Could impact millions of .com.au domain registrations — auDA decision

Board approves changes that would make it difficult, if not impossible, to register generic/dictionary word domains.

auDA, the organization that oversees Australia’s .au country code domain, is implementing a radical change to registration requirements.

The group is removing a clause in the registration agreement that enables people to register generic third-level .com.au and .net.au domain names.

While auDA recently launched second-level au registrations, the vast majority of the 4.4 million domains registered are third-level domains under .com.au and .net.au. As of July, there were 3.3 million .com.au registrations and 0.2 million .net.au registrations.

The fresh rule removes the “Close and Substantial Connection” test for registering these domains.

IP attorney Erhan Karabardak explained the types of registrants who will be impacted by this change. Some of the hypothetical (but common) examples he gave include:

• Jane’s Bakery, which sells pies at applepies .com.au
• John’s Mortgage Broking, which uses the site mortgagebrokersydney .com.au
• A primary school that creates a website to run an annual school fete to raise funds for the school and benefit its students using MPSFete2026 .com.au

Karabardak notes that each of these registrants would need to either register a business name matching their domains or get a trademark. Many domains would be difficult to trademark.

Of course, this would also severely impact domain investors. He noted:

The Panel’s stated concern is domain name monetisation: registrants earning advertising revenue from generic domain names registered under subparagraph (f), and the use of that pathway as a basis for speculative registration. The note does not quantify the harm stated to flow from subparagraph (f), and monetisation of descriptive domain names is a long-standing and widespread practice internationally.

The change stems from a Policy Advisory Panel the auDA Board set up last year to review licensing requirements. The group made ten recommendations, all of which the board approved.

It’s a bit odd; the first recommendation is to continue to allow monetization of .com.au, .net.au, and .au registrations, but the next recommendation strikes at the way most of these domains are registered.

David Warmuz, CEO of Trillion, stated that his firm has confirmed that well over one million domains will be affected, and he expects the number could be over two million.

That would be a major blow to auDA’s registration numbers and budget. It’s a surprising move given how the group touts growth in its annual notes.

auDA must now create an implementation plan, and this might be where it can blunt the impact. The group’s website states:

auDA will prepare an Implementation Plan that takes into account the impact of the Recommendations on registrants. It will then draft proposed changes to the .au Licensing Rules aligned to the Panel’s recommendations.

At a minimum, a grandfathering rule seems wise.