How to Register a .com.au Domain Name (Eligibility, Rules and Steps)

To register a .com.au you need an Australian presence and a close and substantial connection to the name you want. In practice that means one of four things: a registered business name, a company name, a trade mark, or a name that closely matches an activity you actually carry on. Nothing else is required, and the registration itself takes minutes once you can show one of those.

The rules come from AUDA, the body that administers the .au namespace, and they are published in full in the Domain Name Eligibility and Allocation Policy for open second level domains. What follows is the working version of those rules, with the parts that trip people up.

The four routes to eligibility

Note what is not on that list: simply having an ABN. An ABN is evidence of Australian presence, but it does not by itself give you a right to any particular name. The connection between the name and your business has to be real.

What "close and substantial connection" means in practice

This is the phrase that decides most marginal applications, and it gets read more loosely than it is meant.

• A match or a near match to your trading name is straightforward. smithplumbing.com.au for Smith

Plumbing is the easy case.

• A descriptive name needs an activity to back it. melbournegardencare.com.au is defensible if you

actually provide garden care in Melbourne. It is not defensible if the site is going to be a directory of other people's services.

• A generic and highly sought name is a poor bet. Registering a name you intend to sell on, or one that

describes an industry rather than a business, invites a complaint that will be decided against you.

• Misspellings and typos of someone else's name are not a strategy. They are the classic complaint.

AUDA also runs a dispute resolution process, the .au Dispute Resolution Policy, and it is worth knowing that it exists before you register a name that resembles someone else's. A registration that a panel later orders transferred is an expensive way to spend a few months.

The rules that apply to the name itself

Beyond who you are, the name has to meet basic composition requirements. AUDA's policy states them directly:

• At least two characters long.
• Letters, numbers and hyphens only. No other characters.
• It cannot start or end with a hyphen.
• It cannot carry hyphens in the third and fourth position. The policy gives ab--cd.com.au as the example.
• Certain names are on auDA's Reserved List and cannot be licensed at all, whatever your eligibility.

Two further points from the same policy are worth knowing before you choose a name:

1. You do not own a domain name; you hold a licence to it. The policy is explicit that there are no

proprietary rights in the domain system.

1. Eligibility has to continue. A licence is renewed on the basis that you still meet the eligibility rules.

If you registered against a business name and that registration lapses, the basis for holding the domain goes with it.

Our registration form applies the composition checks as you type, so you find out before checkout rather than at the registry.

Registering for resale, and the "first come, first served" rule

Two related points that resolve most disagreements before they happen. AUDA's policy states there is no hierarchy of rights in the DNS: a registered trade mark does not confer a better entitlement to a name than a registered company or business name, and names are allocated on a first come, first served basis provided the eligibility rules are met. The policy also prohibits registering a name for the sole purpose of resale.

In plain terms: register the name for your business, not as an investment, and do not assume a trade mark gives you a claim over a name someone else already holds.

Choosing between .com.au, .au and the other Australian extensions

For most businesses the practical decision is .com.au plus .au if you want to stop the shorter variant being registered by someone else. In our pricing both are $25.99 AUD per year, and holding both costs the same as holding one of them twice.

All prices shown exclude GST. Prices are in AUD.

Registering, step by step

1. Search the name. Search on our domain name search checks the registry live and shows

each extension's availability and price.

1. Enter your registrant details. The registrant name becomes the legal owner of the domain. Use the

business or company name, not the name of whoever happens to be building the website.

1. Enter your eligibility details. This is the basis on which you qualify, and it may be the same

information as the registrant details. If you qualify under a business name, use the registered business name and its number.

1. Enable DNS management and email forwarding. Both are included here at no extra cost and both are

genuinely useful, including the option to forward mail to a mailbox you already use.

1. Checkout. The registration is processed against the registry, and the domain is live in your account.

If you would rather not handle it, we will walk through the details with you. The .com.au registration page has the shorter version of this process and the form to start.

Why applications get rejected or corrected later

1. The registrant is wrong. A domain registered in the name of a contractor, a former business partner or

a hosting company is not yours, and fixing it is a transfer of ownership rather than an update.

1. The name does not match anything. A name with no demonstrable connection to your business fails the

close and substantial connection test.

1. A business name registration has lapsed. Registering a domain against a business name that is no longer

current is a problem at the next audit or renewal.

1. The same name is already held in another Australian extension. Not necessarily a blocker, but if you

built a business on the com.au and someone else holds the net.au or the .au, you will want to know before a customer types the wrong address.

What happens next

Registrations run for a one year term, at $25.99 AUD for .com.au, and our pricing charges the same rate at renewal, so the second year does not jump. Renewal reminders are emailed before the due date, and our article on renewing your hosting and domain explains what happens if a renewal is missed: the domain remains yours through the grace period, and then returns to the open market, which is the one deadline worth never missing.

Once the domain is registered, either hold it as is or point it at your hosting. If you are moving an existing name rather than registering a new one, the process is different and is covered in transfer versus new registration.

Frequently asked questions

Can I register a .com.au without a registered business name? Yes, if you have a trade mark for the name or a name that is closely and substantially connected to an activity you carry on. The route matters less than being able to show the connection.

Can I register a .com.au with my ABN only? An ABN shows Australian presence. It does not give you a right to an arbitrary name, so it has to be paired with a connection to the name itself.

How long does registration take? Minutes, once the eligibility details are entered and payment is made.

Do I need to be an Australian citizen? The test is about an Australian presence and your connection to the name, not citizenship. If your situation is unusual, read the AUDA policy or ask us before buying.

How long is the registration for? One year per term for .com.au, with renewal priced the same as registration. Where the registry allows longer terms, checkout offers them.

What if someone else registers the .au version of my name? Nothing stops them if they are eligible and the name is available. That is the reason most businesses hold the .au alongside the .com.au from day one.

Register it

Eligibility is the only real hurdle, and for most Australian businesses it is a business name or a company registration away. Check availability and enter your details, and you are done before the kettle boils.

Primary action: Register your .com.au