If you own a .com.au website that isn’t an exact match for your business name, there’s a .com.au rule change coming that you should know about.
Over the past month, Mills IP founder Erhan Karabardak has been speaking to the media about a decision by auDA, the body that runs Australia’s .au domain names. The decision hasn’t yet had much attention, but it could affect a huge number of Australian websites. Erhan’s comments have now appeared in SBS News and in Domain Name Wire, one of the most widely read publications in the global domain name industry.
Here’s a quick look at the coverage, what the change actually is and why it matters.
Where you may have seen us
SBS News, 1 October 2026
SBS journalist Jack Revell spoke to Erhan for a story about the auDA decision and how it could affect millions of Australian websites. Erhan, a former auDA chair, was one of the members of auDA’s advisory panel who voted against the change. He told SBS: “We still don’t understand what the justification was.”
Domain Name Wire, 8 September 2026
Domain Name Wire, run by long-time domain industry writer Andrew Allemann, covered the decision soon after auDA announced it. The article draws on Erhan’s own analysis, which used everyday examples to show the kinds of businesses, schools and community groups that would be caught by the new rules.
Read the Domain Name Wire article
What auDA has decided
In 2025, auDA’s board set up an independent panel to review the rules on who can hold a .au domain name. The panel made ten recommendations, and the board has now approved them in principle.
The biggest change is the removal of what’s called the “close and substantial connection” rule. At the moment, this rule lets you register a .com.au or .net.au domain that is closely connected to what you do, such as a product you sell, a service you offer or an event you run. It doesn’t have to match your business name.
If the rule goes, you would generally need your domain name to match your business name, company name or trade mark.
auDA says the change is meant to strengthen the link between a .com.au domain and the business behind it, and that it should help keep Australians’ trust in .au websites. It has also said the rules aren’t final yet and that it expects most domain holders to meet the new requirements.
What this looks like in real life
Here are the kinds of examples Erhan has used to explain the change:
- A local bakery called Jane’s Bakery that sells pies at applepies.com.au.
- A mortgage broker called John’s Mortgage Broking that uses mortgagebrokersydney.com.au.
- A primary school that sets up a website for its annual fete, such as MPSFete2026.com.au.
Today, all three are fine. Under the proposed rules, each of them may need to register a matching business name or a trade mark to keep or register that domain. Some descriptive names like these would be very hard to get registered as a trade mark, which leaves registering a business name as the main option.
Why we think this matters
The numbers are big. As of July 2026, there were about 3.3 million .com.au domains and 0.2 million .net.au domains. One domain industry business, Trillion, has said its own checks show well over one million domains could be affected, and possibly more than two million.
Erhan’s concerns come down to a few practical points:
- It could double the cost for many businesses. If you need to register a business name just to hold a domain name, that’s an extra fee every year on top of the domain itself. Erhan told SBS this would effectively double the cost of a .com.au or .net.au domain for a lot of people.
- It adds red tape for small players. Schools, charities and small businesses that set up short-term websites for events or campaigns would have extra hoops to jump through.
- It may push people away from .com.au. If .com.au becomes harder to get, some people will simply choose a .com instead, which has fewer rules.
- It may not fix the problem it’s aimed at. The panel was worried about people registering generic domain names to earn advertising income or to sell later. Erhan’s view is that those investors will find ways around the rule, such as registering extra business names, while ordinary businesses end up paying more. He has also pointed out that the panel’s report doesn’t put a number on the harm it says the current rule causes.
Nothing is final yet
This is important. auDA has approved the recommendations in principle, but it still has to prepare an implementation plan and draft the actual rule changes. That plan is meant to take into account the impact on existing domain holders.
So we don’t yet know:
- when the new rules would start
- whether existing domains will be protected under a “grandfathering” arrangement
- how auDA will check that domain holders meet the new rules
We’ll keep watching closely and will share updates as auDA releases more detail.
Want the full detail?
We’ve written a detailed guide on the change, including who is likely to be affected and the steps you can take now. You can read it here: auDA Is Removing the “Close and Substantial Connection” Test: What .com.au and .net.au Owners Need to Know.
Talk to Mills IP about your domain names
Erhan has spent more than a decade involved with auDA, including as a director, deputy chair and chair, and he has run some of the leading domain name cases in Australia, he was also a member of the 2026 Policy Review Panel. Our team also includes Professor John Swinson, who chaired auDA’s 2019 Policy Review Panel and has decided more than 800 domain name disputes as a WIPO arbitrator.
If you’re not sure where your domains stand, or you want a plan in place before the new rules land, we’re happy to help. You can also use our free tool.
Contact Mills IP or call 1300 568 889 for a straightforward chat about your domain names and trade marks.
This article is general information only and isn’t legal advice. The proposed rule changes may change before they are finalised.