This Domainer Show episode is Part II of Rob and Ed’s opinions on what is possibly about to happen when the new Direct .AU domain name registrations come into existence in Australia in March 2022.
What does this mean for Australian businesses, domain investors and entrepreneurs who own an existing .com.au or .net.au ?
You should go and watch Part I first, before you watch this Part II video.
I still don’t get it, what does the implementation of Direct .AU mean?
Basically, this means as well as YourName.com.au you can also own YourName.au for the first time ever in Australia.
Link 1 from the show – https://assets.auda.org.au/a/2020-12/2007npp-issue-MELBOURNE-IT-tonkin26.txt?VersionId=gFcbdKDod7Z0KtLKdZyjJoprPcY357qY
Link 2 from the show – https://www.auda.org.au/au-domain-names/au-direct/priority-allocation-process
Contact Rob and Ed about your dream domain name at DBR.com.au
Bruce Tonkin auDA’s own COO said what it means.. but he seems to forget… I suppose being now on the auDA Payroll helps people forget!
https://assets.auda.org.au/a/2020-12/2007npp-issue-MELBOURNE-IT-tonkin26.txt?VersionId=gFcbdKDod7Z0KtLKdZyjJoprPcY357qY
“The existing second level domains are widely recognised in Australian and internationally.
A key drawback of introducing names directly at the top level could be damage to the businesses of existing .com.au registrants when registrations at the top level are made to trade off their reputations.
There would be a significant cost to businesses to try to protect their brands in the top level without any specific gain from a consumer perspective.”
And here from the ongoing auDA $5 Million campaign using registrant funds to tell people they should register a .COM.AU !
What the FU$$ is auDA Doing?
since Feb 2018 NONE of the new .COM.AU registrant consumers are priority eligible for the direct .au and on an opening day.
Guess what auDA, Afilias and Registrars have not told them! Naughty Naughty! There may be laws about this…
Anyone else can register the exact same name as a direct .au to compete against them… won’t they be happy when they find out !
GET YOUR .COM.AU – AUDA CAMPAIGN
https://www.getyour.com.au/
“A local home for your local business
Now more than ever, Australians are looking to buy local when they shop online. With a COM.AU domain name, customers can be sure your business has a local presence.”
“Why COM.AU is the domain your business deserves”
“Trusted by your customers
Research by Omnipoll in 2019 shows the COM.AU is more highly trusted among the Australian community than others”
SCREENSHOTS TAKEN AUDA!
Thanks for your opinion “Vicki”. There are a couple of good points here not mentioned in the video above. We will go into these in the next article.
The only positives I see is more money made for auDA, Afilias and the Registrars. A “shit show” as Rob put it, for everyone else.
auDA remain Not Fit For Purpose.
Government needs to wake up fast.
auDA is kicking Small Business and existing. Com.au in the guts while COVID is wrecking them and their families.
Totally agree with the points made so far. On the other hand.
Positives:
– Hobbyists without an ABN will be able to get a .au.
– Personalised emails like hi@ricky.au. Ricky.au could resolve to a simple website or social media profile. Perhaps take payments using it too.
– Less competition to acquire favourable strings because this is only for Australians. Any brandable with any value has already been registered in .com and other popular global extensions.
But overall I think the negatives outweigh the positives. Get your popcorn.
auDA is following the failed Nomine t word for word on a lot of things..
That also led to the removal again of their whole Nominet Board and CEO !
Plus the new Nominet Board and CEO, Management getting their pay cut… well there is hope for auDA 4.0 new management and Board maybe.
existing .co .UK registrants had 2 years FREE direct .UK if they wanted it
No costly messy Conflicted names process
No crazy new fees
No B.S. tightening of .co.uk rules to make them drop them and over to direct .UK
But a lot of very bad Nominet and Registrar Behaviour..
https://www.theregister.com/2019/09/16/123reg_namesco_uk_domains/
https://www.theregister.com/2018/01/19/nominet_abandons_charitable_trust/
https://www.theregister.com/2017/09/14/123reg_customers_outraged_at_automatic_uk_domain_registration/
https://www.theregister.com/2020/01/31/uk_address_bulgarians/
https://www.theregister.com/2019/06/05/nominet_domain_windfall/
Hang on Rob, you spent years arguing this should be brought in. Not sure you have much of a position complaining now.
People even told you that you’d do the switcheroo when the details came out.
It’s always so lovely hearing from you, Paul. My position hasn’t changed, as clearly shown in the last two podcasts. Perhaps you should watch the whole thing before letting your brain explode.
The New Zealand .nz Conflicted Names Process was / is 100% FREE.
auDA have failed in their role as managers of the .au namespace and are NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE
The previous Commonwealth review stated in writing auDA should not seek to gain extra profits at the expense of existing or potential .au domain name registrant consumers. auDA has directly engaged in proceses and management to maximise profits at the expense of existing and potential .au domain name consumers
NOMINET also gave all existing .co.uk registrant consumers the 2 years automatic reserved and actual automatic rights to the direct version .uk. No cost. 100% FREE.
auDA has set up some dodgy new verification process which appears to have a cost to Registrars in some auDA statements and no cost in other evidence, plus Registrars also flip and flop on this.
What it means is this newly created and colluded “Conflicted Names Process Fee / Token / Ticket” looks to be a money grab to rip off existing and potential .au domain name consumers financially and to lessen their actual rights.
No country in the world has done it
No domain name Namespace manager in the world has done it
No domain namespace in the world has done it.
auDA are now trying to scramble to come up with something to justify it. There is no justification in no country, no domain manager and no namespace has ever done it. None.
Who also set up this new verification process exactly?
Did it go to a public tender?
Where are the documents about it?
