From 24 March 2022, Australian businesses have been able to register a new “.au” category of domain name.  This means that instead of ending their domain name with .com.au or .net.au, a business can now register their equivalent domain name as a shorter .au name (for example, sierralegal.au).

All names in the domain name registry prior to the launch of the new domain name category have been placed on priority hold, reserving them from being registered by the public as .au domain names for a six-month “Priority Application Period”.  This period allows Australian businesses with an existing domain name to register their .au equivalents.

However, the Priority Application Period ends at 9.59am AEST on 21 September, which means Australian business need to apply for the exact match of their current domain name in the .au equivalent domain name before that date, otherwise it becomes available to the public on a first come, first served basis.  Further information on the Priority Allocation Process can be found at https://www.auda.org.au/au-domain-names/au-direct/priority-allocation-process.

Whilst this is not a legal requirement, the Australian Cyber Security Centre has recommended that all Australian businesses with existing domain names register their .au equivalents before the Priority Application Period ends.  This is to prevent cybercriminals from having the opportunity to register your.au domain name in an attempt to cybersquat or impersonate your business and conduct fraudulent cyber activities.

You can reserve your .au domain name by visiting an auDA accredited registrar (https://www.auda.org.au/accredited-registrars). Existing domain names will continue to operate as normal provided the registration details are kept up to date.

If you need assistance registering your new domain name or have any questions regarding the process, you can contact one of the Sierra Legal team who will be happy to assist.