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.au Direct Domain Registration

.au 2nd level domain registration is here. If you are already a Perth Web Hosting client, please log in to your MyToolbox to register your .au Domain.  The registration cost is $14.95 exGST per year for up to 5 years.

Frequently Asked Questions

.au direct names are domain names directly before the ‘.au’ such as perthwebhosting.au or yourdomainhere.au.

.au direct names can also be known as the ‘.au namespace’, and have been referred to as ‘second level names’ and ‘direct registration’.

The quickest way to process the registration for your .au domain is by logging into MyToolbox (Our billing portal), and at the top of the screen, you will find the main menu. Click on Domains then a dropdown menu will appear. Click on Register a New Domain. Type in your domain i.e. thedomainyouwant.au, click Search and follow the prompts to check out.

Please note
Perth Web Hosting takes no responsibility if you miss out on your domain if you email us a request to register the domain name. We will still be processing all email orders, but there are no guarantees that your name will be secure until we process your order. We are currently processing orders that come into us via email; however, the registration of domain names is classified as low-priority requests. Therefore, we ask that you try to assist us in doing an online order via MyToolbox.

Currently, the Australian Domain Authority (AuDA) is processing the domains that were registered between 24th March & 21st September 2022. Therefore, if a domain was classified as a priority domain and was not purchased, you will be able to lodge your application on the 4th October 2022 from 5am (Perth time) to register the domain.  

No, this has no effect on your existing domain registrations and you can run both domains simultaneously if you wish.

You don’t need to change your email addresses or website address as you can redirect your new direct .au domain to your existing domain name and email addresses.

You can also choose to register the domain and not use it straight away. If you want to swap over down the track, then you have the option to do this.

The registration fee for .au domain through Perth Web Hosting is $16.98 exGST per year for up to 5 years. 

If your domain is contested (see next FAQ), then you can only apply to register the domain for 1 (one) year.

After the six month priority period finishes if any of the domains from the example above (mydomain.com.au, mydomain.net.au, mydomain.org.au) have lodged a direct .au registration, the selection process will be broken down into two categories:

 

Category 1
Any existing domain name that has been registered on or before the cut-off date of 4 February 2018.

For example, the following parties submitted to obtain the direct .au domain:

  • mydomain.com.au was registered in November 2004.
  • mydomain.net.au was registered in July 2016.

 

Category 2
Any existing domain name that has been registered on or after 5 February 2018.

For example, the following parties submitted to obtain the direct .au domain:

  • mydomain.org.au was registered in March 2021.

 

In the above example, if all three parties request to register the direct .au domain, at the end of the six months, anyone in category 2 who has applied for the domain and paid the fee will be out of the race to acquire the .au direct domain. In this case, there will be no refunds.

It will then be up to the two registrants in category 1 (John Smith – the owner of mydomain.com.au and, Annabel Jones – the owner of mydomain.net.au) to contact each other, negotiate, and agree on who will get the direct .au domain name. AUDA will iniate the contact between both parties before the end of the priority period 

If no agreement is reached, BOTH parties will need to continue paying the annual fee until either party withdraws their registration or does not pay the annual fee. If an agreement has been reached, the losing party must withdraw their application with the domain registrar and no longer pays an annual fee.

If you have paid a registration fee with us for a contested domain name, and you decide to withdraw your registration, unfortunately, we can not offer any refunds.

Unfortunately, until you are officially the owner of the .au direct domain name, you can not use the domain for your website or email hosting.

The domain will stay in a contested status until either party chooses to widthdraw their application or fails to renew the yearly registration.

 

The .au domain is handed to the domain that has been registered the longest.

No, if you choose to withdraw from the contest, we cannot offer any refunds.

If you wish to register as a business you will need to supply us with an ABN/ACN or RBN, and our systems will obtain the required details automatically for you.

If you wish to register as an individual you will be required to provide us with Evidence of Identity (EOI) documents. e.g. Australian Driver’s License, Passport and or Medicare Card.

A link will be sent to you via email once you have successfully applied for the domain name. You will need to go to that link and upload your idenity there. Please don’t send us your Identity as we cannot do this for you due to privacy issues. 

If you own both domains in category 1, you must select only one domain that you want to match the new .au domain to. For example: if you own mydomain.com.au and mydomain.net.au, and both domains are classified as Priority 1 in the Priority Status Tool, you must assign a link between one domain.

So if I want to register mydomain.au, you would need the priority code for mydomain.com.au or mydomain.net.au. You then need to enter this code when registering the domain.

Once the application has been submitted successfully, you need to decline the offer on the domain that you didn’t link the registration with. If I submitted my registration with mydomain.com.au, I would deny the offer on my mydomain.net.au domain. Go to the Priority Token Tool, go to the Decline to apply tab, and follow the prompts. An email will be sent to the registrant’s email address that they will need to follow to decline the offer.

Suppose you don’t decline to apply on the other domains. In that case, your registration will sit in a pending state until September 20th 2022 then it will be released to you.

Yes, the cost is $14.95 + GST per year for up to 5 years. The domain can be instantly registered.

Please note:
Once a .au direct domain name has been registered, the name will not be live immediately until Afilias adds them manually. Once it is manually added, your website will be able to resolve as normal.

Afilias will perform these actions once a day, Tuesday to Friday each week, which means you could have to wait a few days until your DNS records become active on the domain name.

As the .au direct domain is a new domain type, Aflias (The .au company who control the .au Namespace) has a few backend glitches which they are trying to resolve.  At the moment some registrations will have 

If your domain is listed in the priority 1 category and another domain owner competes with you on application, Perth Web Hosting will not negotiate on your behalf. 

We suggest that you seek legal advise before you begin negotiations.

If you have a product that you sell or have a business name or brand that you want to protect, you may want to secure the domain to prevent your competitors from purchasing the domain and redirecting the domain to their site.

Unlike .com.au or .net.au domain names, any australian can register the name from 20th September 2022 provided that they can produce identification.

When the domain is up for renewal, you will have an option to renew your domain at the registration price*. You can renew the domain for up to 5 years. A notification will be sent to you 90-days prior to the expiry date.

*- Prices may change without notice.