Are any auDA related staff or contractors or consultants actually linked tho this new money making excersice?
auDA is supposed to be a not for profit yet they have a lot of money and their auDA Foundation has Millions sitting in it!
The Commonwealth need to sack auDA and shut them down and get other options via an EOI as the previous Minister said .
Web agency not fit-for-purpose, government review finds
https://www.smh.com.au/technology/web-agency-not-fit-for-purpose-government-review-finds-20180417-p4za3u.html
Govt review: auDA needs to fix its problems — or else Government sees need for ‘urgent reforms’ to auDA
https://www2.computerworld.com.au/article/640270/govt-review-auda-needs-fix-its-problems-else/
GADENS LAWYERS – Direct ‘.au’ domain names are coming. Threat or opportunity?
https://www.gadens.com/legal-insights/direct-au-domain-names-are-coming-threat-or-opportunity/
2 September 2021
Antoine Pace, Partner, Melbourne Adam Walker, Partner, Melbourne
The launch of direct .au domain names will occur in March 2022, which could have significant repercussions for current registrants in existing .au domain namespaces.
In the meantime, the Government is also reviewing the terms on which auDA is endorsed as the administrator of .au.
After being on the cards for several years, the administrator of the .au country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD), au Domain Administration Limited (auDA), has recently announced the launch of .au direct registrations in the ‘second level’ (e.g. gadens.au) effective from 24 March 2022.
Separately, the Australian Government is currently reviewing the terms on which it endorses auDA as the administrator of the .au ccTLD.
Direct registrations
While direct registration will unlock opportunities for people looking to register desirable domain names that are otherwise unavailable in the third level (e.g. gadens.com.au and gadens.net.au), the potential for conflict and confusion is likely to be a genuine concern for many registrants of existing domain names. Debate over the benefits and consequences of direct registrations has been longstanding.
For existing registrants of .au third level domain names, they will have a 6 month window from 24 March 2022 to exercise a priority status to apply to register at the second level the exact match of their existing third level domain name.
If they do not avail themselves of that opportunity, the second level domain name will become available to anybody on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.
Some observers may find it surprising that, whereas the eligibility rules for domain names such as those in .com.au were tightened in April this year, direct registrations will only be required to meet the ‘Australian presence’ requirement.
The priority allocation process will come with a number of conditions:
Third level domain names with a creation date on or before 4 February 2018 will afford the applicant ‘category 1’ priority for the second level domain name.
Third level domain names with a creation date after that date and before 24 March 2022 will afford an applicant ‘category 2’ priority.
Category 1 applicants will have priority over category 2 applicants.
As between competing category 2 applicants, the third level domain name with the earliest creation date will afford its holder the right to register the second level direct domain name.
As between competing category 1 applicants, they will either need to reach agreement between each other or otherwise renew their applications annually until such as time as only one applicant remains.
For so long as there remain competing category 1 applications, the domain name will not be allocated.
If there are no priority applications, the domain name will be generally available and allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, but subject to the Australian presence requirement.
For so long as an application for a third level domain name is pending during the six month application period, the applicant will not be permitted to transfer its eligible third level domain name to another person or change any registrant information during that period.
It’s unclear what happens should there be an unresolved conflict between category 1 applicants.
This could be problematic, for example, in the cases of business sales or restructures where there may be a delay on domain name transfers.
It could also be problematic for those whose third level domain name is unintentionally registered incorrectly and does not meet the licensing rules, thereby exposing it to challenge and potential removal, in turn undermining the applicant’s priority rights.
It is also uncertain whether registrars will be able to charge premium prices for those looking to make priority applications.
For current registrants looking to rely on priority claims, they should review their current registrations to assess where they may stand in the priority queue and whether that position is as strong as it can be.
Review of auDA’s Terms of Endorsement
In being granted the right by ICANN to administer the .au ccTLD, auDA is required to assure ICANN that it is appropriately endorsed by the Australian Government for that purpose.
The Government’s current Terms of Endorsement, which outline the Government’s expectations of auDA, were made in 2018.
The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications is currently seeking submissions for the purpose of its review of the Terms of Endorsement and whether they are fit for purpose. The closing date for submissions is 10 September 2021.
Should you have views on the content of the Terms of Endorsement or the regulation and administration of the .au ccTLD by auDA more generally, there is an opportunity now to make a contribution.
If you have any concerns or queries regarding your domain name portfolio, your options for priority to direct .au domain names, or the Government’s review of auDA’s Terms of Endorsement, please do not hesitate to contact Gadens’ experienced domain name practitioners.
GADENS LAWYERS beat auDA’s last CEO, management and well know auDA Registrar’s(?) dirty tactics, https://www.gadens.com/news-gadens-acts-domain-name-owner-inaugural-application-auda/
Official DNC reported Consumer complaints in New Zealand are increasing by 70%+ per year from their direct .extension.
The cost is not just on existing registrants to buy another name to defend their brand. Wake Up!
The bigger cost is also in the reputation to the namespace and on the losses which consumers are suffering due to the different easy rules for fake websites to operate from.
In the auDA Board proposed direct .au it will be very easy to use a fake name and fake address to put up a fake website and harvest information, harvest emails, harvest consumer credit cards and rip off consumers.
auDA Board are failing in their duty to protect consumers already and with their new direct .au open rules it will get worse.
It is the auDA Board who is and will be responsible.
This is from the managers the New Zealand .nz namespace. It says it all and auDA needs to take notice of these warnings.
“More people reported domain names associated with malicious or illegal activity for the second year in a row” DNC https://dnc.org.nz/about/about-the-commission/corporate-information/dncl-2020-2021-annual-report/
It is getting so bad in New Zealand they had to set up a website to warn people!