Since its launch in March this year, .au direct has become Australia’s second most in-demand namespace after com.au, with over 700,000 .au direct domain names registered from March to the end of November 2022.
A Priority Application Period ran from 24 March 2022 to 20 September 2022 (UTC) that provided existing registrants (those who held a .au domain name registered before the launch of .au direct) priority to apply for the .au direct match of their existing domain name. For example, the existing registrant of getyour.com.au at launch had the priority opportunity to register getyour.au, if they wished to do so during the first 6 months.
At the end of the Priority Application Period in September 2022, where two or more eligible registrants had made a priority application for the same .au direct domain name, the name was not immediately allocated to either party. These .au direct domain names remain on priority hold and are referred to as contested names
If you hold an active priority application for a .au direct domain name that is contested, you need to contact the other party or parties with active priority applications for the same name and negotiate with them. We set out more information on this process below.
Find out who you are in contention with
You can find out whether a particular .au direct domain name is in contention by searching the name on the auDA priority status tool.
The priority status tool will display active priority applications for the .au direct domain name as “applied”. Where there is more than one active application listed as “applied”, the name is in contention.
If the .au direct domain name is contention, you can find the contact details of the other priority applicants by looking up their .au domain name on the public WHOIS service. The WHOIS will show you the name of the person you should contact along with their email address. The person may also have contact information on their website.
Negotiating for the .au direct domain name
It is up to you how you proceed in your negotiations with other contested parties. If you need assistance, you can seek professional help from legal or mediation services.
Renewing your application to remain in contention
To remain in contention for the .au direct domain name, you must continue to hold an active priority application and renew it annually. The first renewal for priority applications will fall on 20 September 2023 (UTC), and on this date annually thereafter. If you do not renew your priority application, it will lapse and you will fall out of contention for the .au direct domain name. When one active application remains, the .au direct domain name will be allocated to the remaining applicant. If you renew your priority application and all other parties in contention for the same name withdraw or fail to renew their applications, you will be allocated the .au direct domain name.
It is important to continue to renew your priority application if you wish to remain in contention for a contested .au direct name.
Further information about contested .au direct domain names
Find more information in auDA’s Priority Allocation fact sheet.
If you need help or advice about a contested .au direct domain name you can also contact auDA’s Compliance Team by submitting an enquiry.
