Jo Lim from auDA provides an overview of the .au domain space and discusses recent developments. auDA regulates the .au domain and oversees policy, registrars, and security. There are currently over 2.6 million .au domains registered through 39 accredited registrars and over 4,700 resellers. New initiatives include formally recognizing resellers and allowing bulk transfers of domains between resellers. Over 1,900 applications have been submitted for new generic top-level domains through ICANN's program, including some from Australian applicants. This expansion could impact the .au brand if Australian consumers face confusion from new domains.

1. Anyone for .tennis?
Jo Lim
Chief Operations & Policy Officer
.au Domain Administration Ltd

2. Contents
1. auDA and the .au domain – a quick overview
2. Resellers in the .au market
3. New gTLDs

3. 1. auDA and the .au domain –
a quick overview

4. Who is auDA?
• auDA administers the .au domain space
• Industry self-regulatory body
• Not-for-profit, membership-based
• Endorsed by Australian Govt in 2000
• Contract with ICANN in 2001
• Board of 11 directors, elected and independent
• 12 staff in Melbourne and Canberra

5. What do we do?
• Regulatory
– .au domain name policy development
– .au registrar accreditation and regulation
– .au domain name complaints and disputes
• Security and stability
– technical management of .au TLD infrastructure
• Community programs
– auDA Foundation, ANZIAs

6. .au industry structure
auDA
Registry Licence
Agreement
Registry
Registry-Registrar
Agreement Registrar Agreement
Registrar
Reseller Agreement
Reseller Registrant Agreement
Customer Service
Agreement
Registrant

7. Current state of .au
• 2.63 million .AU domain names
• 39 accredited registrars, 4,700+ resellers
• Lowest com.au retail price = $19.95 / 2 years
• Deloitte Access Economics report Dec 2011:
– $475 million contribution to national economy
• registration and hosting = $269 million
• other web services = $206 million
– 4,300 full-time jobs nationwide

8. .AU 2LD growth 2002-2012

9. Registry fees: com.au v .com
.com.au Vs .com (Ex GST)
$20.00
$18.00
$16.00
$14.00
Registry Prices (AUD)
$12.00
$10.00
$8.00
$6.00
$4.00
$2.00
$0.00
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
com $10.63 $8.81 $8.54 $7.78 $8.07 $7.75 $7.18 $8.47 $8.75 $6.85 $8.10
com.au $18.18 $15.91 $15.80 $11.16 $7.75 $7.25 $7.50 $7.00 $7.00 $6.88 $6.63

10. 2. Resellers in the .au market

11. Resellers = cowboys??
• Pre-2002 – misleading domain name renewal
notices/invoices
– led to expiry dates being removed from WHOIS
• 2003-2004 – misleading mail outs by Domain
Names Australia re .com version of com.au
– auDA won legal action in Federal Court for
misleading and deceptive conduct

12. Reseller changes
• auDA 2012 Industry Advisory Panel
recommendations
– “The Panel understands that resellers want to be
recognised “in the system” as a form of protection
in the case of registrar failure, and to better
facilitate portfolio portability … some kind of
formal recognition of resellers would also make it
easier for registrants to identify the entity that is
managing their domain name.”

13. Resellers in WHOIS
• “Reseller Contact ID” attached to domains
under management in registry database
• Reseller name and ID displayed on WHOIS
• Voluntary system – resellers apply to auDA for
Reseller Contact ID
• Registrars must facilitate – competitive market

14. Bulk transfers for resellers
• Tied to Reseller Contact ID in registry database
• Resellers will be allowed to bulk transfer all
domains under management WITHOUT prior
registrant consent
• Requirements for registrant notification and
opt-out period prior to transfer

15. Registrar security
• auDA Information Security Standard (ISS) to
be introduced mid-2013
• All accredited registrars must be ISS certified
within 24 months
• Future possibility of extending ISS certification
to resellers, on voluntary basis

16. 3. New gTLDs

17. New gTLDs
• Currently there are 22 gTLDs
– ICANN’s new gTLD program is aimed at increasing
competition and choice
• Total 1,930 applications for 1,409 names
– 911 from Nth America (47.2%)
– 675 from Europe (35%)
– 303 from Asia-Pacific (15.7%)
– 24 from Latin America and Caribbean (1.2%)
– 17 from Africa (0.9%)

18. New gTLDs
• Generics (eg. .music), brands (eg. .apple),
geographics (eg. .berlin), IDNs (eg. Arabic
script)
• Google submitted 101 applications, but
Facebook, Twitter and eBay did not apply
• 32 Australian applicants including:
.melbourne .sydney .afl .nab .cba .amp .anz .seven
.sbs .iinet .yellowpages .auspost .latrobe .monash
.bond .rmit .tennis .woodside .seek

19. New gTLDs
• Objection period and Governmental Early
Warning process
– Australian government lodged 130 warnings, inc.
.sucks and .wtf
• Trademark Clearinghouse
• 108 IDN applications given priority by ICANN
• Other applications batched by lottery
– first cab off the rank is .play (Amazon)

20. New gTLDs
• Top 10 most valuable names according to
Sedo:
1 .shop 6 .one
2 .web 7 .blog
3 .site 8 .eco
4 .music 9 .sport
5 .hotel 10 .love

21. What does it mean for .au?
• Relatively low level of Australian consumer
awareness at present
• Consumer confusion – possibility of scams
• Future challenge in maintaining and
positioning the “.au brand” – security, stability
and integrity
• Possible demand for new .au 2LDs and/or
direct registrations (eg. yourname.au)

22. For more info …
www.auda.org.au
jo.lim@auda.org.au