Can a foreigner register a .au domain?

The rules below are drawn from the .au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing, published by auDA, and from auDA's Australian Presence guidance and the registrar validation requirements introduced with the 2021 rules.

Who can hold a .au domain

The Australian Presence requirement applies to the registrant, and it must be validated whenever the domain is created, renewed or transferred to a new registrant.

The ways to meet it

• An Australian Business Number (ABN) issued to you.
• An Australian Company Number (ACN) or Australian Registered Body Number.
• An Australian-registered company, incorporated association, or other body corporate.
• An Australian citizen or permanent resident, for a registrant that is a natural person.
• An Australian trademark application or registration with IP Australia, where the domain is an exact match of the words in the mark.

The numbers that bound it

Side by side

The Australian trademark route

A pending application counts, not only a registration, which makes this faster than Canada's equivalent. The constraint is the match rule: the domain must be identical to the word component of the mark, in the same order, with spaces and punctuation removed. A logo mark with no words does not qualify. If the application is later refused or withdrawn, the presence basis disappears and the domain is at risk on the next renewal check.

What the .au Rules say about trustees

The Rules do not authorise or forbid holding a domain for someone else. What they require is that the registrant named on the licence holds the Australian Presence, and that the registration data is true.

The licence sits with the registrant

auDA describes a .au domain as a licence, not property. The licence is held by the registrant of record. A trustee with its own ABN is a valid registrant; you hold contractual rights against the trustee.

Warranties on every eligibility event

Because presence is re-validated at renewal and transfer, the trustee has to keep its ABN active and be willing to re-warrant eligibility each cycle. A trustee that lapses its own registration puts your domain at risk.

Data accuracy and audits

auDA can audit a registrant's eligibility and contact data, and can direct a registrar to suspend or cancel a licence that fails. The trustee must be able to pass that audit.

Transfer and exit

Moving a .au domain to you is a change of registrant, which triggers a fresh Australian Presence check on the incoming registrant.

1. You must hold your own Australian Presence at the point of transfer.
2. The trustee, as outgoing registrant, must approve the change.
3. The domain must be unlocked and outside any post-transfer lock.

How registration works

You apply through an accredited registrar

Registration is registrar-only, first come first served. The registrar validates your presence against the ABR, ASIC or IP Australia at the point of registration, so a wrong or missing identifier fails at checkout rather than later.

The eligibility declaration

You declare the basis of your Australian Presence and warrant it is correct. For the older second-level namespaces such as .com.au there was historically a close-and-substantial-connection test on the domain name itself; the current Rules replaced most of that with the presence and exact-match framework.

Name format

A .au label is 2 to 63 characters using letters, digits and hyphens. Internationalised domain names are not offered. Some names are reserved or restricted by policy.

What the public lookup shows

auDA's Whois redacts registrant contact data for individuals and shows a limited record for organisations, with the registrant name and eligibility type visible. Under a trustee arrangement the trustee's organisation details and ABN appear, as a consequence of the trustee holding the licence.

If you have no Australian presence: two routes

Register an Australian entity

An Australian company or a registered foreign company with an ABN gives you an unrestricted presence basis. It carries ASIC obligations and is the route that makes sense if you are trading in Australia.

Use a trustee

Faster and cheaper up front. The trustee holds the licence against its own ABN and grants you use by contract. Compare providers that cover .au.

Frequently asked questions

Last updated September 2026. auDA is running a policy review with consultations through 2025 and 2026; the trademark and presence rules may change. If you spot something out of date, email [email protected].