Contents

Historical Background
Introduction
Types of Commercial Entities
Allocation Rules
Licence Rules
Dispute Resolution
Acknowledgment and Warranties

1.0 Historical Background to com.au Naming Policy

On 8 October 1996 the administrator of the .au domain space, Mr. Robert Elz, formally granted Melbourne IT a licence for the administration of the com.au domain. One of the licence conditions is to not vary Mr Elz's pre-October 1996 policy for the acceptance or rejection of com.au domain name applications without gaining endorsement for the changes from an appropriate Internet community body.

Since November 96 Melbourne IT has twice received endorsement for the fine tuning of the original policy:

• In February 1997 from the INTIAA DNS forum, to substitute the general rejection of all common words by rejection of more specific classes of words, such as gazetted place names and generic products (goods or services); and
  
  
• In January 1998 from the ADNA Board, to use the Yellow Pages Index as its guide when interpreting the com.au policy to reject "generic words describing products (goods or services)".

1.1 Introduction

The com.au domain exists to enable commercial entities, currently registered and trading in Australia to have an Internet address (domain name) that is closely aligned with their commercial name.

The com.au domain is a listing service.
It provides a distinct 1:1 correlation between a domain name and an applicant's registered commercial name. The com.au domain is a policy-driven domain. Some names, such as place names or names of goods or services, will not be licensed for use as com.au domain names.

This document is the current policy for administering the com.au domain, and replaces previous versions of the General (Naming) Policy. This document contains the rules for the administration of the com.au domain, and in particular those that determine the acceptance or rejection of a com.au domain name application.

2. Types of Commercial Entities

Only commercial entities registered and trading in Australia will be allocated a com.au domain name. Applicants registering company and business names to obtain particular domain names should be aware of:

• Existing State and federal legislation that governs the registration of company and business names,
• The requirements of this policy for an actual trading entity, and
• Section 4.3 Revoking a domain name licence.

The following table lists commercial entities that meet the charter of com.au. To register a domain name for an entity not listed in the table, you will need to demonstrate:

That you have the rights to the commercial name, or
That the commercial entity is registered with a recognized Government or industry authority.

  

Type of Entity Identified by Authority Companies (including foreign companies registered to trade in Australia) ACN (or ARBN for foreign companies) Australian Securities Commission Registered Business Names Registered Business Number State Government Registries Incorporated Associations Association Number State Government Registries Commercial Statutory Bodies Act of Parliament Federal or State Parliament Financial Institutions Financial Institution Code State Government Commissions Registered Superannuation Funds Fund Number Insurance and Superannuation Commission

3. Allocation Rules

Complete and Correct Details
Single Domain Name per Commercial Entity
Composition of a com.au Domain Name
Uniqueness and Similarity
Allocation of Domain Names
Direct Derivation
Australian Place Names
"Generic" Words
Offensive or Obscene Domain Names

These rules govern the licensing of com.au domain names. As these rules are applied, com.au domain name applications that do not meet the requirements here will be declined.

3.1 Complete and Correct Details

Complete and correct details must be provided with each and every application. Agents (for example, Internet Service Providers) who apply for domain names on behalf of their clients must not place themselves as the administrative contact.

3.2 Single Domain Name per Commercial Entity

Only one domain name is licensed per registered commercial name. Organizations with more than one registered commercial name (for example, a company with several registered trading names) can apply for one com.au domain name for each registered trading name.

3.3 Composition of a Domain Name

A com.au domain name must:

Be at least two characters long
Contain only letters (a-z), numbers (0-9)and hyphens or a combination of these
Start and end with an alphanumeric character, not a hyphen.

3.4 Uniqueness and Similarity

No two com.au domain names can be exactly the same (e.g. there can be only one xyz.com.au). No test is made to ensure:

• That the same or a similar domain name already exists in another domain (e.g. net.au, .com)
• That the domain name is not too similar to an existing registered com.au (or other domain) domain name, such as
• the plural or singular form of a word or phrase.

3.5 Allocation of Domain Names

com.au domain names are licensed to applicants on a "first-come, first-served" basis. There is no provision for queuing of applications. If a domain name is already licensed, or if an application is pending for that name, no further applications will be accepted for that name until the name is either revoked or the pending application declined.

If an application is declined (or a domain name removed), the pending entry is removed from the AUNIC registry and the domain name is immediately available.

