What is a domain name?

A domain name is the readable address of a website, such as onlytech.solutions. Computers reach each other by numeric IP addresses, which are hard to remember and can change, so the name stands in front of the number. The matching is done by DNS.

How a name is put together

A domain name is made of parts separated by dots, and it is read from right to left. The last part is the top-level domain, such as .com, .org or .au. Some of these are open to anyone and others have rules about who may use them. In front of it is the name you choose. Anything added to the left of that, such as shop.example.com.au, is a subdomain, which you can create yourself once you hold the name.

You rent it, you do not own it

Nobody buys a domain name outright. You pay for the right to use it for one or more years, and you have first claim on renewing it. The company you pay is a registrar. The registrar records your details with the registry, the organisation that keeps the master list for that ending.

Who may register a .au name

Names ending in .au are licensed under rules set by auDA, the .au Domain Administration.

• com.au is for commercial entities with a connection to Australia. Most businesses show this with an active ABN or ACN, and an Australian trade mark also qualifies. The name has to relate to the business: its name or an acronym of it, its trade mark, or something it sells or does.
• .au on its own, such as example.au, is open to anyone with a verified connection to Australia, including citizens, permanent residents and organisations registered here. An ABN is not required, and any available name may be chosen.
• org.au is meant for not-for-profit organisations.

A .au licence runs for one to five years. You have to keep meeting the rules for as long as you hold the name. If the ABN behind a com.au name is cancelled, the business is no longer eligible to hold it.

What happens if it is not renewed

A .au name can be renewed from 90 days before it expires. If it lapses there is a grace period of 30 days, and auDA is plain about that period: the website and the email stop working. After the 30 days the name is removed from the registry, and anyone eligible can register it. For names such as .com, ICANN requires the registrar to send reminders about a month and about a week before the expiry date.

Those reminders go to the contact address on the account. If that address belongs to a former employee, nobody sees them.

What to check this week

• The name is registered in the details of the business. auDA says a third party such as a web developer may register a com.au name for you only with your written permission, and it should be under your details.
• Automatic renewal is on, and the card on the account has not expired.
• More than one person receives the renewal notices, which the Australian Signals Directorate recommends in case someone leaves or changes role.