When choosing a business name, it's also important to check that an appropriate domain name is available.
In Australia, domain name policy, licensing and accreditation are managed by .au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA). However, auDA do not directly register domain names. This is handled by accredited domain name registrars.
.com.au and .net.au domain names
To protect your online identity, we recommending trying to register <yourtradingname>.com.au. If it is not available you may wish to register an abbreviation of your trading name, add a prefix or a suffix, or include a hyphen (-). You may also wish to consider registering additional domain names that reflect your brands, products, services, venue, events, activities, professions, and/or trademarks.
.com domain names
.com domain names may be registered by any individual or organisation anywhere in the world as they are unrestricted. Therefore, if your preferred domain name is available in the .com domain name space it would be wise to secure it as soon as practicable.
Should I register .com or .com.au?
If you provide products or services to the Australian community then .com.au is better than .com, as it demonstrates that you are an Australian registered trading entity.
However, for brand protection purposes it is recommended that where possible all Australian businesses secure both the .com.au and .com versions of their company and/or trading name at a minimum, together with the names of their major products and services.
Email addresses
It is important to also consider how you would like your email address to look. For example, if you register www.<yourtradingname>.com.au then your email address will be user @ <yourtradingname>.com.au.
Requirements
If you want to purchase an Australian domain name (ie. .com.au or .net.au), you must be a commercial entity and have either an Australian Company Number (ACN) or Australian Business Number (ABN).
If you want to purchase an Australian .org.au domain name, you will need an ABN and Certificate of Incorporation ID.
Please contact us if you would like assistance with domain name registrations.