After proposed rule changes sparked fears that businesses could lose their .com.au domains, auDA has changed course, moving to protect existing registrations from tighter requirements.
Australian businesses worried about losing their .com.au and .net.au domain names could be off the hook after auDA revised a controversial plan to overhaul its registration rules.
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Existing domain holders would continue operating under the current rules, while only applicants for new domain registrations would face tighter requirements.
As previously reported by SmartCompany, auDA, the independent body overseeing the .au domain, announced the proposed changes on September 6, following an independent review of the rules governing .com.au and .net.au domains.
The original proposal would have scrapped the “close and substantial connection” rule, which allows businesses to register domains linked to their products or services, even if they don’t match their registered business names.
Take, for example, a plumber called Smith Plumbing could have faced trouble renewing a domain such as melbourneplumbing.com.au, while a pizza shop called Tony’s Pizzeria could have risked losing an address like bestpizza.com.au.
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Industry estimates cited by Optimising founder James Richardson suggested between two million and 2.7 million Australian domain names could have been affected under the original proposal.
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Domain fears dialled down
Richardson warned businesses could face additional costs or be forced to change domains, while the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) called for existing registrations to be protected.
In a statement provided to SmartCompany, auDA said its updated proposal would protect existing domain holders from the changes to allocation criteria.
The revised rules will be put to public consultation later this year, before auDA’s board makes a final decision.