A Guide to .AU Domains

About .AU Domains

.AU is the internet country code for Australia. When a domain name ends in .AU, this means the person or business using it is associated with Australia. Most .AU domains are managed by the .au Domain Administration, also known as auDA.

Several namespaces are available to cater to different sectors and purposes. There are also rules in place for who can register .AU domains and what name they can use. In this guide, we will be discussing the eligibility criteria for registering open .AU namespaces, closed .AU namespaces and state and territory namespaces.

Open .AU Namespaces

Open namespaces are available to the public, given they are eligible to register.

All open namespaces are managed by auDA.

There are no eligibility and domain name allocation criteria for the .au namespace other than an Australian presence. This domain will be available from March 2022.

To register for a .ASN.AU namespace, you must be an Australian not-for-profit entity or incorporated association. The .ASN.AU domain is for political parties, trade unions, sporting and special interest clubs.

To register for a .COM.AU namespace, you must be an Australian commercial entity. The .COM.AU domain is for companies with an ABN or ACN registered through ASIC, and businesses registered with state governments.

To register for a .ID.AU namespace, you must be an Australian citizen or Australian resident. The .ID.AU domain cannot be used for commercial purposes.

To register for a .NET.AU namespace, you must be an Australian commercial entity. The .NET.AU domain is for companies with an ABN or ACN registered through ASIC, and businesses registered with state governments.

To register for a .ORG.AU namespace, you must be an Australian not-for-profit entity. The .ORG.AU domain is for charities, arts, recreation, sports, education, religion, health and more.

Closed .AU Namespaces

Closed namespaces are not available to the general public, and are only available to entities within a defined sector.

.EDU.AU

The .EDU.AU namespace is for educational institutions registered at the federal or state level. This domain is managed by auDA. For policy and registration information, please visit Education Services Australia.

.GOV.AU

The .GOV.AU namespace is for Commonwealth, state, territory or local government bodies. This domain is managed by the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA). For policy and registration information, please visit gov.au Domain Administration.

.CSIRO.AU

The .CSIRO.AU namespace is for the sole use of the Commonwealth Science and Industry Research Organisation (CSIRO). This domain is managed by the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA). For policy and registration information, please visit CSIRO.

State and Territory Namespaces

All Australian states and territories have their own namespace. State and Territory namespaces are only available to community groups within their Australian location.

All state and territory namespaces are managed by auDA.

.ACT.AU

The .ACT.AU domain is for community use of geographic names within the Australian Capital Territory. For example, ‘canberra.act.au’ or ‘queanbeyan.act.au’.

.NSW.AU

The .NSW.AU domain is for community use of geographic names within New South Wales. For example, ‘sydney.nsw.au’ or ‘newcastle.nsw.au’.

.NT.AU

The .NT.AU domain is for community use of geographic names within the Northern Territory. For example, ‘darwin.nt.au’ or ‘alicesprings.nt.au’.

.QLD.AU

The .QLD.AU domain is for community use of geographic names within Queensland. For example, ‘brisbane.qld.au’ or ‘goldcoast.qld.au’.

.SA.AU

The .SA.AU domain is for community use of geographic names within South Australia. For example, ‘adelaide.sa.au’ or ‘gawler.sa.au’.

.TAS.AU

The .TAS.AU domain is for community use of geographic names within Tasmania. For example, ‘hobart.tas.au’ or ‘launceston.tas.au’.

.VIC.AU

The .VIC.AU domain is for community use of geographic names within Victoria. For example, ‘melbourne.vic.au’ or ‘geelong.vic.au’.

.WA.AU

The .WA.AU domain is for community use of geographic names within Western Australia. For example, ‘perth.wa.au’ or ‘bunbury.wa.au’.

Name Restrictions

Each namespace has its own rules for what names you can use. To find out the specific rules that apply to each namespace, please visit: .au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing.

.AU Domains with DreamIT Host

To register your domain name, you will need to choose an Australian domain registrar. By choosing DreamIT Host, we can offer you cheaper domains for the following namespaces:

• .au (Coming soon)
• .asn.au
• .com.au
• .id.au
• .net.au
• .org.au

DreamIT Host also offers free domain transfers on all domains ending in .AU.

If the namespace you are looking for is not listed, contact our team via live chat or email us at hello@dreamithost.com.au.

Click here to view DreamIT Host’s Domain Pricing.

Read more: Who Offers Australia’s Best Domain Pricing