All you need to know about registering a domain name in Australia

Nowadays, it’s rare to find a business without a website — or at least some online presence. You probably know that to have a website, you need a domain name. But what are the rules for registering a domain name in Australia? Can anyone get one, or do you need to live in Australia?

It can be confusing at first, with all the domain name jargon and strict governance around domains.

But don't worry, this article will tackle your questions regarding registering domain names in Australia.

What is a domain name? Is it the same thing as a website?

A domain name is the address people type into their browser to visit a website. They’re unique, only one person or business can use a particular domain at a time.

An example of a domain name is gumtree.com.au.

Domains are also used in email addresses (for example, contact@yourbusiness.com.au), making them essential for both your web presence and business communications.

For a deeper dive into how domain names work, including their components and the difference between a domain and a URL, read our complete guide to what a domain name is.

What characters can I use in a domain name?

When choosing a domain name, you need to follow specific character requirements:

Allowed characters:

Letters: A-Z (English alphabet).
Numbers: 0-9.
Hyphens: Can be used within the domain name (e.g., 24-7.com.au), but are not recommended, because they can confuse internet searchers.

Important restrictions:

Domain names cannot start or end with a hyphen.
Two hyphens cannot appear consecutively in the domain.
Spaces are not allowed.
Special characters (!, $, @, %, &, etc.) cannot be used.
Domain names are not case-sensitive — MyBusiness.com.au and mybusiness.com.au are treated as identical.

These rules apply to both Australian (.au) and international domain names, ensuring consistency across the global domain name system.

Should my domain name and business name match?

The main difference between a business and a domain name is that:

A business name is used for branding and legal identification purposes.
A domain name is a digital website address.

It’s always a good idea to have the domain name match the business name — if for no other reason than it cuts down on confusion. However, the domain doesn't have to match the business name exactly if you don’t want it to and can be an unrelated variation.

A business might have a web address that is different from its business name because:

The domain name that matches their business name is registered to someone else.
The business is a subsidiary of a parent company with a different name.

For example, Alphabet is Google’s parent company. But Google uses google.com for its website address.

Or sometimes, a business will register a special domain name as part of a marketing campaign, such as boxingdaysale.com.au.

Strategic benefits of registering multiple domains

Because anyone — including your competitors or members of the public — can easily purchase domain names, it’s strongly recommended to get a domain name that contains your company name.

But beyond this, registering more than one domain name can be a strategic move for your business for the following reasons:

Brand protection: Prevent competitors or cybersquatters from registering similar domain names that could confuse your customers.
Targeted marketing campaigns: Use specific domain names for different products, services, or marketing initiatives.
Customer segmentation: Create separate domains for different customer groups or geographic markets.
Multiple entry points: Provide various doorways to your digital presence, making it easier for different audiences to find you.
Defensive registration: Secure common misspellings and variations before others can exploit them.

For Australian businesses, it’s beneficial to secure both .com.au and .au versions of your domain name. Here’s why:

Customer convenience — Some customers will type .com.au (the familiar extension), while others may use .au (the newer, shorter version).
Maximum visibility — Ensures you're found regardless of which extension people remember.
Marketing flexibility — You can use .au for modern campaigns while maintaining .com.au for an established presence.

Of course, having two or more domains doesn’t mean having two or more websites. You can set up one domain to redirect to the other, ensuring all traffic reaches your primary website. Most businesses choose .com.au as their primary domain due to its established nature.

Alternatively, if you have a product or service that you want to promote more than others, it might be worth giving it some TLC and registering its own domain name.

For example, eCommerce giant Amazon does that with Kindle. The domain kindle.store redirects to the Kindle product page on Amazon’s home website. This is a savvy strategy, designed to capture all those people who are typing “buy kindle” into their web browsers.

Related: How to name a business

How can I buy a domain name in Australia?

As mentioned earlier, .au is the country code domain name reserved for Australia.

The .au Domain Administration (auDA) sets and administers the rules for domain names that end in the .au country code. This includes .com.au, .net.au and .org.au.

You can only purchase an .au domain name in Australia if you live or do business here.

GoDaddy is a leading registrar authorised to sell domain names in Australia. This means GoDaddy is authorised by auDA to provide services to business owners who want to:

Register a new .au domain name
Renew an existing .au domain name
Make changes to their .au domain name record (DNS)

GoDaddy can help you easily transfer your domain from other registrars to handle all the aspects of your business from just one place.

Domain registration does NOT provide trademark protection

This is one of the most important things to understand about domain names:

Registering a domain name doesn't give you any intellectual property (IP) protection for that name. It only means you own that specific website address.

What this means for your business:

You’ll need to register your business name first through the appropriate government channels.
Consider trademark protection for your business name and brand.
Conduct a trademark search before finalising your domain name choice.
Understand the risk: If you use a business name or domain name that someone else has trademarked, you could face legal action — even if you legitimately own and registered the domain name.

For example, if you register "bestcoffee.com.au" but another company has trademarked "Best Coffee" for use in the coffee industry, they could force you to stop using the domain and potentially sue for damages.

Always check the IP Australia trademark database before committing to a domain name to avoid costly legal issues down the track.

Can you use a language other than English for domains?

Yes. These are called Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) and they are displayed in their native language script or alphabet — for example, the Arabic alphabet or a non-alphabetic writing system such as Chinese characters.

An IDN is a good choice for any website aimed at a population that speaks a language other than English.

