.au Direct – Priority Hold ending soon

As we have shared previously on our blog, auDA recently launched Australia’s newest domain namespace the .au Direct.

.au Direct provides eligible registrants the option to register domain names using just
.au for the first time.

For example if you hold forexample.com.au, you can apply to register forexample.au.

However time is fast running out to secure a matching domain in .au Direct during the Priority Hold period if you have not already done so.

You only have until 20 September to register a .au Direct domain name based on your
existing domain name.

After this date all .au Direct names not already registered will become available to the general public to apply for who meet the eligibility criteria under the.au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing, even if it is a direct match of your existing domain.

What do you need to do?
To register a .au Direct domain name that matches a current domain name you hold,
you will need a Priority Token for your current domain name which you can retrieve here
(https://priority.auda.org.au/)

You may then register your .au Direct name here

If you are the only person eligible to apply for the .au Direct name (because no other
person holds the matching name in a separate namespace), you will be allocated the
.au Direct domain name so long as you are eligible for it.

Where more than one person is eligible for an .au Direct name, the name will be
allocated in accordance with the .au Domain Administration Rules: .au Direct Priority
Implementation.

You can find out more here

We would like to reiterate to all existing com.au and net.au etc holders however, that nothing changes with your existing domain. This is just an opportunity to secure your exact match in the .au Direct space. Whether you do this for brand protection, to have a shorter name or any other reason, if you do not do so before the 20^th of September, someone else may snap up the name.

As always, if you have any questions, please submit a support ticket here and one of our friendly staff will be happy to answer any questions you may have.