Quick heads up if you hold a .com.au or .net.au domain: there’s a change in the pipeline, and while nothing’s enforceable yet, it’s worth knowing about before it lands on your desk as a compliance notice. In August 2026, the auDA Board gave in-principle approval to a set of recommendations that would tighten who actually qualifies to register these names. Management has now been told to draft an Implementation Plan.

How we got here

Nothing about this came out of nowhere, for what it’s worth. auDA brought in an independent Policy Advisory Panel back in September 2025 to properly stress-test whether the existing licensing rules still held up. And the review wasn’t rushed. Phase one, September 2025 through March 2026, dug into the underlying issues. Then phase two ran June to July 2026, putting an actual Draft Report in front of the public for feedback. The Panel handed in its Final Report after that, and the Board’s in-principle sign-off is really just the starting gun for turning those recommendations into real rules.

So what’s actually changing

Here’s the bit that matters most, so let’s get straight to it. Right now you can register a .com.au or .net.au domain simply because it matches a product name, a service, an event or even business premises. That’s the loophole getting closed. Going forward, there would only be two legitimate paths: the domain matches your own registered business name, or it matches an Australian trademark exactly, no wiggle room.

I’d be doing you a disservice if I didn’t flag exactly where this stands right now, though, because it’s easy to read “Board approved” and assume it’s done. It isn’t. auDA still has to write the actual Implementation Plan, put together the rule wording, and, if this review is any guide, probably open things up for one more round of public consultation before any of it actually bites. There’s no effective date sitting anywhere yet.

Also, don’t confuse this with a separate thing that’s already very much live. Since May 20, 2026, registrars have been checking that the ABN or ACN backing a .com.au/.net.au domain is genuinely active before letting a renewal through. That part’s happening right now. The trademark-matching piece isn’t, not yet anyway.

Why this isn’t just an Australia story

If you’re reading this from outside Australia and your instinct is to scroll past, hang on a second, because this actually plugs into something bigger. Back in 2021, auDA already shut down the option for foreign entities to lean purely on an Australian trademark application to snag a .com.au or .net.au name; they had to match it exactly even then. This latest move just widens that same principle. It closes off a loophole that let basically anyone, local or foreign, justify holding a domain by pointing at a product or an activity rather than at a real, checkable identity standing behind it.

If you follow ccTLD policy generally, you’ll recognize the shape of this. Registries keep tightening the thread between a domain and the actual accountable entity behind it, mostly because loosely-justified registrations are exactly what makes abuse and impersonation such a pain to police.

What to actually do about it

Nothing here is forcing anyone’s hand today. But the direction is obvious enough that sitting on your hands isn’t really the smart play.

Start by looking at what basis your current .com.au/.net.au domains actually rely on, particularly any that lean on a product or activity match instead of a registered name or trademark. If a domain looks exposed once the new rule lands, it might be worth registering an exact-match Australian trademark. Fair warning though, IP Australia moves in months, not days. Don’t wait until the week before your renewal to start that process. And just keep half an eye on auDA’s announcements, they’ve said updates on timing and transition arrangements are coming over the next few months.

There’s probably a real gap between an in-principle Board decision and an actual enforceable rule; sometimes that gap runs longer than people expect. But if your current .au strategy depends on the looser pathway that exists today, the direction has been set. Better to check now than get caught flat-footed by a compliance email later