousands of .au domains were registered. From then on, .au domains are just like most other domains. If you find an available .au domain, it can be registered instantly.

The Benefits of .au and How It Differs From .com.au

There was lots of chatter during the .au domain launch about what .au domains were for. After all, .com.au and the other Australian domains had serviced the Aussie domain name industry just fine for close to thirty years, so why was another Australian domain needed?

Regardless of whether you think they’re needed or not, there are some undeniable benefits that .au provides that wouldn’t exist if they weren’t an option.

Opening the domain requirements to include users that don’t have an ABN is great for those who want to get an Australian domain but currently have no business number. The fact that Australian citizens and residents now have a legit Australia domain option is a big win and a massive consumer benefit.
Before .au, there were five Australian domains that consumers could choose from, with .com.au and .net.au being the most popular, with .org.au, .asn.au and .id.au being used for niche purposes. The addition of .au means Australians can now choose from six domains. More domain extensions mean more options.
There are currently around 3.1 million registered .com.au domains so you might have trouble registering the domain you truly want. By comparison, there are currently around 700 thousand .au domains registered so you’ve got a better chance at securing your perfect Australian domain.
In the age of character limits, offering a domain extension that is only two characters long is a big benefit for usability and marketability.

We go over additional major (and minor) differences between both domains in our .com.au vs. .au article, so we recommend giving that a read if you want to know more.

.au Domain Requirements

As mentioned in the previous section, one of the main benefits of .au is that they’re a lot easier to buy when compared to the older, legacy Australian domains.

To register domains like .com.au or .net.au, you need to be able to prove that you’re going to be using the domain for commercial purposes and the domain must be a close or exact match of your business name. This isn’t the case for .au.

The official .au domain requirement is that you have an ‘Australian Presence’. You can read more about what having an Australian Presence entails on the auDA licensing rules page, but the short version is that you need to be one of the following:

Australian Citizen (Owner of passport or driver’s license)
Permanent Resident in Australia (Visa Holder)
A registered Australian company, business or organisation (ACN or ABN)

As you can see, whilst an ABN or ACN (Australian Company Number) is still acceptable to register a .au domain, you can also register one as an individual by suppling something like a passport or driver’s license ID number to meet the eligibility requirements. This is a big win for all prospective domain owners in Australia.

Can I Buy a .au Domain?

Sure! If you meet the above domain requirements, then you should have no issues buying a .au domain name. Before you can buy one though you’ll first need to know where to buy your .au domain.

While it would be very easy for us to recommend using our own .au domain registration services, it’s always a good idea to shop around to find the domain provider that suits you. The things you’ll want to watch out for are:

Choose an accredited registrar of .au domains like OnlyDomains.
Competitive pricing for .au domains.
Support for your preferred currency and payment method.
Good customer review scores.
What free services are included with domain name registrations.
Hosting and email service support for .au domains.

A quick search on Google.com.au should let you find a domain registrar that will be able to register .au domains.

Once you find a domain registrar all you’ll need to do is find an available .au domain and follow the registrar’s check-out process.

The Final Word on .au Domains

If you’ve made it this far, then you should now be fully aware of what a .au domain is.

It’s still early days for .au domains, with them only being a couple of years old at this point. Who knows if they will eventually overtake .com.au, which has been the premier option for people looking to buy an Australian domain name. One thing we do know though is that .au domains are already a success and their place within the Australian domain name industry has been secured.

We look forward to seeing what the future holds for .au domains.