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# auDA plan threatens product and campaign .com.au addresses
- URL: https://www.promptthemarket.com/auda-plans-a-test-up-to-2-7m-com-au-names-could-fail/
- Published: 2026-10-14T02:30:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-14T03:18:30.000Z
- Description: Product-name, campaign, seasonal sale and misspelling domains are exposed: Trillion chief executive David Warmuz estimates more than one million at risk; Optimising founder James Richardson cites up to 2.7 million. No effective date is set; consultation is to come.
- Author: Editor News
- Tags: Marketing, auDA, Small business, Australia, #author-xaviery-malinao, #by Xaviery Malinao

By **Xaviery Malinao** · 2026-10-13

TLDR

auDA's board accepted a recommendation to replace the flexible 'close and substantial connection' test with strict name-matching for .com.au and .net.au holders. Between one million and 2.7 million registered names may not survive the new standard. No implementation dates have been set, leaving time to register a matching business name for $47 a year.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

01auDA's board approved in principle the removal of the broad 'close and substantial connection' test for .com.au eligibility.

02Industry estimates put between one million and 2.7 million of the 3.3 million .com.au names at risk.

03Campaign microsites, product-name domains and misspelling redirects are most exposed because they rarely match a registered business name.

04A matching business name costs about $47 a year, according to Optimising founder James Richardson.

05COSBOA chair Matthew Addison called for grandfathering of existing legitimate domains; auDA has not yet announced how current holders will be treated.

## What the rule change does

Australia's .au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA) accepted a recommendation in August 2026 to delete the provision in its licensing rules that lets registrants demonstrate a connection to a domain through a service, goods, event, activity or premises.[\[1\]](https://www.auda.org.au/news-insights/statements/au-licensing-rules-review-completed-by-external-policy-advisory-panel/?ref=promptthemarket.com) auDA's board issued its formal statement on 6 September 2026.

Under the proposed replacement rules, a .com.au or .net.au domain must match or be an acronym of the registrant's registered name, or their Australian trade mark.[\[1\]](https://www.auda.org.au/news-insights/statements/au-licensing-rules-review-completed-by-external-policy-advisory-panel/?ref=promptthemarket.com) Registered name categories include company, business, statutory, personal, partnership and trust. auDA convened an external Policy Advisory Panel in September 2025 to review the existing test, which had drawn criticism for being broad and difficult to verify.

When the review opened its consultation in April, auDA chief executive Bruce Tonkin said: "auDA periodically arranges a process for the community to review the Rules to ensure they remain effective over time, reflect community expectations, and function for the benefit of Australians," Tonkin said. "Engagement with the community is a core part of reviewing the rules so that people can have their say and help shape the future of the .au domain."[\[5\]](https://www.auda.org.au/news-insights/blog/au-licensing-rules-review-process-progress-and-next-steps/?ref=promptthemarket.com)

## How many domains could be affected

As of July 2026, there were 3,298,387 .com.au names under management.[\[2\]](https://files.auda.org.au/documents/Registry-Monthly-Stats-July-2026.pdf?ref=promptthemarket.com) Industry estimates of affected domains range from more than one million (Trillion chief executive David Warmuz) to 2.7 million (figures cited by Optimising's James Richardson). Against the July register, that is roughly 30 to 82 per cent, Prompt the Market's calculation.

Campaign microsites sit at the sharpest end of that exposure. A domain registered to promote a product line, a seasonal sale or a brand campaign almost never matches the registrant's company or business name. Misspelling redirects carry the same problem: neither a typo variant nor a campaign name appears on an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) business name register or an IP Australia trade mark certificate.

COSBOA chair Matthew Addison has called for existing legitimate domains to be grandfathered wherever appropriate. auDA has not yet announced how current holders will be treated once draft rules are published.[\[3\]](https://www.auda.org.au/public-impact/have-your-say/policy-panels/au-licensing-rules-review-2025/?ref=promptthemarket.com)

## What marketers should do before consultation opens

A matching business name costs about $47 a year, Optimising founder James Richardson estimates, and auDA has not set an effective date for the new rules.[\[1\]](https://www.auda.org.au/news-insights/statements/au-licensing-rules-review-completed-by-external-policy-advisory-panel/?ref=promptthemarket.com) auDA must still draft the proposed changes to the .au Licensing Rules and publish them for public consultation before anything takes effect.

Under the proposal as described, a marketer holding a product-name domain could register a matching business name with ASIC, which would likely satisfy the test, though the final wording could still change. The same logic applies to misspelling redirects: registering the name in the form that appears in the address may be enough, once the final wording is known.

auDA expects most existing .com.au and .net.au holders already meet the proposed criteria.[\[3\]](https://www.auda.org.au/public-impact/have-your-say/policy-panels/au-licensing-rules-review-2025/?ref=promptthemarket.com) The cohort least likely to qualify, campaign domains, vanity URLs and redirect farms, is also the one least likely to have noticed the rules are under review.

SOURCES & CITATIONS

1. [auDA: au Licensing Rules Review completed by external Policy Advisory Panel](https://www.auda.org.au/news-insights/statements/au-licensing-rules-review-completed-by-external-policy-advisory-panel/?ref=promptthemarket.com)
2. [auDA Registry Monthly Stats July 2026](https://files.auda.org.au/documents/Registry-Monthly-Stats-July-2026.pdf?ref=promptthemarket.com)
3. [auDA: au Licensing Rules Review 2025, Have Your Say](https://www.auda.org.au/public-impact/have-your-say/policy-panels/au-licensing-rules-review-2025/?ref=promptthemarket.com)
4. [auDA Final Report Summary of Recommendations](https://files.auda.org.au/documents/au-Licensing-Rules-Review-Final-Report-Summary-of-Recommendations.pdf?ref=promptthemarket.com)
5. [auDA Blog: au Licensing Rules Review, Process, Progress and Next Steps](https://www.auda.org.au/news-insights/blog/au-licensing-rules-review-process-progress-and-next-steps/?ref=promptthemarket.com)
6. [auDA decision could impact millions of .com.au domain registrations, Domain Name Wire](https://domainnamewire.com/2026/09/08/auda-decision-could-impact-millions-of-com-au-domain-registrations/?ref=promptthemarket.com)
7. [Could your business lose its .com.au? SmartCompany](https://www.smartcompany.com.au/business-advice/could-your-business-lose-its-com-au-domain-name-rule-change-sparks-fears/?ref=promptthemarket.com)

[Xaviery Malinao](https://www.promptthemarket.com/xaviery-malinao/)

Xaviery Malinao writes for Prompt the Market on how brands and agencies are adapting to answer engines, drawing on Bushnote's work with clients across search, AI search and content.