Australian companies know the presence rule from the other side: auDA applies one to everyone else. Abroad, the same kind of rule closes most of Europe's restricted domains to a company based only in Australia.
Every restricted domain, for an Australian company
| Domain | For a company based in Australia | Why | Trustees |
|---|---|---|---|
 .de | Directly, with a condition | Open worldwide. A holder abroad must name an authorised recipient in Germany if DENIC asks. | Compare |
 .eu | Trustee or local entity | Needs an EU or EEA establishment. An EU citizen can hold one personally. | Compare |
 .fr | Trustee or local entity | Needs residence or an establishment in the EEA or Switzerland. | Compare |
 .no | Trustee or local entity | Needs a Norwegian organisation number or national ID. No exceptions. | Compare |
 .it | Trustee or local entity | Needs citizenship, residence or a registered office in the EEA, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City or the UK. | Compare |
 .ca | Trustee or local entity | Needs Canadian presence. A registered Canadian trade mark gets you the matching name only. | Compare |
 .au | Register directly | An Australian company, ABN or ACN meets auDA's Australian presence requirement. | Not needed |
 .br | Trustee or local entity | Provisional only: a Brazilian legal representative, and a commitment to establish in Brazil within 12 months. | Compare |
 .cn | Directly, with a condition | Open to foreign applicants with real-name verification. Hosting in China needs an ICP filing. | Compare |
 .jp | Trustee or local entity | Needs a permanent postal address in Japan. | Compare |
 .sg | Directly, with a condition | Open to all, but a foreign applicant must appoint a local agent in Singapore as administrative contact. | Compare |
 .hu | Directly, with a condition | Open to applicants from any country that carry on an activity justifying the name. | Compare |
Expanding into Europe
The European restrictions work like auDA's in reverse. .eu wants an establishment in the EU or EEA. .fr wants the EEA or Switzerland. .it adds the United Kingdom, San Marino and Vatican City. An Australian company qualifies for none of them, and an Australian trade mark counts for nothing outside .au.
Two European domains are open. .de accepts holders from anywhere, with a German contact point needed only if DENIC asks in a dispute. .hu accepts applicants from any country that carry on an activity justifying the name. If Germany is the market, you may not need a trustee at all.
Key point
One entity, three domains
A European passport changes .eu
.eu is the one domain on this list that tests citizenship as well as establishment. A citizen of any EU member state, or of Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway, can hold a .eu wherever they live. A founder with Irish, Italian or Greek citizenship, for example, qualifies personally from Sydney. The domain is then held by that person, not the company, so write down what happens to it if they leave. A British passport no longer counts.
Singapore and Japan
.sg is open to foreign applicants that appoint a local agent in Singapore as administrative contact, and the company stays the holder. .jp requires a permanent postal address in Japan, so a company with no Japanese office uses a local-presence service.
Related
Common questions
Can an Australian company register a .eu domain?
No. It must be established in the EU or EEA. An EEA subsidiary, an EU-citizen founder holding it personally, or a trustee are the options.
Can an Australian company register a .de domain?
Yes. DENIC accepts holders from any country. If DENIC asks, which happens in a dispute, you must name an authorised recipient in Germany within two weeks.
Does an Australian trade mark help with any other domain?
Not on this list. CIRA only accepts Canadian trade marks for .ca, and the European registries have no trade mark route of this kind.
Sources
Last updated September 2026. Registry rules change. If you spot something out of date, email info@trusteeindex.com.