.au Domain
Australia's Trusted National Domain
Register your .au domain from just £14.99/yr. Free DNS management, email forwarding, and 10GB mailbox included with every domain.
This domain has registration restrictions
Only a registrant with an Australian Presence may hold a .au direct name, and a foreign applicant relying on an Australian trade mark must register an exact match of that mark. Read the full eligibility rules.
What is a .au domain?
The .au domain is Australia's direct country code, launched for open registration in 2022 after decades of only allowing third-level domains like .com.au. Managed by .au Domain Administration (auDA), it offers Australians and international businesses a shorter, cleaner alternative. You need an Australian presence to register one, which keeps the namespace trusted. For UK businesses with Australian operations, .au is the domain Australian customers look for.
Who should register .au?
Australian businesses, UK companies with Australian branches, and international brands targeting the Australian consumer market.
Why choose .au?
- Australia's shortest official domain
- Requires Australian presence (trusted namespace)
- Cleaner than .com.au for branding
- Strong geographic SEO signal for Australia
Who runs .au, and since when
Registry data from the .au delegation record held by IANA, which maintains the internet's root zone. Eligibility comes from the registry's own policy, and the prices are ours.
- Extension type
- Country-code (ccTLD)
- Registry operator
- .au Domain Administration (auDA)
- The organisation that runs the extension
- In the root zone since
- 1986
- Delegated 5 March 1986
- Who can register
- Australian presence required, including foreign holders of an Australian trade mark
- Checked against the registry's own policy
- Our price
- £14.99 a year
- Ex VAT. Renews at the same price
The Australian presence rule behind every .au domain
Every .au direct name sits on a licence, and paragraph 2.4.3 of auDA's licensing rules is blunt about the condition: a person applying for a licence in the .au direct namespace must have an Australian Presence. The phrase is defined broadly, covering citizens and permanent residents, companies registered under the Corporations Act, holders of an Australian Business Number, incorporated associations, cooperatives, registered charities, partnerships with an Australian partner, Australian educational institutions and government bodies.
The route that matters to a British business is the one at the end of that list. A foreign applicant who owns or has applied for an Australian Trade Mark can rely on it to establish an Australian Presence. The catch sits in the same rules: the domain must be an exact match of the words which are the subject of that trade mark application or registration. Not a variation, not a plural, not the brand with a descriptive word attached.
Losing the qualification loses the name. Paragraph 2.11.6 states that a licence will be cancelled where a person no longer has an Australian Presence. Treat it as a continuing condition rather than a box ticked once at checkout.
Who is allowed to register .au?
Only a registrant with an Australian Presence may hold a .au direct name, and a foreign applicant relying on an Australian trade mark must register an exact match of that mark.
- Who qualifies
- auDA's licensing rules define Australian Presence to include Australian citizens and permanent residents, companies registered under the Corporations Act, holders of an Australian Business Number, incorporated associations, cooperatives, registered charities, partnerships with at least one Australian partner, Australian educational institutions and government entities.
- The trade mark route
- A foreign applicant who owns or has applied for an Australian Trade Mark can rely on it to establish an Australian Presence. The rules then require the domain to be an exact match of the words which are the subject of that application or registration, so the mark and the name must line up word for word.
- It is a continuing test
- Paragraph 2.11.6 states that a licence will be cancelled by the registrar or auDA where a person no longer has an Australian Presence. Winding up the Australian entity, letting the ABN lapse or abandoning the trade mark application all put the domain at risk.
- The names you cannot get
- A Priority Allocation Process ran from 24 March 2022 to 20 September 2022 UTC, letting the holder of an existing com.au or net.au apply for the exact match in .au direct. Names that drew no priority application were released to the general public on 3 October 2022 UTC, so anything still held from that window belongs to whoever held the older Australian name.
Rules taken from the auDA licensing rules. Registry policy can change, so check before you buy if the answer matters to you.
Not sure whether you qualify? Ask us before you order and we will check the registry rules with you. We would rather answer the question than take an order the registry will refuse.
Is .au the right choice for you?
We would rather sell you the right extension once than the wrong one twice.
.au works well if
- You have an Australian entity, an ABN or an Australian trade mark, and you want the shorter address rather than carrying com.au for ever.
- You sell to Australian consumers, where the licensing rule means the whole namespace reads as locally accountable rather than anonymous.
- You already run a com.au and secured the exact match during the priority window, so the two can point at one site.
Look elsewhere if
- You have no Australian entity and no Australian trade mark. There is no workaround, and a licence granted on inaccurate details can be cancelled later.
- You are still deciding whether Australia is worth entering. The presence requirement means the domain follows the business decision rather than leading it.
- Your Australian customers already know you by the com.au. Moving the primary address costs you links and printed material in exchange for a shorter name.
No Australian entity yet? A .co.uk will serve until there is one, and the .au can follow. See .co.uk pricing.
.au vs .co.uk: which should you register?
These are the same idea run on opposite philosophies. Both are national extensions that local customers read as local. Nominet lets anyone in the world hold a .co.uk. auDA does not: every .au direct name needs an Australian Presence, and the licence is cancelled when that presence goes.
That restriction is exactly why an Australian buyer trusts the ending more than a British buyer trusts .co.uk, where an overseas seller can register one in an afternoon. If you are a UK business with an Australian arm, run both: the .co.uk for the British market and the .au for the Australian one, with separate content on each. What does not work is pointing one at the other and expecting both markets to feel spoken to.
.au domain questions, answered
What people ask us before registering a .au domain.
Can't find what you're looking for?
Ask us directlyOnly through a qualifying Australian Presence. auDA's rules require every .au direct applicant to have one, and for an overseas business the practical route is an Australian trade mark: the rules say the applicant or owner of an Australian Trade Mark can rely on that application or registration to establish an Australian Presence. The name must then be an exact match of the words in the mark. Registering an Australian subsidiary or obtaining an ABN also qualifies.
They went through the Priority Allocation Process, which ran from 24 March 2022 to 20 September 2022 UTC. Anyone holding a .au domain registered before 24 March 2022, such as a com.au or net.au, could apply for the exact match in .au direct. Names that received no priority application were released to the general public on 3 October 2022 UTC. So a name that looks unfairly held is usually held by whoever owned the older Australian domain.
The licence becomes cancellable. Paragraph 2.11.6 of the licensing rules states that a licence will be cancelled by the registrar or auDA where a person no longer has an Australian Presence, so closing the entity, losing the ABN or dropping the trade mark all put the name at risk. If your Australian arrangements are changing, move the domain to a qualifying holder before the old one disappears rather than afterwards. Ask us and we will talk it through.
Included with Your .au Domain
DNS Management
Full DNS zone editor to manage A, CNAME, MX, TXT, and all record types.
Email Forwarding
Set up professional email addresses and forward to any inbox.
Auto-Renewal
Never lose your domain with automatic renewal protection.
Free 10GB Mailbox
One 10GB mailbox (POP3/IMAP) included with every domain, on any TLD.
Other Geographic Domains Extensions
Register your .au domain today
Secure your .au domain from just £14.99/yr. Free DNS management, email forwarding, and 10GB mailbox included.
