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New .au domain names have been released as of March 2022 and if you already have a .com.au connected with your business this news will be of interest to you.
.au
Similar to .com.au a domain name ending in .au indicates that the business or organisation using it has a connection to Australia. Remember that the release of these new .au domain extensions will not affect your existing domain in any way.
Why register a new .au domain?
- They are shorter and more memorable.
- More importantly if you buy the .au domain you can protect your brand name & IP.
Unlike existing .com.au extensions which require evidence of a business operating in Australia .au extension only requires you to hold Australian residency.
Priority Access
From 24 March 2022 there is a six month period where existing holders of an Australian domain name .com.au, net.au and org.au will have priority to register for the corresponding .au name.
Australian Namespaces
In Australia there are three namespaces that you can use for your business or organisation and if you have any of these think seriously about buying the .au version to protect your brand.
com.au
For commercial use: companies and businesses (registered with state governments holding ABNs or ACNs).
net.au
For commercial use: companies and businesses (registered with state governments holding ABNs or ACNs).
org.au
For non-profit organisations and charities.
What do I do with my new .au domain name?
You can replace your current .com.au domain name, but this is not always practical as you could have business cards printed or your customers are familiar with your current domain name. If this is the case you can create a redirect to your website.
This means if someone types in www.businessname.au it will immediately go to www.businessname.com.au.
Your hosting provider can help you do this, it’s simple for them to do.
Head over to auDA for more impartial info on the new domain name and where you can register.
