Should You Buy the .au Direct Version of Your Domain? A Clear-Eyed Answer

For most established Australian businesses, yes: register the .au direct version of your name, then redirect it to your main website. It’s inexpensive protection against copycats and typos. You don’t need to move your website to it, and you shouldn’t run two copies of the same site. Below is when it’s worth it, when it isn’t, and how to set it up properly.

What is a .au direct domain?

A .au direct domain drops the middle part of the address. Instead of yourbusiness.com.au, it’s simply yourbusiness.au. auDA opened the space on 24 March 2022. Existing .com.au, .net.au and .org.au holders had a six-month priority window to claim their matching name, which closed on 20 September 2022. Unclaimed names were released to the public from 4 October 2022.

The rules are looser than for .com.au. You don’t need an ABN or a name that matches your business. You only need an Australian presence, such as being a citizen, a permanent resident or an Australian-registered organisation.

How many businesses have actually registered one?

Take-up is steady but far from universal. By October 2026 there were 812,392 .au direct names, compared with 3,332,095 .com.au names, according to auDA’s monthly registry figures. In May 2026, .au direct made up 18.4% of all .au names, while .com.au was 74.9%.

In plain terms, most businesses with a .com.au haven’t registered the matching .au. If yours is one of them, someone else may be able to register it.

When is buying the .au direct name worth it?

It’s worth it when losing the name would cost you more than the yearly fee. That’s true if:

• Your brand is established and customers search for it by name.
• You’ve spent money on the name, through signage, vehicles or advertising.
• Your name is distinctive, so a copycat could pass as you.
• You handle payments or personal data, where a look-alike site could be used for phishing.

Phishing is a real risk. Business email compromise made up 15% of cybercrime reports from businesses in 2024-25, according to the ASD’s Annual Cyber Threat Report. Look-alike addresses are a common tool. Owning the obvious variations closes one door. Our page on domain security covers the other settings that protect your name.

When is it a waste of money?

• Short-term or campaign sites you’ll let lapse in a year.
• Very generic names that nobody could pass off as your brand.
• Businesses about to rebrand, where you’d be protecting a name you’re leaving.

If you’re unsure, compare the yearly fee with what one confused customer, or one phishing email sent in your name, would cost you.

Should I move my website to the .au address?

Usually not. Your .com.au has years of links, search history and printed material behind it. Moving to a new address means redirects, new business cards and a temporary dip in search traffic. Only consider it during a full rebrand, when you’re changing everything anyway.

New businesses have a real choice. A short .au name can look modern, but Australian customers still expect .com.au. Many owners register both and lead with .com.au. If you’re weighing up the older endings too, our comparison of .net.au vs .com.au explains the differences.

How do I set up a .au direct name properly?

1. Register the .au in the same account as your .com.au, so renewals stay together.
2. Turn on auto-renew for both names.
3. Add a permanent (301) redirect from the .au to your main address. Your host or registrar can set this in a few minutes.
4. Redirect every page, not just the home page, so yourbusiness.au/contact lands on the right page.
5. Add SSL to the .au address too, or visitors may see a security warning before the redirect.
6. Set up email protection records (SPF, DKIM and DMARC) even if you don’t send email from it. This stops others spoofing it.

A 301 redirect tells search engines the .au is the same business as your main site. Google then treats your .com.au as the one to rank, so your search traffic isn’t split. Duplicated sites on two addresses do the opposite.

What about priority status and people who claimed my name?

The priority window is closed. If someone else claimed your matching .au during it, they may have had a valid earlier right to it. Our guide to .au priority status explains how those claims were decided and what you can still do.

If the name is held in bad faith, for example to sell back to you or to impersonate you, the auDA dispute process (auDRP) may help. auDA reported 16 auDRP disputes in the third quarter of 2025-26, up 45%, in its quarterly report.

Our .au domain names page explains your options, and you can compare every extension we offer on our domains for Australian businesses page.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an ABN to register a .au direct domain?

No. You need an Australian presence, such as Australian citizenship, permanent residency or an Australian-registered organisation. An ABN is one way to show that.

Will a .au redirect hurt my Google rankings?

No. A permanent 301 redirect tells Google the .au belongs to your main site. It’s duplicate copies of your website on two addresses that cause problems.

Is .au better than .com.au for SEO?

Neither has a ranking advantage. Both tell Google you’re an Australian site. Your content, links and reputation matter far more than the ending.

Can I still claim priority for my .au name?

No. The priority window closed on 20 September 2022. Unclaimed names are now first come, first served.

Can I use my .au address for email?

Yes, but most businesses keep one main email domain. If you don’t use the .au for email, add records that tell mail servers not to accept mail from it.

Sources

1. Registry Monthly Stats, October 2026, auDA, November 2026
2. .au Product Guide 2026, auDA, 2026
3. What is the priority allocation process?, auDA
4. Annual Cyber Threat Report 2024-25, Australian Signals Directorate, October 2025
5. auDA 2025-26 Q3 Report, auDA, 2026