One of auDA’s core functions under our Terms of Endorsement from the Australian Government is to administer a licensing regime for .au domain names based in multi-stakeholder processes that is transparent, responsive, accountable, accessible and efficient. We seek feedback from the multi-stakeholder community to develop and maintain .au policies.
Following an internal review of the operation of the .au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing (the .au Licensing Rules), auDA has identified some minor administrative amendments that we believe will improve how the rules work. The review included speaking to registrars and staff, and reviewing complaints and enquiries we received about the .au Licensing Rules.
We have commenced a public consultation period on the proposed amendments and are asking interested members of the public to review the changes we are proposing and provide their feedback.
On our public consultation page you can view a marked up copy of the .au Licensing Rules showing the current version alongside the proposed amendments. You can also read the explanatory statement which sets out the principles that guide auDA policy development, the consultation process and provides an overview of the proposed amendments.
Some of the changes we are proposing are:
- Capitalising all defined terms, so it is clear when reading the .au Licensing Rules which words or phrases have a specific meaning and can be found in the Definitions section
- Allowing the suppression of certain WHOIS data where the equivalent data is suppressed on the Australian Business Register, for example, to protect a person’s safety
- Making it clear that DNS abuse is a prohibited use of a .au domain name licence and a person must not use or inadvertently allow their .au domain name to be used for DNS abuse
- Changing the section on contractual capacity to look at .au domain name transfers that occurred before a registrant company ceased to exist, and to allow the executor of a Will to manage a .au domain name after a registrant passes away.
For a full list of the changes, please refer to the marked up .au Licensing Rules on the public consultation page.
As part of our consultation, we hosted an interactive webinar where we discussed the proposed changes and provided an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions. Catch up on the webinar.
Having your say
If you wish to make a submission to the review, please do so by 30 October 2023. All submissions will be considered as we come up with a final version of proposed amendments to the .au Licensing Rules.
The auDA Board will review the proposed amendments informed by the consultation and will also be advised of the subject matter of the submissions we receive. All submissions will be published on our website, unless the submission includes a request that it remain private.
We hope to publish the updated version of the .au Licensing Rules, incorporating amendments, in early 2024.
Public consultation plays an important role in ensuring the best outcome for this review. We encourage you to provide your feedback by the end of the consultation period and play a part in shaping the future of the .au domain.
Note, this is a minor review only and does not involve major changes to the .au Licensing Rules. If we receive submissions proposing major changes to the .au Licensing Rules, we will record and consider these in the next major review of the .au Licensing Rules, currently scheduled for 2025.
