Do you provide goods or services to Australian customers and want a local domain to serve them? Have you ever considered setting up a website with a .au domain name, and wondered how to go about it? It is slightly more complicated than a .com or .uk top-level domain name, but still straightforward. Hence this post will give you all you need for an AU domain setup.
With a global economy and the wide reach of the internet, more and more companies are looking outside their national boarders for customers. Trading abroad can boost your profile, credibility and bottom line. However, customers in some countries prefer to buy from local suppliers, so if we want to break into those markets, we need to have a local distributor, and a local domain name. This post is about setting up a domain to serve Australian customers.
The .au ccTLD
The .au country-code top-level domain name (ccTLD) is an extension that represents Australia, and broadens your site’s audience to Australian residents. This extension is particularly beneficial for companies that conduct business in Australia by making their URLs more recognizable for Australian residents and businesses.
Examples of country-code second-level domain names (ccSLDs) applicable to the Australian market are listed here, together with the intended organisations:
- .com.au — Intended for commercial entities
- .net.au — Intended for network infrastructures, such as Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
- .org.au — Intended for non-profit organizations
How to set up an AU domain
The good news is that setting up the .au domain is similar to other domains, until you come to complete the process, when you have to supply additional information. Every company or sole trader on the Australian Business Register has a unique business number which identifies the entity. So to register an Australian domain, you need to enter the Australian Business Number (ABN) for the business entity.
Who can register .au domain names?
Companies or organizations that are registered to do business in Australia can register .au domain names. All registrations are on a first-come, first-served basis and last for 2 years.
In accordance with Australian Domain Name Policy, to be eligible to register .com.au and .net.au domain names, registrants must be one of the following:
- An Australian registered company
- Trading under a registered business name in any Australian State or Territory
- An Australian partnership or sole trader
- A foreign company licensed to trade in Australia
- Be an owner of an Australian Registered Trade Mark
- An applicant for an Australian Registered Trade Mark
- An association incorporated in any Australian State or Territory
- An Australian commercial statutory body
Domain names must be one of the following:
- An exact match, abbreviation or acronym of the registrant’s name or trademark
- Closely and substantially connected to the registrant
Other aspects of .au domains to be aware of
- You can only register .au domain names for 2 years.
- All .au domain renewals are always in 2 year increments.
- You can renew your .au domain name 90 days prior to its expiration date.
- AusRegistry is the registry for .au domain names.
- AusRegistry operates the public WHOIS service for .au domain names.
Other information and useful resources when setting up an AU Domain Setup are listed below: