Choosing and registering your domain name in Australia

Domain Names

The major benefit of having your own domain name is independence. You can move your web site from one computer or hosting service to another without having to change your web site or email addresses. It is also possible to have more than one domain name pointing to the same web site.

Choosing a domain name

Many people will find your web site by following links from other pages or search engines. When this happens, the domain name is not very important. However...

Your choice of domain name will be important when:

printed on your business card or press advertisements - will it fit and be easier to read?
spoken on the telephone - Try it. Is it easy to say clearly? How does it sound?
typed into a web browser - Try it to see if it is easy to type or if it encourages typos. The longer the domain name the more chance of typing mistakes
used to restrict a search (e.g. searching for Australian sites on search engines)

Rules regarding .com.au domain names (summary only)
New guidelines that took effect July 2002 are available here

at least 2 characters long
up to 26 characters including the .com.au
only alphanumeric characters (i.e. a-z, A-Z, 0-9) and hyphens
must not start or finish with a hyphen
is usually derived from the legal name of the commercial entity.
must not be an Australian place name with a postcode

Domain names are not case-sensitive

brisbanecitylife.com.au = BrisbaneCityLife.com.au = BRISBANECITYLIFE.COM.AU

Q. What about a subdomain?
A. A subdomain eg yourname.theirname.com.au belongs to theirname.com.au

Go to Melbourne IT to see if your name is available now Try names of your choice on the form. If the one you want is available, you can continue and register the domain at the standard price.

Registering your domain name

There are strict policies surrounding registration of .com.au domain names. You must be an Australian commercial entity (ie. Company, Registered business, Associations etc.) The domain name must be directly derived from the business name or business activity. Domain name owners should be cautious of unsolicited or misleading letters and faxes seeking payment for registering or renewing domain names.

Melbourne IT (was Internet Names Australia) You can check and/or register your .au and other domains.

Brisbane Business

Getting your domain name

Domain Names

Choosing a domain name

Registering your domain name