There’s been rumours swirling for close to a year now about the opportunity of businesses registering .au domains, and now it’s been confirmed for Q4 2019!

So, what is direct registration and what does that mean for you?

In essence, “direct”, or second level registration will allow users to register a domain name at the second level, immediately before the .au. For example, you will be able to register abcbusiness.au, in addition to abcbusiness.com.au or abcbusiness.net.au.

But what if someone wants to poach my .au domain name?

Never fear! The auDA acknowledges that many third and fourth level domain name registrants will want to hold their domain name at the second level. They have implemented rules that will manage the introduction of second level domain names.

These rules include:

• Category 1 Priority Status: Where the registered domain name license (eg the license for abcbusiness.com.au) was created before the cut off date of 04/02/2018.
• Category 2 Priority Status: Where the registered domain name was created after the cut off date (04/02/2018) and prior to the commencement date in Q4 2019.
• General availability: Where there is no registered domain name licence prior to the commencement date in Q4 2019. These domain names are available on a first in, best dressed basis.

What happens next?

From now until this is launched, policy development and all the technical work will be undertaken to ensure a smooth implementation at the end of this year. We will keep you updated on this as soon as we know more, and when it is launched, you will be able to register .au domains directly from your Secure Client Portal!