Why auDA’s 2026 ‘Rules Review’ Matters to ‘.com.au’ and ‘.au’ Domain Investors

For more than 25 years, Australian Domain Investors have treated “.com.au” and “.au” names as legitimate business assets. Many Domain Investors started building portfolios in the early 2000s, around the time auDA was established and the rules were liberalised to allow more flexible ownership, including generic and descriptive names. Holding domains for future use, resale, or monetisation through pay-per-click (PPC) advertising has long been part of that picture.

Now, auDA’s Policy Advisory Panel has released its Draft Report as part of the 2025–2026 Licensing Rules Review. On the surface, the headline recommendation is reassuring: domain monetisation should remain permitted in ‘.com.au’, ‘.net.au’, and ‘.au’ direct. But the real risk lies in the detail — specifically how allocation rules could be tightened in ways that make everyday monetised use much harder.

The Current Reality for ‘.com.au’ and ‘.au’

Under today’s rules, monetisation (selling, or holding a domain to generate revenue, including through advertising) is allowed in the main commercial namespaces as long as you meet the eligibility and allocation requirements.

Bruce Tonkin, auDA’s CEO, recently shared usage data in response to a direct investor query:

• 43% of .com.au names and 59% of .au names currently have “no content.”
• Another 20–23% fall into “limited content” (parked-style) categories.

These figures matter. A large portion of the namespace is held without a fully developed website. For a namespace like .au direct (only about four years old, compared with com.au’s 40-year history), higher rates of undeveloped or minimally active names are exactly what you would expect. Many of these are legitimately parked or monetised while owners wait for the right project, buyer, or opportunity.

auDA’s own May 2026 registry statistics reinforce the picture: total ‘.au’ names under management sit at around 4.37 million, with ‘.au’ direct continuing to grow while some legacy options show softness.

The Real Risk in the Draft Report

The Draft Report floats three options for allocation rules in ‘.com.au’ and ‘.net.au’. The most concerning for Domain Investors is the possibility of deleting or narrowing the flexible “service” pathway in Rule 2.4.4(2)(f). This is the route many PPC, parking, referral, and sale-lander pages use to satisfy allocation requirements when the name doesn’t perfectly match a company or personal name.

If that pathway is removed or heavily restricted, it could effectively make a large number of monetised domains non-compliant — achieving by the back door what the report’s headline recommendation says should not happen.

Pay-per-click advertising is not some fringe activity. It is explicitly recognised as a Class 35 service under the WIPO Nice Classification (basic number 350113). IP Australia confirms the same structure: Class 35 covers advertising and related commercial services. There are already ‘.com.au’ domains registered under Class 35 trademarks specifically for PPC-related services.

Major auDA-accredited registrars actively promote and profit from these models. GoDaddy’s CashParking, Crazy Domains’ PPC and parked-domain services, and platforms like Above.com (who run the one and only Australian premium domain name drop catching monopoly, Drop.com.au, privately) openly market monetisation as a legitimate way to earn revenue from unused names. This has been part of ‘.au’ commerce for decades.

The Scale and the Economics

Investor analysis tied to the current review puts the number of PPC-monetised ‘.com.au’, ‘.net.au’, and ‘.au’ names at over 500,000 as of mid-2026. These pages deliver advertising reach and market awareness for tens of thousands of businesses.

Over 25 years, auDA, accredited registrars, the registry operator, and the auDA Foundation have directly or indirectly benefited by at least $100 million from the registration and renewal fees generated by these monetised domains. Registrants who earn revenue from advertising often use it to cover renewals, keeping more names active in the system.

If policy changes make hundreds of thousands of these names harder to hold or monetise, the effects are predictable:

• auDA loses registration and renewal revenue.
• The registry operator sees lower volumes.
• Registrars lose income from PPC programs, parking services, aftermarket activity, email, and website-builder upsells — plus a drop in “domains under management” figures.
• The Commonwealth loses GST.
• Advertisers lose a cost-effective channel.
• Consumers lose access to advertising-supported information and niche services.

There is no clear public benefit to making 500,000+ existing monetised names unviable.

Historical Context and Market Evidence

This is not the first time restrictive ideas have surfaced. In 2019, during an earlier policy review, proposals emerged that would have strengthened bans on registration for resale and limited monetisation. The Internet Commerce Association (ICA) pushed back hard in a detailed submission, arguing there was no solid evidence of harm, that investors provide liquidity, and that auDA itself benefits from the activity. Many of the more extreme suggestions were not adopted.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has also weighed in on the current review, supporting a lighter-touch approach to allocation rules. It notes that consumer trust does not depend on highly prescriptive eligibility tests and points to the success of simpler models like ‘.au’ direct.

Market trends reinforce the point. While global ‘.com’ has scaled to massive numbers under relatively open rules, ‘.au’ direct (with its simpler Australian Presence requirement and fewer allocation hurdles) is growing faster than some legacy commercial namespaces. If stricter allocation or monetisation limits are introduced now, the risk is that .’com.au’ and ‘.au’ become less attractive for the very activity that has helped sustain the namespace.

What This Means for Long-Time Domain Investors

If you have held ‘.com.au’ or ‘.au’ portfolios since the early days of auDA, you built them under rules that treated legitimate monetisation in commercial namespaces as acceptable. Many of those holdings sit in the “no content” or “limited content” categories Bruce Tonkin described — not because they are abandoned, but because they are held for future use, resale, or monetisation.

Changes that narrow the “service” allocation pathway or increase pressure on monetised names would create real uncertainty:

• Difficulty justifying or renewing names that have been compliant for years.
• Reduced liquidity in the aftermarket.
• Devaluation of generic, descriptive, or keyword-rich names that rely on flexible allocation.
• Higher compliance costs for portfolio holders.

auDA’s own data shows this activity is widespread. The 2019 ICA submission and the current ACCI submission both emphasise that investors and businesses provide value — liquidity, choice, and revenue that flows back into the system. Restricting it now would be inconsistent with that history.

Practical Steps for Domain Investors

The current consultation on the Draft Report is the time to make your voice heard. The evidence is clear: monetisation via PPC and related models is a legitimate, long-standing part of the .au ecosystem. It has generated substantial value for registrants, registrars, and auDA itself. Any changes should target genuine abuse — not ordinary commercial use that has operated within the rules for over 25 years.

Domain investing is not new. The rules that allowed it helped build the namespace we have today. Long-time holders deserve policy that is evidence-based, proportionate, and consistent with the flexibility that has existed since auDA’s early years.

(Consultation details and submission links are available on the auDA website under the Licensing Rules Review section. Key supporting documents include the 2019 ICA submission, the ACCI submission, and auDA’s own registry statistics and usage data.)

Where are we up to with all of this?

The Draft Report will be published on the auDA website in the coming months. The Panel will then open a second round of public consultation to seek feedback on its Draft Report.

After this second round of consultation closes, the Panel will review submissions and finalise its recommendations. It will then provide a report with finalised recommendations for potential updates to the .au Licensing Rules to the auDA Board by mid-2026.

If you’re a Domain Investor and you haven’t yet made your voice heard. Now is the time.

Please leave this field empty

When is the next Assets Show?

Sign up to receive new episodes of The Assets Show in your inbox.

This field is required.

We don’t spam!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.