Grab your ".au" domain name - priority allocation expires 20 September 2022

An important update in relation to domain names in Australia.

Domain names ending in ‘.au’ are now available in Australia. This is the first time Australian registrants will be permitted to use a ‘.au’ domain name without a preceding '.com', '.org', '.net', etc. (e.g. insideeagles.au).

A priority allocation period is in place to allow any business which had a registered Australian domain name before 24 March 2022 to reserve the equivalent ‘.au’ domain name before '.au' domain names become available to the general public. This priority allocation period will end on 20 September 2022.

Any ‘.au’ domain name which is not reserved by 20 September 2022 will become available to the general public for registration, on a first come, first served basis.

Businesses can apply for priority allocation of the ‘.au’ equivalent to their current domain name through an accredited domain registrar, any time before 20 September 2022. As part of any such application, a fee will be payable (varying from registrar to registrar) and eligibility for the '.au' domain name will be checked. You can find more information on priority allocations and '.au' domain names generally at auDA's website.

There is no obligation to obtain a '.au' domain name. If you choose not to apply for a  '.au' domain name, your existing domain name or names (e.g. any ending in .com.au) will continue to operate as normal, however another business may obtain the equivalent '.au' domain name. For maximum brand protection, you should secure the '.au' domain name.

A link to the priority allocation process issued by AUDA is here: https://www.auda.org.au/au-domain-names/au-direct/priority-allocation-process