August 29, 2012
The latest figures indicate .au domain names continue to be very popular; having pushed past the 2.5 million mark.
This translates to roughly one AU domain name for every 9 Australians.
Since passing 2 million registrations in March 2011 and 2.3 million in January of this year., the .AU space has grown at a steady pace thanks to the combined efforts of accredited registrars in promoting .au as Australia's home on the Internet according to AusRegistry; the AU registry operator.
38 registrars are accredited by .au Domain Administration (auDA) - the policy authority and industry self-regulatory body for the .au domain space - and among them is Domain Registration Services.
Ausregistry says .AU occupies tenth place in terms of the world's largest country code Top Level Domains (ccTLD's) under management.
Around 86% of all .au domain names are registered under .com.au - the extension designated for Australian commercial enterprises.
The .AU extension celebrated a quarter of a century last year. According to Wikipedia, it was originally allocated by the IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) to Melbourne University in 1986. In the 1990s, the self regulatory body .au Domain Administration was formed to operate the domain.
Due to stringent criteria for registering an AU domain name, the extension enjoys a high level of awareness and trust among Australian consumers. For example, in order to register a .com.au or .net.au name, registrants must be either be an Australian registered company, partnership, association or sole trader; a holder/applicant of an Australian registered trade mark or a foreign entity with formal registrations in Australia.
Registrations under .org.au and .asn.au also have strict criteria.
To register an .id.au name; an registrant only needs to be an Australian citizen or resident. However, these names can only be used in conjunction with personal sites and cannot be used for commercial purposes.
Have a web site or blog? Get our free domain news widget.
How to register a name: Enter your choice in the search tool and click 'GO'. If after the check the domain names search results show your choice is available, you will then have the option to proceed to purchase registration; which is a very quick and easy process - start a search and find your ideal website address now.
AUSTRALIAN OWNED AND OPERATED SINCE 1996
1300 863 436