1. APPLICATION OF POLICY
1.1 This auDA policy only applies to domain names that were last registered, renewed or transferred before 12 April 2021. This policy does not apply to domain names that were registered, renewed or transferred on or after 12 April 2021 at 00:00 Universal Time Coordinated (UTC).
1.2 The .au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing apply to all domain names that were registered, renewed or transferred after 12 April 2021.
1.3 This policy expires on 11 April 2026 after which time the .au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing will apply, in addition to any ongoing relevant policies.
2. BACKGROUND
2.1 This document sets out auDA's policy for maintaining the Reserved List of names that may not be used as domain names in the open .au second level domains (2LDs). At the time of publication, the open 2LDs are asn.au, com.au, id.au, net.au and org.au.
2.2 The Reserved List is held in the registry database. Each application for a domain name is checked against the Reserved List and domain names that exactly match a name on the Reserved List are blocked from registration.
3. CONTENTS OF RESERVED LIST
3.1 The Reserved List contains the following:
a) words and phrases that are restricted under Commonwealth legislation;
b) names and abbreviations of Australian states and territories and the name “Australia”; and
c) names that may pose a risk to the operational stability and utility of the .au domain.
4. WORDS AND PHRASES THAT ARE RESTRICTED UNDER COMMONWEALTH LEGISLATION
4.1 The table in Schedule A contains a non-exhaustive list of words and phrases that are restricted under Commonwealth legislation. It is the responsibility of the registrant to ensure they have obtained the requisite consent, where applicable, prior to registering a domain name that contains a word or phrase listed in Schedule A. Where auDA becomes aware that a registrant does not have the requisite consent, auDA reserves the right to revoke the domain name licence and delete the domain name.
4.2 auDA may conduct audits of the registry database at the request of a relevant government agency, to ensure that any domain names that contain words and phrases listed in Schedule A have the requisite consent.
5. NAMES AND ABBREVIATIONS OF AUSTRALIAN STATES AND TERRITORIES
5.1 The names and abbreviations of Australian states and territories and the name “Australia” are regarded as names of national significance and as such are reserved from general use.
5.2 The name or abbreviation of an Australian state or territory may be released on application provided that the proposed registrant:
a) is eligible to use the name or abbreviation under the relevant eligibility and allocation policy rules; and
b) has written authorisation to use the name or abbreviation from the relevant state or territory government.
5.3 An applicant for a name or abbreviation of an Australian state or territory must lodge their application through an auDA accredited registrar. If the application is approved, auDA will authorise the release of the name or abbreviation from the Reserved List.
6. NAMES THAT MAY POSE A RISK TO THE OPERATIONAL STABILITY AND UTILITY OF THE .AU DOMAIN
6.1 From time to time, auDA may place a name on the Reserved List that, if used as a domain name, may pose a risk to the operational stability and utility of the .au domain.
6.2 The decision to place a name on the Reserved List under paragraph 5.1 must be approved or ratified by the auDA Board.
WORDS AND PHRASES RESTRICTED UNDER COMMONWEALTH LEGISLATION (non-exhaustive list)
|
Legislation |
Restricted words, letters, abbreviations and acronyms |
|
Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994 |
APVMA |
|
Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005 |
ACMA |
|
Australian Grand Prix Act 1994 (Vic) |
Grand Prix |
|
Australian Hearing Services Act 1991 |
NAL |
|
Banking Act 1959 |
Bank |
|
Defence Regulation 2016 |
Active Reserve |
|
Family Law Regulations 1984 |
Family Relationship Centre |
|
Geneva Convention Act 1957 (Cth) |
Red Cross |
|
Human Services (Centrelink) Act 1997 Human Services (Centrelink) Regulations 2011 (reg 6) |
Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency |
|
Human Services (Medicare) Act 1973 |
Medicare |
|
International Organizations (Privileges and Immunities) Act 1963 |
Asia-Pacific Telecommunity; |
|
Olympic Insignia Protection Act 1987 |
OlympicOlympics |
|
Protection of the Word ‘ANZAC’ Regulations |
ANZAC |
|
Scout Association Act 1924 (Cth) |
Scout Association |
|
Snowy mountains Engineering Corporation (Conversion into Public Company) Act 1989 |
Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation Limited |
|
Wet Tropics World Heritage Protection and Management Act 1993 (Qld) |
Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage |
|
Tafe Queensland Act 2013 TAFE SA Act 2012 |
TAFE |
Please Note: auDA may update this Schedule from time to time, in line with any amended or new Commonwealth legislation.
1Refer to Australian River Co Limited Act 2015 (Cth)