AUDA, .au Domain Administration, founded in 1999, is a self-regulatory body and policy authority in-charge of .au domain space.
This professional body controls the use of the suffix .au. in web addresses and received the Australian government’s and ICANN’s endorsement in 2000 and 2001 respectively to do so. The approval empowered it to control and manage all .au zone files.
As such, this body has the responsibility of ensuring that these files are up-to-date, accurate, and continuously available.
But you might be wondering, what else does AUDA do? Here, we explore the functions and roles of AUDA and why this regulatory body is so essential to Australia’s online space.
AUDA Licenses Second-Level Domain Registry Operators
If you are not new to the world of the internet, you probably understand various domain levels. Domain names come in two categories:
- Top-level domain names
- Second-level domain names
Second-level domains are domain names with another name after the TLDs. com.au is an excellent example of a second-level domain.
A registry operator is an organisation that is in charge of issuing specific domain extensions. In Australia, AUDA issues licenses to registry operators who are seeking to operate second-level domains on .au. for instance, Afilias got a permit from AUDA to manage second-level domains such as org.au, com.au, net.au, id.au and geographic domain 2LDs such as nsw.au, act.au, nt.au, vic.au, and other Australian territory and state domains.
AUDA Develops and Implements Domain Policies
The next role AUDA has is in developing policies that govern the usage of domains.
One of these policies requires registrants to use exact or close-to-exact names. This regulatory body also has a system in place that prohibits the registration of illicit domain names to ensure that no one can come up with a modification of your domain name.
Through this approach, AUDA reduced the undesirable cases of cybersquatting in the Australian domain space and is continually developing new domain policies to ensure that sanity prevails in the DNS system.
AUDA Maintains Domain Name Systems(DNS) Security
Security is a crucial aspect of the domain name system (DNS).
With the current rising rate of cybercrimes, insecure DNS can be a suitable habitat for phishing, hacking, and other criminal activities. Cybercriminals can use your domain name to hack your website and steal essential customer or other sensitive data.
For this reason, AUDA works to maintain the domain name system by ensuring that the information stored is up to date, accurate, and secure. Also, they provide that system software and tools are updated to eliminate any gaps, which criminals can exploit to access domain names and the data stored in them.
AUDA Licenses and Accredits Domain Registrars
When registering a ‘.au.’ domain name, you do not do it directly with AUDA.
Instead, you register it through licensed domain registrars, who act as agents of AUDA, as they have direct access to the .au registry.
If you want to register your domain name, ensure that you are working with an accredited registrar. You can find a list of the accredited domain registrars of ‘.au.’ domain names on the AUDA website.
AUDA Assists in Resolving .Au. Disputes
Like in other areas, disputes and complaints arise, and it’s no different in the domain registration space.
AUDA is responsible for resolving domain-name-related disputes and reducing the chances of fraud in this industry. The authority addresses two types of conflicts:
Domain Complaints
These are disputes connected to domain names and involve issues related to registrant eligibility. For instance, you might try to register a prohibited name or fail to meet the ‘close and substantial connection’ requirement, which AUDA will decide on before you can use that given name.
Industrial Complaints
These complaints involve a domain registrar and a reseller. The claims can arise when either party fails to honour the agreement or if there’s a breach of the AUDA terms and conditions. In such cases, this authority will try to resolve the disputes or take legal action where necessary.
Final Thoughts
We hope this information has given you a clearer picture of what AUDA is and what its roles in the Australian online space are.
If you have an issue with your domain name registration or need help in registering a domain name, do not hesitate to reach out to us for more information. At ClickBurst SEO, we are always ready to offer support in your online journey to ensure you achieve success in the online space.