The importance of choosing the right domain name

Just like picking the right name for your baby, pet or business, choosing the right domain name for your website is essential. After all, if your business succeeds, you’ll be sharing this name — on the phone and in face-to-face conversations — for years to come.

A good domain name will speak to what people want and stick in their heads.

An unsuitable domain name, or one that infringes on someone else’s copyright, can damage your business and turn off prospective customers.

An easy-to-remember domain name can help your customers recognise your product or make a connection between your business name and your products.

Another tip when picking a domain name is to avoid hyphens and numbers. No one remembers where to put hyphens correctly. With numbers, they can be numerical or spelt out, which can be confusing.

The last thing you want is to confuse potential customers.

When your customers think of your business, you want them to remember your web address instantly. Don’t make them think too hard.

Find more pro tips on picking the right domain name here.

The right domain name may boost your search rankings

Brightly coloured wooden letters — Photo: Ryan Wallace on Unsplash

A bonus benefit of picking the right domain name is that it can be good for your search rankings.

Search engines like Google look for keywords to decide what each page of your website is about. The words on your website provide search engines with an idea about what your business does.

Why does Google do this? Because they want to serve up the web content that most closely matches the searcher’s query.

Savvy business owners research the keywords that people are typing into their browsers when looking for their products or services, then weave those words into the text on each page.

Pro tip: Including a keyword in your domain name could give you an advantage in being found.

An example of this is hobartHVACrepair.com.

This domain name has the advantage of containing a popular keyword (HVAC repair) and a service location. If you lived in Hobart and needed AC repair, those are the very words you would likely type in to Google for help.

It has never been so important to optimise website content for search. This is because of Google’s AI Overviews - AI generated answers to search queries that appear above traditional search results.

Whilst historically, the top three organic results on Google’s search pages captured the majority of clicks, Google’s AI Overviews now take these top spots. Optimising content can help get your business cited as a source in these AI answers.

Types of domain name extensions

We’ve covered the fact that Australian businesses might want to buy a .com.au and .au domain for themselves, now we’ll look in more depth at how these two types of domains fit into the broader ecosystem of domain names.

Here are the main categories of domain extensions:

Original Top-Level Domains (TLDs)

These domain extensions are the highest in the Domain Name System hierarchy and have been around the longest. Some examples of

TLDs include:

.com: short for commercial, .com is still the most popular domain extension in the world.
net: short for network, this extension is often used by internet service providers (ISPs).
org: short for organisation, .org is linked to charities, wikis or not-for-profit groups. However, the .org extension is also available to businesses and can be registered by anyone, including Australians. It remains commonly associated with charities, wikis, and not-for-profit groups.

While the three extensions above are the most common, there are over 1,000 possible TLDs.

Country code Top-Level Domains (ccTLD)

This is where .au fits in. Two-letter domains were established and assigned to each country and .au is Australia’s domain name extension.

The intention of ccTLDs is to be used by the country’s residents. However, some countries, such as Colombia (.co), Montenegro (.me), and Anguilla (.ai), have let people from outside the country register domain names using their country code.

There are also city-related domainses available for purchase, like .sydney and .melbourne.

Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD)

Generic top-level domains serve as a category in top-level domains. There are hundreds of gTLDs in use, including:

Graphic showing extensions available for domain investing

Understanding the .au namespace structure

As well as .com.au and .au, there are some other au-related domains, here’s how they all sync with each other:

.com.au — For commercial entities and businesses operating in Australia. A must for all Australian businesses. The most familiar of this family of domains.
.org.au — For non-profit organisations, charities, and community groups (must meet specific eligibility criteria).
.net.au — Originally for network infrastructure providers, now used across various industries.
.au — The newer, shorter extension available to anyone with an Australian presence.
.gov.au — Restricted to Australian government entities.
.edu.au — Restricted to Australian educational institutions.

Each namespace has its own eligibility requirements and rules governing registration and use. Understanding these distinctions will help you choose the most appropriate domain extension for your organisation type and ensure you meet the necessary requirements for registration.

How much does it cost to register a domain name in Australia?

Like houses, domain names vary in price. You can expect to pay between AU$0.05 and $20 annually for a domain name, depending on a variety of factors.

Premium domain names — those that are more valuable because of length, domain extension or domain authority — can cost much more.

What if the domain I want is taken?

If the .com.au or .au domain name you want has already been registered, don’t fret. You can check the domain owner's details using our WHOIS tool and then ask if they're open to selling their domain name.

What happens after domain registration?

Once you complete your domain registration, the process is typically instant. Your domain name is immediately registered and protected in your name. After registration is complete, you can:

Build your website: Start creating your online presence with website builders or hosting services.
Set up email addresses: Create professional email addresses using your domain name (e.g., contact@yourbusiness.com.au ).
Configure domain forwarding: Redirect your domain to an existing website or social media page.

Ready to register your Australian domain?

Whilst a little bit of care needs to be put into coming up with the perfect domain name, from selecting the words infront of the dot and picking the best TLDs for your business, to ensuring you’re not infringing on anyone else’s copyright, the registration part is simple.

Buying a domain name can be affordable and once you have it, your perfect match will become a key part of your business’s success, contributing to branding and communications, attracting customers, and securing sales and commissions.

It all starts with a simple search. Just type the domain you have your heart set on into a domain search tool, and you’ll be on your way to securing the right domain for you in seconds.