.au complaints process

All complaints must first be lodged with the registrar of record.

Registrars are auDA accredited .au providers that offer .au registration services. The registrar of record is the registrar with which the domain name subject to the complaint is registered.

Even if the domain name was registered via a reseller, the initial complaint must be lodged with and handled by the registrar of record. The registrar of record can be found via the WHOIS tool.

The registrar has 30 calendar days to resolve the complaint, unless it advises you additional time is required. When the registrar has made a decision, it will inform you of its decision and the reasons for that decision by email.

If you’re unhappy with the decision, you have the right to request a review of the decision under the registrar’s internal complaints procedures.

If you have exhausted all avenues as set out in tier one above, you can seek a review of the registrar’s decision or conduct by auDA by submitting a complaint on the auDA website.

If the registrar’s decision was to cancel the .au domain name licence in question, you have five calendar days to submit a request a review of the decision to auDA.

For other matters, you have 28 calendar days from the date of the registrar decision to submit a request for review with auDA.

Once you've submitted all the necessary information, auDA has 28 calendar days to make a decision. auDA may revoke, affirm or vary the decision, or refer it back to the registrar for reconsideration.

auDA will notify you of the outcome of its review by email.

If you’re dissatisfied with auDA's initial decision, you may request it be internally reviewed by auDA.

A request for a review must be lodged within 48 hours from the time auDA notified you of the outcome of its review of the registrar decision.

auDA’s internal review will be conducted by a senior auDA staff member who was not involved in the original decision.

The auDA reviewer may affirm, vary or revoke the decision made in auDA’s initial review of the registrar decision.

auDA will notify you of the outcome of the internal review by email.

If auDA’s internal review procedure is exhausted and you remain dissatisfied, you can apply for an external review of auDA’s decision by the Licence Review Panel.

License Review Panel members are independent of auDA. Members of the Panel cannot be employees, directors or consultants to auDA or a registrar.

Applications for an external review must be lodged within 10 calendar days of receiving the outcome of an internal review of auDA’s decision. There is a fee to lodge an application for an external review.

The fees to lodge an application are:

• AUD $1,100 inc. GST for 1-5 .au domain name licences

• AUD $165 inc. GST per additional .au domain name licence.

Provided you've paid the fee and included the required information, the request will be forwarded to a member of the Licence Review Panel for consideration.

The Licence Review Panel can only review the case based on the material provided and cannot take into consideration any material not previously provided to auDA as part of the complaints process.

The panel has 10 calendar days to reach and advise you of the outcome. The panel may affirm auDA's decision, set it aside and make its own decision, or refer it back to auDA for reconsideration.

Applications for an external review of an auDA decisions can be submitted via our general enquiries form.

The Licence Review Panel members are:

• Phillip Davies (Chair)
• Bernadette Day
• Angela Flannery
• Melissa Marcus
• Andrew Sykes.