About .au Domains

The .au country-code top-level domain name (ccTLD) is an extension that represents Australia. The information below applies to the following country-code second-level domain names (ccSLDs) that we offer at this time:

• .com.au - Intended for commercial entities
• .net.au - Intended for network infrastructures, such as Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
• .org.au - Intended for non-profit organizations

Domain names can be up to 63 characters, with a minimum of two characters, and can contain letters (a to z), numbers (0 to 9), and hyphens (except at the beginning or end of the domain name). You cannot register domain names with special characters such as & and #.

Note: You cannot register .au domain names explicitly for resale. However, they can be sold and transferred.

Details

¹ Registration restrictions

Companies or organizations that are registered to do business in Australia can register .au domain names. All registrations are on a first-come, first-served basis and last for 2 years.

Additional .com.au and .net.au Registration Requirements

A .com.au and .net.au registrant must be one of the following:

• An Australian registered company
• Trading under a registered business name in any Australian State or Territory
• An Australian partnership or sole trader
• A foreign company licensed to trade in Australia
• An owner of an Australian Registered Trade Mark
• An applicant for an Australian Registered Trade Mark
• An association incorporated in any Australian State or Territory
• An Australian commercial statutory body

Domain names must be one of the following:

• An exact match, abbreviation or acronym of the registrant's name or trademark
  
• Closely and substantially connected to the registrant

Additional .org.au Registration Requirements

A .org.au registrant must be one of the following:

• An association incorporated in any Australian State or Territory
• A political party registered with the Australian Electoral Commission
• A trade union or other organization registered under the Workplace Relations Act 1996
• A sporting or special interest club operating in Australia
• A charity operating in Australia, as defined in the registrant's constitution or other documents of incorporation
• A non-profit organization operating in Australia, as defined in the registrant's constitution or other documents of incorporation.

Domain names must be one of the following:

• An exact match, abbreviation or acronym of the registrant's name
• Closely and substantially connected to the registrant

auDA Policy

Here's a list of auDA's Published Policies.

Note: You cannot register .au domain names explicitly for resale. However, they can be sold and transferred.

What is the WhoIs policy for .au domain names?

AusRegistry operates the public WHOIS service for .au domain names. For information on the WhoIs policy, click here.

² Renewal restrictions

You can renew your .au domain name 90 days prior to its expiration date. All .au domain renewals are always in 2 year increments.

³ Transfers-In requirements

Note: If a .au transfer request was accidentally submitted or initiated by someone other than the registrant, you should contact us for support.

You can transfer a .au domain name to us. However, the transfer process is unique to the Australian Registry (AusRegistry).

When transferring a .au domain name to us, you retain the time remaining on your original registration.

Note: The extensions .com.au, .net.au, and .org.au do not include a free 1-year extension with transfer-in.

When you purchase a .au domain name transfer from us, we notify AusRegistry of your request, and we send transfer IDs and a confirmation email to the registrant contact's email address as it displays in the Whois database. (If you need to update your registrant contact's email address, contact your current registrar.)

For .au domain name extensions, a transfer between registrars takes two days from the time you authorize it.

Note: A 60-day lock does not apply to .au domain names that are transferred.

To authorize the transfer, you must enter the transfer IDs (transaction ID and security code) in the Domain Manager. You can request the authorization code from your current registrar and enter it in the Domain Manager. AusRegistry processes your confirmation within 24 hours on Australian business days. We notify you via email when the transfer completes and the domain name is active in your account with us.

For more information on the transfer process in general, see:

Transfer my domain to HostingDude.com
Troubleshoot my domain transfer to HostingDude.com

⁴ Transfers-away requirements

Yes. For general information about transferring your domain name to another registrar, see Transfer domain to another registrar.

After you authorize the transfer of your .au domain name, our system will automatically complete the transfer within two days.

⁵ Transfer domain to another registrant requirements

An eligibility information update will need to be requested. This update is viewed by the registry as a cancellation of the existing registration and the creation of a new registration. Payment is required for the new two-year registration. There are no refunds for the cancelled registration. Please contact Support to submit a request.

Registrant eligibility information should be updated when:

• Inaccurate information was submitted at the time of registration
• The domain name was incorrectly registered to the wrong party
• The domain name was incorrectly registered in the name of the reseller or other agent who arranged the registration
• Authorized by the .au Domain Administration (auDA)

⁶ Contact update requirements

You cannot update the registrant eligibility information from within the account. Please contact customer support for further assistance.

⁷ Refund requirements

For details on refunds, please visit HostingDude.com's Refund Policy page. Most domains will follow the Standard Terms, but certain domains will have exceptions or may not be refundable at all. Look under BOTH of the following categories:

• Products with Special Refund Terms (look under Domain Name Registrations/Renewals)
• Products Not Eligible for Refunds

Additional policy information links:

• HostingDude.com Domain Name Registration Agreement
• Complaints Handling Policy
• Cancellation Policy
• Privacy Policy
• auDA Policy
• auDA's WHOIS Policy
• auDA's Dispute Resolution Policy

For more information about .au domain names and for answers to your .au questions, please visit auDA's Help Centre.