The facts on the .au domain release.
No doubt you’ve been getting emails promoting buying your .au domain iteration if you have the .com.au domain
Should you buy it?
Only if you think someone might buy it and there might be conflict, or maybe compete with you or cause confusion online if they owned it!
OR, maybe you want the shorter version to place on marketing assets and maybe do a redirect of the .au to your primary .com.au domain.
We bought only 2 of the .au domains for my 2 main brands, even though I have a domain portfolio of some 70 domains.
Here’s the context:
- Tina is the registrant of getyour.com.au
- Gene is the registrant of getyour.net.au
Both names were created before 24 March 2022
In this instance, both Tina and Gene are eligible to apply for getyour.au. The .au direct name will be allocated according to priority categories determined by the existing domain name licence creation date, relative to the priority cut-off date of 4 February 2018.
In Australia we have great legislation around protecting domain names, and against domain ‘squatting’, that is, to buy up domains in others business names with the view to resell them at exhorbitant rates.
When you register a .com.au or .net.au domain you click a checkbox that categorically states “I certify that these domain names have a close & substantial connection to the person/business that it is intended to represent.”
For us at Smarter Websites there was no-one with a http://smarterwebsites.net.au/ domain. They wouldn’t be able to register that business name anyway, so therefore would be ineligible to purchase the .net.au version even if they wanted. If they did, I’d challenge that and win.
For the full run down on registering the .au version of your domain here’s the run down from auDA (.au Domain Administration Limited (auDA) – a not-for-profit organisation established by the Australian Internet community.)
https://www.auda.org.au/au-domain-names/au-direct/priority-allocation-process
We’re a domain reseller, so if you need any help at all call 08 9439 2820.