.au TLD audit hub
Australia second-level TLD — direct registration alongside .com.au, gov.au, edu.au and others.
The .au namespace was historically a third-level structure (com.au, net.au, org.au, gov.au, edu.au, asn.au, id.au) and the registry auDA opened direct second-level .au registrations in 2022 to existing third-level holders, with general availability following later that year. Eligibility is restricted to Australian-presence entities and individuals — Australian citizens, permanent residents, ABN holders, and incorporated entities are eligible, and auDA verifies contact data. There was tension during the launch: many Australian businesses had to navigate pre-emption claims between competing third-level holders for the same name, and the dispute resolution backlog took months to clear. SEO treats both .au and .com.au as Australia-bound geotargeting signals. We pay attention to canonicalization between .com.au and .au on audited Australian brands; many businesses retained both and forgot to consolidate. DNSSEC and registry lock are on parity with major gTLDs.