AusRegistry releases Information Paper on Drop Catching

November 7th 2011

On the 5th of September 2011, the policy authority and industry self-regulatory body for the .au domain space, auDA (the .au Domain Administration) approved the recommendations put forward by the Secondary Market Working Group, a group of industry and consumer representatives specifically brought together by auDA to:

• examine the operation of the .au secondary market and identify any points of market failure; and
• provide advice and recommendations to auDA on any actions that should be taken to address any identified market failures.

The recommendations document produced by the Secondary Market Working Group outlines a number of consumer and industry issues providing recommendations on how each should be addressed. This document is available to view at: http://www.auda.org.au/pdf/smwg-final-report.pdf

One of the industry Issues identified in the document (2. Industry Issues, C. Registrar competition) refers to the possible barrier to entry that Drop Catching represents to smaller sized Registrars who do not have the technical proficiency nor means to develop the technical proficiency which would allow them to compete in this market.

As the Registry Operator, AusRegistry is contractually obligated to treat all Registrars equally, and because Drop Catching falls outside the scope of standard Registry practice, it cannot provide individual assistance to Registrars on the intricacies of Drop Catching.

Therefore in the interests of transparency the Secondary Market Working Group recommended that AusRegistry publish a paper for Registrars that provides general information about the practice of drop catching, including specific sections of the Registry Usage Policy that are particularly relevant to drop catching, and the penalties for breach.

It was later concluded that the paper would also serve as an educational piece for Registrants, the internet community and the general public.

It was later concluded that the paper would also serve as an educational piece for Registrants, the internet community and the general public. The Drop Catching paper can be viewed at AR-Drop Catching - Information Paper.pdf

About AusRegistry

AusRegistry is located in Melbourne, Australia. It is the current Registry Operator and wholesale provider for all commercial domain names including .com.au and .net.au and non-commercial domain names, .gov.au and .edu.au. AusRegistry was first awarded the tender in 2002 and holds a Registry License Agreement with the .au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA).

Media Contact:

George Pongas
General Manager Client Services
AusRegistry Pty Ltd
Ph: +61-3-9866-3710
Fax: +61-3-9866-1970
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.ausregistry.com.au

Tucows becomes latest .au Registrar

Melbourne, Victoria. 29th September, 2010.
AusRegistry Pty Ltd, the Australian .au Domain Name Registry Operator today announced that Tucows (Australia) Pty Limited has finalised their .au Registrar accreditation process and is now able to offer .com.au ,net.au, .org.au, .asn.au, and .id.au Domain Names to their customers.

Tucows (Australia) is part of the Canadian based Tucows Inc. group who are the third largest Registrar in the world through their 'OpenSRS' and 'Hover' brands.

"Tucows and their associated brands are amongst the biggest and most widely respected in the online industry. We are extremely excited to have them on board and look forward to working with them for many years to come" said AusRegistry CEO, Adrian Kinderis.

"Tucows decision to get involved with the Australian Domain Name Industry and to become an Accredited .au Registrar is testament to the strength of the .au brand which has enjoyed very healthy growth over recent years despite the global economic downturn. This is an achievement that clearly makes .au an attractive option for leading Registrars such as Tucows and their many customers across the globe" continued Kinderis.

"We're pleased to be bringing the ability to sell .au domains to our more than ten thousand resellers around the world," said Ken Schafer, EVP Products, Tucows. "Adding .au domains to the ever-growing list of TLDs we offer further demonstrates our commitment to give OpenSRS Resellers products and services that allow them to stand out from the competition."

There has been a steady increase in the number of new .au Registrars since the .au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA), the policy authority and industry self-regulatory body for the .au domain space, re-opened the .au namespace for new Registrar applications in mid 2009. Many of the newly Accredited Registrars have been local organisations, however there is an increasing level of interest from global Registrars as evidenced with this recent accreditation of Tucows.

