Latest stats for the Australian namespace

[eBranding.com.au]

I just updated an article with the most recent statistics published by AusRegistry, and I thought that the key stats may be of interest.

.com.au is by far the most commonly used domain extension in Australia. Of the available extensions in the Australian namespace (such as .com.au, .net.au and .org.au), .com.au represents nearly 90% of all domains registered (88% as at the end of November 2017). The second place extension (.net.au) is way behind at less than 10% of total registrations (9% as at the end of November 2017).

For the latest reported period (November 2016 to November 2017), total .com.au registrations increased by 2.7%. Over that same period, total .net.au registrations decreased by 4%.

Over a three year period (November 2015 to November 2017), the figures are even more pronounced. Over that period, .com.au registrations increased by 5.9% and .net.au registrations decreased by 13%.

These statistics show a clear trend – the dominance of .com.au in the Australian market is increasing over time.​

The excerpt above is from the article here: https://www.ebranding.com.au/domain-tips/the-domain-that-your-customers-will-assume-you-own/

 

[snoopy]

Everything that is "second rate" looks to be in decline, .net.au, .id.au, .asn.au and the
CGDNs (community geographic). Only .com.au and .org.au is rising which are the only two that have a clear place.

.com.au may well even go negative if the uncertainty on .au continues and it will have a big fall if it ever comes in in my view.

I think AUDA needs to bring stability back to the market and should be looking at growth through deregulating .com.au.

 

[Scott.L]

Everything that is "second rate" looks to be in decline, .net.au, .id.au, .asn.au and the
CGDNs (community geographic). Only .com.au and .org.au is rising which are the only two that have a clear place.

.com.au may well even go negative if the uncertainty on .au continues and it will have a big fall if it ever comes in in my view.

I think AUDA needs to bring stability back to the market and should be looking at growth through deregulating .com.au.

Yeah, Australia has over 600,000 Not-For-Profit organisations, I'm surprised the number of .org.au registration is only 70,037 - or calculated to approx. 8% of the NFP market with a .org.au domain.

 

[Scott.L]

this is in stark contrast to the number of Private companies registered in Australia = 2,544,599 compared to the number of .com.au registered 2,764,393 (not taking into consideration that NFP have not registered a .com.au)




http://asic.gov.au/regulatory-resou...tistics/2017-company-registration-statistics/

 

[Scott.L]

it appears the statistic for new company registration and new registrations for November confirm that people register domains based on " their commercial or personal idea" and not just based on registering a domain name for the purpose of their new company registration. (personally I think a lot of registrations are related directly with market trends)



https://www.ausregistry.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1711General.pdf

 

[snoopy]

Yeah, Australia has over 600,000 Not-For-Profit organisations, I'm surprised the number of .org.au registration is only 70,037 - or calculated to approx. 8% of the NFP market with a .org.au domain.

In my opinion there is too much red tape in .org.au. I tried to get a .org.au for a non profit club I am involved with (which is unincorporated), was knocked back twice by the registrar (netregistry). I thought it wasn't worth battling over so the organisation ended up getting a .org instead (which took 5 minutes to do).

Was told this by the registrar which I don't think is correct,

To register a .org.au domain name, clients must hold an ABN/ACN/Trademark Number, a Registered State Business number or an Incorporated Association Number. The criteria for registration may be viewed at: http://www.auda.org.au/policies/2012-04/.

 

[Scott.L]

In my opinion there is too much red tape in .org.au. I tried to get a .org.au for a non profit club I am involved with (which is unincorporated), was knocked back twice by the registrar (netregistry). I thought it wasn't worth battling over so the organisation ended up getting a .org instead (which took 5 minutes to do).

Was told this by the registrar which I don't think is correct,

Its not difficult to see that even a mothers club could register a .org.au domain name.

SCHEDULE F
ELIGIBILITY AND ALLOCATION RULES FOR ORG.AU
The org.au 2LD is for non-commercial organisations.
1. To be eligible in the org.au 2LD, registrants must be non-commercial organisations as follows:
d) a sporting or special interest club operating in Australia;

.

