auDA closes the generic .com.au loophole — 3.3M registrations in scope
Australia's domain administrator approved removing the rule that allowed registering dictionary-word .com.au and .net.au domains without a matching business name. Over a million domains could be affected.
auDA — the administrator of Australia's .au namespace — has approved a change that makes it much harder to register generic .com.au and .net.au domains.
What the board approved
The change removes the "Close and Substantial Connection" pathway that allowed dictionary-word third-level domains — the kind a business might register because the word sells, not because the name matches. Going forward, registrants of such domains would need a matching business name or trademark, per the analysis published alongside the decision.
Who is affected
The scale is significant. Of the 4.4 million domains in the .au namespace, 3.3 million are .com.au and 0.2 million are .net.au (July figures). David Warmuz, CEO of registrar Trillion, said his company confirmed well over one million domains will be affected, and expects the number could exceed two million.
Two important unknowns remain:
- Grandfathering has not been announced — existing registrants may need to requalify at renewal.
- auDA says it will prepare an implementation plan first, which is where the impact could be softened.
.com.au prices we track
- Porkbun: $7.93 renewal (flat)
- IONOS: $15.00 renewal
- SiteGround: $17.99 renewal
- Namecheap: $20.98 renewal
Live prices across all TLDs: dohohub.com/registrars.
Why we are running this one
Policy changes are not prices. But this one decides which .com.au names can exist at all, and the affected count is in the millions. If you hold a generic .com.au or .net.au domain, watch the implementation plan — it may decide whether you get to keep it.