Today the auDA Board decided to accept the recommendation of the 2015 Names Policy Panel to introduce direct registrations in .au – for example, “yourbusiness.au”.
The Board agreed with the majority views expressed in the Panel’s final report, that the introduction of direct registrations would:
- make available domain names which are shorter, more appealing and more memorable
- give Australians more choice is deciding what domain name to register
- respond to market demand
- be more attractive to natural individuals than the current option, id.au
- strengthen the “.au brand” in a globally competitive market
- add value to all three main categories of users – registrars and resellers, registrants and ultimate users of the .au domain name system.
auDA will now undertake a comprehensive policy development process and further stakeholder consultations to determine the best approach for implementing direct registrations in .au, including taking into account the impact on existing registrants, in a manner that is consistent with the .au policy and regulatory framework, and that maintains the overall stability and integrity of the .au DNS.
auDA will make further announcements during the year as the implementation work progresses.
The Board acknowledged the hard work and commitment shown by Panel Chair Derek Whitehead and all members of the Panel over a 10 month policy review process.
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