About AusRegistry
AusRegistry is located in Melbourne, Australia and is the current Registry Operator and wholesale provider for all commercial domain names including .com.au and .net.au and non-commercial domain names, .gov.au and .edu.au.

AusRegistry was first awarded the .au tender in 2002 and holds an exclusive Registry Licence Agreement with the regulatory body, .au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA). This license was recently extended by auDA for AusRegistry to provide Registry Services until 2014 due to the ongoing superior technical and administrative management of the namespace.

Media Contact:
George Pongas
.au Services Manager
AusRegistry Pty Ltd
Ph: +61 3 9866 3710
Fax: +61 3 9866 1970
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web: www.ausregistry.com.au

Australia's .au Internet domain celebrates 2 million registrations

March 8th 2011
Australia's Internet community celebrated a significant milestone last night with the registration of the two millionth .au domain name.

.au Domain Administration (auDA), the non-profit manager of the .au space, and AusRegistry, the registry operator for designated second level domains, congratulate all .au domain name registrants for contributing to this special achievement.

The milestone follows strong growth in registrations over the past 10 years and places .au in the top 10 largest country codes in the world. This is a testament to the strength and stability of the namespace and its value to the Australian community.

Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Senator Stephen Conroy said today's milestone was further evidence of Australia's growing digital economy. "The digital economy is the future and I'm pleased to see more Australians getting an online presence," said Senator Conroy. "The Internet offers incredible opportunities to businesses, organisations and individuals and the continued growth of the .au domain shows how much Australians are embracing the online world in almost all aspects of their lives."

"I congratulate the team at auDA and AusRegistry and look forward to this successful domain expanding further."

The Hon Tony Staley, auDA Board Chair, recognised the milestone as an opportunity to promote the .au namespace as a vital national resource.

".au is Australia's home on the Internet. It's a trusted, well-recognised space for all Australian businesses, organisations and individuals. .au's consistent growth, meaningful stakeholder engagement and sound policy framework are a ringing endorsement of the industry self-regulatory model under which we operate," Mr Staley said.

Chris Disspain, CEO of auDA, said all Australians should be proud of the strong online community we have created through .au.

"There were only about 275,000 .au domains registered when auDA introduced a new competition model in 2002. Now we are celebrating two million registrations and this wouldn't have been possible without the policy reforms and marketing activities auDA have implemented, or without the technical and operational expertise AusRegistry has brought to the industry", Mr Disspain said.

AusRegistry's CEO Adrian Kinderis said .au is one of the most widely used country code domains in the world.

"The .au domain has the highest penetration rate in the world for regulated namespaces with restricted eligibility when you take into account our population. The .au domain has become part of the fabric of doing business in Australia. We have seen continual strong growth in the namespace despite the global financial crisis and other market factors. .au is Australia's domain namespace of choice and the only place to show that you are a trusted Australian", Mr Kinderis said.

About auDA

.au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA) is an Australian non-profit company vested with the responsibility of operating the .au domain under an industry self-regulatory model, for the benefit of all stakeholders. In its role as manager of the .au domain, auDA carries out the following functions:

• develop and implement domain name policy

About AusRegistry

AusRegistry is located in Melbourne, Australia. It is the current Registry Operator and wholesale provider for all commercial domain names including .com.au and .net.au and non-commercial domain names, .gov.au and .edu.au. AusRegistry was first awarded the tender in 2002 and holds a Registry License Agreement with the .au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA).

Media Contact:
Michael Korjen
Public Relations Coordinator
AusRegistry International Pty Ltd
Ph: +61-3-9866-3710
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For more information about AusRegistry please visit: www.ausregistry.com

Paul Szyndler
General Manager, Public Affairs
Ph: 0402250389
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

VentraIP becomes the 33rd .au Accredited Registrar

AusRegistry would like to congratulate and welcome VentraIP to the ever growing group of .au Accredited Registrars. VentraIP is the 33rd auDA accredited Registrar. After twelve months of very hard work growing and further establishing their business, the VentraIP Team are all very excited about their recent .au Accreditation.