.au direct is Australia’s newest domain namespace. It enables Australian businesses, organisations and individuals to register new, shorter domain names directly before the .au
For example:
“mywebsite.com.au” –> “mywebsite.au”
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.
This period ENDS 20 September 2022 23:59 UTC (9:59AM AEST 21 September).
How to Apply
You will be able to apply for Priority Status via your registrar, or any other accredited registrar offering .au direct domain names. There will be a fee for lodging an application and, like the prices of domain name registrations, this fee will vary between registrars.
You must ensure that you are eligible to hold the .au domain which forms the basis of your application. Your eligibility for your existing .au domain will be checked when you apply.
You will also need a priority token (or authorisation code) for your application to be accepted.
Once you lodge your Priority Status application you will be unable to update the registrant information associated with your existing domain name while your application is active. It is important to make sure it is up to date before you lodge your application.
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 (9:59AM AEST 21 September).
To check your priority category or see if there are other registrants eligible for the .au direct name you seek, you can use auDA’s Priority Status Tool.
Consequences if you do not apply
If you choose not to submit a priority application, then your domain name will be become available for registration by the general public at 21:00 UTC 3 Oct 2022 (8:00AM AEDT 4 Oct). This means your domain name can be registered by any applicant who meets the eligibility criteria for .au direct from 3 October 2022.
You can find more information and frequently asked questions: here