3.6 Direct Derivation

Applicants can use either their complete commercial name, or an abbreviation. When an abbreviation is requested:

• The domain name can only be derived from the characters contained in the commercial name,
• Characters can be removed from the commercial name to create the domain name, but the sequence of the characters cannot be altered, and
• New characters (that do not appear in the commercial name) cannot be introduced to the domain name.

3.7 Australian Place Names

Australian place names and their common abbreviations are overly representative (i.e. representing all commerce for a particular community or in a geographic region) and will not be licensed for use as com.au domain names. Some examples are in the table below.

Place Example Names Common abbreviation This country Australia au, aus, oz States and Territories Queensland, Victoria qld, vic, act, nsw Regions Gippsland Local Government Areas Stonnington Suburbs Paddington

3.8 Generic Words

Words that represent commercial categories or sectors are overly representative and will not be licensed for use as com.au domain names. Some examples are in the table below.

Commercial Category Description Examples Products, services and professions Any generic word that is defined and used to represent products, services or professions. Typically, these are words that appear in an Australian word list (e.g. The Macquarie Dictionary) and also in a commercial category listing (e.g. The Yellow Pages Index®). cars, accounting, solicitor, weddings, manager, hifi, winery Industries, industry sectors and organisation types Any word that represents an industry, industry sector or organisation type. mining, finance, company, bank N.B. multiple-word phrases such as 'pressrelease' or 'wedding-car-hire' are allowed.

3.9 Offensive or Obscene Domain Names

It has been the policy of INA to reject domain names, which by themselves or as part of a name or word, by normally accepted standards are unacceptable because they are obscene, offensive or contrary to public policy. Until such time as a new regulatory body of the .au domain space has been able to determine policy in this area, INA intends to continue to adopt a conservative policy with regard to registration of such names.

4. Licence Rules 4.1 Licence Period and Renewal

The initial licence period for a com.au domain name is two years. The licence to use the com.au domain name can be renewed at the end of each licence period, subject to the current terms and conditions. The administrator will contact licensees (or their agents) when the domain name licence requires renewal.

4.2 Domain Name Licence Transfer

The licence to use the com.au domain name cannot be transferred or sold to another party.

4.3 Revoking a domain name licence

The licence to use the com.au domain name can be terminated for reasons outlined in the table below.

Reason Description Fee not paid Where the prescribed fee is not paid within the required time Breach of warranty Where the warranty supplied by the applicant or their agent is breached Incorrect info Where misleading, incomplete or incorrect information is supplied in the application Court decision Where a court of competent authority determines that the domain name should not be licensed to the current licensee, be removed from the registry, or be licensed to another party Name Change Where the commercial name used by the licensee to obtain the domain name is changed, or if the licence to use the registered commercial name ceases. Instruction Where instructed by the current licensee of the domain name Error Where a domain name which could not otherwise be registered under this policy is registered through mistake, oversight or otherwise (within thirty days of registering the domain name): The administrator may send notice (of not less than thirty days) stating the intention to cancel the registration, and stating the reasons for the proposed cancellation The administrator may remit the fee payable for the new domain name in place of the cancelled domain ame

5. Dispute Resolution

Disputes over com.au domain names are resolved via the procedure outlined below. This procedure applies to both declined com.au domain name applications, and disputes over already-licensed com.au domain names.

Stage Description Notice The originator of the dispute sends notice of the dispute in writing to the administrator Negotiation and conciliation The originator, the administrator and any third parties must attempt to settle the dispute by negotiations and conciliation. Arbitration If the above attempts fail to settle the dispute, the parties agree to refer the dispute to a commercial disputes centre. All parties must agree to be bound by the ruling of the arbiter. The costs of the dispute are borne by the originator.

6. Acknowledgment and Warranties

For the administration of the com.au domain, reliance is placed upon the information and warranties supplied by applicants or their agents. By applying for a com.au domain name, applicants:

1. Warrant that the information provided in the application is complete, true and correct.
2. Warrant that the registration and/or use of the com.au domain name does not breach any third party's rights (such as those of a registered trademark holder).
3. Warrant that they have read and understood this policy and proceed on the basis that this policy is legally binding.
4. Indemnify the administrator to the full extent legally permitted against all claims and demands from third parties regarding registration and use of the com.au domain name.