 

[snoopy]

Its not difficult to see that even a mothers club could register a .org.au domain name.

SCHEDULE F
ELIGIBILITY AND ALLOCATION RULES FOR ORG.AU
The org.au 2LD is for non-commercial organisations.
1. To be eligible in the org.au 2LD, registrants must be non-commercial organisations as follows:
d) a sporting or special interest club operating in Australia;

.

Yes I believe the registration should clearly have been accepted under that rule. A special interest club will often not have an ABN or ACN and I don't think the policy aligns with what Netregistry has claimed. I think stating the ABN/ACN stuff it is just an easy way for them to accept or reject an application without much work.

After 2 emails it was easier to just get a .org.

 

[Scott.L]

well that's just crazy - there is nothing in SCHEDULE F that relates to their response:



as you say, a special interest group is not always incorporated or required to have an ABN.

• It is not compulsory for a not-for-profit organisation to have an ABN unless it has a goods and services tax (GST) turnover of $150,000 or more (in which case it is required to register for GST, and must have an ABN to do this)

• You are not required to register the name of an unincorporated association unless it 'carries on business' under that name

http://www.nfplaw.org.au/

 

[Scott.L]

i can see how registering a .org was easier than .org.au - the .org requires no effort just a credit card, keyboard and the ability to use an index finger. no wonder the .org.au registration numbers are weak compared to the massive size of its potential market.

 

[ttfan]

should be looking at growth through deregulating .com.au.

I've always wondered why we need to grow the market, who does that benefit?

 

[Lemon]

If your brand is already established, consider acquiring the natural fit domain(s) for your business. You don’t even need to undertake a re-branding exercise; you can simply use redirects from the natural fit domain(s), and you’ll immediately stop the loss of customer traffic.

So what is the problem with .au

 

[eBranding.com.au]

So what is the problem with .au

Ian, it's not appropriate for me to have public debates about the implementation of direct registration, given that I'm now on the Policy Review Panel.

I can only direct you to the public submission that I made (prior to my appointment and with no knowledge that I would later join the Panel): https://www.auda.org.au/assets/Uploads/Luke-Summers-The-Lucky-Country-8-November-2017.pdf

 

[snoopy]

I've always wondered why we need to grow the market, who does that benefit?

AUDA, the registry and registrars. Domainers depending on the situation.

 

[ttfan]

Not really any benefit to the end-user... so why is one of the goals of auda to grow the market?

 

[snoopy]

Not really any benefit to the end-user... so why is one of the goals of auda to grow the market?

That is a good question.

 

[Shane]

I've always wondered why we need to grow the market, who does that benefit?

I imagine it's not so much about growing "the market", but making sure the existing market (i.e. businesses in Australia) are using a com.au domain over the competing extensions.

That's my take on it. Not growth for the sake of growth, but genuine growth.

 

[DomainNames]

Not really any benefit to the end-user... so why is one of the goals of auda to grow the market?

Maybe they where pushed in that direction by past auDA Directors and many supply related companies who would want the extra money and perhap's it looked good to their investors, stock market prices etc?

https://www.ausregistry.com.au/product-innovation-will-produce-the-next-3-million-au-domains/

Evidence shows how Supply and some auDA Directors companies used their market power, databases and power to push the proposed additional competing .au extension for many years.
Even now we have Registrars admitting on the record "it is cash grab" by them.

• Forums posting
  
• Pre populated forms voting for the .au extension which went direct to auDA

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2397630

• https://www.tppwholesale.com.au/blog/vote-yes-opening-au-direct-registrations
• https://www.netregistry.com.au/blog/why-we-should-have-anything-.au/
• https://www.dntrade.com.au/threads/direct-registrations-are-happening.10629/page-14
• https://www.coopermills.com.au/domain-name-investing-changes-au/
  • "While this is a draft report, it is expected that the Panel’s final recommendation will retain the recommendation for allowing registrations at the second level."

www.tppwholesale.com.au%2Fdownload%2Fdirect-rego-pro-forma.docx&usg=AOvVaw2QB_PyV1DRJePdjUQKdONz

Jo Lim, Chief Operations and Policy Officer, auDA
email: jo.lim@auda.org.au
fax: 03 8341 4112

Dear Jo Lim,

I, <insert name>, would like to make the following submission in response to the 2015 Names Policy Panel Issues Paper that was recently published for public review and comment.

