.au direct Domains and Do You Really Need One?
Recently unless you have been living under a rock or avoiding all of the reality television that clutters our screens, you would have seen an advertisement or two about the new .au direct domain names. You may have even received emails from your domain providers telling you how you need to get in fast and these scare-mongering warnings about the consequences of not getting yours today.
I wanted to write a short piece to outline my thoughts on this and whether you need to get yours right now or not. So let’s get started with what is the .au direct Domain Name. According to AUDA, the .au direct Domain Name is as follows:
.au direct names are general purpose — they’re open to anyone with a verified connection to Australia who wants to create or manage an online presence for themselves or their organisation.
Priority Reservation
If you hold a domain name in any other .au namespace (eg. com.au, org.au, id.au etc.), created prior to 24 March 2022, you are able to apply for Priority Status to register its exact match in .au direct during the six-month period from launch.
If you want to register the .au direct match of your existing domain name, you will need to apply for Priority Status before 23:59 UTC 20 September 2022 (9:59 AM AEST 21 September).
If no priority applications have been made for the .au direct match, it will be become available for registration by the general public at 21:00 UTC 3 Oct 2022 (8:00AM AEDT 4 Oct).
To check your priority category and/ or see if there are other registrants eligible for the .au direct name you seek, you can use auDA’s Priority Status Tool.
To Learn More About These New Domains:
- About .au direct names Click Here
- The .au direct launch Click Here
- The .au direct priority allocation process Click Here
- General info links and resources Click Here
Do You Really Need One?
There is no hard and fast recommendation on this one and whether you really need one is the most common question we have been asked in the past few months. We look at it from two points of view:
Yes: If you are an Australian business and you value protecting your intellectual property then by all means registering your .au direct domain name is important. In saying that we have always been a firm proponent that you should register all of the variations of your domains for any country or region you wish to operate in so that you can indeed protect your IP. Is the .au any different or any more special and any other domain name… NO!
No: If you have a small business or an essential presence online but don’t feel that you need to protect every aspect of your intellectual property. Then no it’s not something you need to rush out and do, if your business name is pretty unique, then the likelihood of someone else snapping up your .au direct Domain Name is slim. Of course, it is always a risk that someone may purchase it on you and you won’t be able to get it later, but that is a risk that you take by not grabbing the domain now.
Conclusion
Do you need to get your .au direct Domain Name Yes and No? Ultimately it comes down to your choice on whether you wish to protect your IP in every possible way or whether you are prepared to take the risk and wait until later. We have registered our .au domain names because we like to secure and protect our brand rights in all regions we operate in. If you need to register your .au direct Domain Name and you are one of our clients, please reach out to us as soon as possible, and we will be more than happy to assist you in registering the domain on your account. If you need a domain of any kind and need help registering it please contact our team here.