1) Direct Registrations in .au

There is clear demand for domain name policy that simplifies the .au space, increases choice for registrants and ensures the continuing relevance of the .au brand in a market flooded by new generic Top Level Domains.

Now is the time to commit to the introduction of registrations in the second level (i.e anything.au). Other markets such as .uk and .nz have successfully enacted this change and provide compelling case studies for us to follow.

There is too much poorly understood policy in the existing open .au domain spaces. New registrations should not be burdened by the same degree of red tape. New registrations in the second level must be open to anybody with an Australian postal address.

The implementation process should be a separate project. It should involve a brief sunrise period to protect the rights of genuine, existing trademark holders. After the sunrise, the space should be opened to the public through a land rush process that allows for domains to be registered on a "first come, first served" basis.

2) Existing 2LD eligibility and allocation policy rules

a) The restriction of license periods to exactly 2 years is an administrative burden which limits choice. It serves no public benefit in a highly competitive market and should be immediately removed to allow for license periods of 1 to 10 years.

b) The principles of "first come, first served" need to be retained. Further, auDA should engage in a process of ongoing public education that reinforces this message.

c) It is confusing to have different domain spaces with identical sets of policy rules (e.g.: .com.au/.net.au and .org.au/.asn.au). This should be used as an opportunity to streamline policy within existing spaces, making it accessible to the wide community of users

The rules for .net.au and .asn.au should be removed so that both become open spaces for all Australians. Restrictions should also be removed from use of id.au.

d) The "close and substantial" rule appears to be working as is.

3) Other 2LD policy rules (reserved list and misspellings)

The existing policies on the reserved names and misspellings are suitable as is. However, domains on the list should be not able to be registered at the Registry. They should show up as unavailable in a domain search.

Sincerely,

<insert name>
<insert position>
<insert company>​

 

[DomainNames]

https://www.dntrade.com.au/threads/latest-stats-for-the-australian-namespace.11701/#post-90261

• 90% of .au registrations are .com.au
• There are millions of equivalent .net .au names available right now for people to register
• Consumers invested in .com.au because auDA ( and many registrars and Ausregistry) "Urged" them to! https://www.dntrade.com.au/threads/auda-urges-australian-businesses-to-back-com-au.11696/#post-90252
• http://www.zdnet.com/article/auda-urges-australian-businesses-to-back-au/
• https://www.ausregistry.com.au/why-buy-a-35000-au-domain-name/

https://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/544097/ausregistry_drops_net_au_pricing_1_month_may/

/ How many registrars passed on and really promoted the $1 .net.au deal?

INNOVATION IS:

• More competitive wholesale pricing. Let Registrars and resellers make more from the pie or allow them to sell at lower prices if they want bundled with other things they may sell such as hosting, ssl etc
  
• FREE COR
• less Red Tape for registrations
• Better promotion of the existing .au namespace by auDA and Supply. How many names are not developed yet or even monetised?.. more than 1 million?
  
• More active support of the domain name name market including accelerators, incubators etc

 

[David Goldstein]

Maybe they where pushed in that direction by past auDA Directors and many supply related companies who would want the extra money and perhap's it looked good to their investors, stock market prices etc?

https://www.ausregistry.com.au/product-innovation-will-produce-the-next-3-million-au-domains/

Evidence shows how Supply and some auDA Directors companies used their market power, databases and power to push the proposed additional competing .au extension for many years.
Even now we have Registrars admitting on the record "it is cash grab" by them.

Oh god. And another shows their ignorance the registrar business by claiming second level domains are a cash grab by registrars. You've obviously never discussed the issues with a registrar. Obviously.