Editing AU (section)

= Release of 2nd level .AU =

Starting from March 24, 2022, registration of domains directly under .au will be available to any business or individual that fulfills the Australian Presence requirements (see https://www.auda.org.au/policy/au-domain-administration-rules-licensing and https://www.auda.org.au/policy/au-domain-administration-rules-au-namespace-implementation for details).

There are no special restrictions or requirements on the string that can be applied for registration under .au (i.e. there is no requirement for the string to match a company name or a trademark*, like it is the case for e.g. com.au).

PLEASE NOTE: only in the case an applicant not based in Australia uses an Australian Trademark to establish their Australian Presence, then the domain applied for must match the Trademark.

== Important information on Availability checks for second level .AU domains ==
During the Priority Registration period that runs until September 20th, the HEXONET API will forward the response from the Registry operator and return the following message when an availability check is performed on a 2nd level domain name:
* If only one of the 3rd level domains is currently registered: ''211 Domain Name not available; Membership contact required''
* If more than one of the 3rd level domains is currently registered (the 2nd level domain is in a contention set): ''211 Domain Name not available; Domain Name reserved by PRIORITY-ACCESS''

Unfortunately, the Registry returns the same code (211) both for domains that are unavailable/already registered and for those that are available but require a priority token in the application. We strongly recommend Resellers not to rely simply on the code received, but parse the entire response to get the accurate status of the domain that is being queried.

== Priority Registrations for Registrants of existing 3rd level .au domains (Grandfathering) ==
In the initial phase of the .au launch, Registrants of existing 3rd level .au domains will have a Priority right to register the corresponding string directly under .au.

During the first 180 days following the launch on March 24th, any string matching an existing 3rd level .au domain will be reserved in the Registry and unavailable for general registration. Only applicants with a Priority right will be able to apply to register the string under .au, using a special authentication token.

AuDA has divided Priority applicants in 2 categories, depending on when their 3rd level .AU domain was registered:

* Priority category 1: 3rd level .AU Names with a creation date on or before February 4, 2018 at 23:59:59 UTC
* Priority category 2: 3rd level .AU Names with a creation date after February 4, 2018 at 23:59:59 UTC and before March 23, 2022 at 23:59:59 UTC.

In those cases where more than one eligible Priority applicant exist, the 2nd level .AU domains will be allocated according to the following criteria:

* Where there are Category 1 and Category 2 applicants, Category 1 applicants have priority over Category 2 applicants.
* Where there are multiple Category 1 applicants, all Category 1 applicants must agree on the allocation. Domains for which an agreement cannot be reached, will remain reserved indefinitely, until a single applicant remains.
* Where there are only Category 2 applicants, the name is allocated to the applicant whose 3rd level .AU domain has the earliest creation date in the .AU registry.

=== Priority Registration Tokens ===
AuDA will make the Priority Registration Tokens available to the Registrars managing the 3rd level domain name. 

This means that the Reseller submitting a priority registration order/pre-order does not need to obtain the Token from the Registrants if the 3rd level domain on which the priority application is based on is managed by HEXONET at the time the application is submitted to AuDA AND is managed by the Reseller that is submitting the application

For pre-orders, this check will take place in the days immediately prior to the launch date of March 24th 2022, in order to account for transfers/deletions of the 3rd level domain used to submit a priority application. Resellers should keep in mind that, while the HEXONET system will accept any pre-orders submitted, any pre-order that does not meet the conditions above will be failed at that point. 

Where the 3rd level domain is currently managed by a different Registrar/Reseller, the Registrant will need to obtain the Token from their current Registrar/Reseller, or directly from AuDA at https://priority.auda.org.au/ .


The registrant will receive a Priority Token and a Priority Contact ID. The 'X-AU-PRIORITY-TOKEN' needs to feature both of these two, joined with a dash:

<Priority Contact ID>-<Priority Token>

Example: m00100000773031-Au2BG3NX%VKc1SWc

=== How to check the Priority status of a 3rd level domain ===
AuDA provides an online tool to allow existing Registrants to check the Priority status of their 3rd level .au domain and whether there are other competing applicants for the same string. After March 24th, the tool will also show whether an application for the matching 2nd level domain has been submitted/withdrawn/declined.

The tool is available at https://www.auda.org.au/tools/priority-status-tool 

=== Using a 3rd level ID.AU domain to claim Priority ===
Please note that due to the more stringent requirements for validation of Natural Persons applying for 2nd level .AU domains, customers using a 3rd level ID.AU domain to claim Priority for the corresponding 2nd level string will also need to complete the validation process of the Registrant handle (see section âValidation of Natural Persons applying to register a .AU domain nameâ below for more information).


=== How to ensure a smooth Priority application experience ===
In order to avoid unnecessary delays or errors, it is recommended that Registrants and Resellers confirm that the Registrant details on the 3rd level .au domain used to claim a priority right on a 2nd level .au domain are correct and up-to-date. If necessary, the Registrant details on the 3rd level domain should be updated before a pre-order for the 2nd level .au domain is submitted.

For details on how to perform this operation, see https://wiki.hexonet.net/wiki/AU#Ownerchange

Please note that once a Priority application has been submitted to AuDA, it will not be possible to transfer or to perform any update to the Registrant details of the 3rd level domain used to claim the priority right until the 2nd level domain has been assigned.

=== When will 2ld.au domains get allocated? ===
Eligible Priority Applicants have to exercise their priority right and actively submit an application within the 6 months of the Priority Application phase. Eligible Priority Applicants can also explicitly renounce their right to apply.

Generally speaking, the allocation of a reserved 2ld.au domain takes place once all eligible Priority Applicants have expressed their intentions.

When there is only one eligible Priority Applicant for a string, the domain name is immediately allocated to that Applicant.

Where there are multiple eligible Priority Applicants for a string, the name is allocated as soon as the contention is resolved.

In the case where there are only multiple Category 2 applicants, if the applicant with the 3rd level domain with the earliest registration date applies, the domain is allocated to them within the following 24 hours and any pending application from other Category 2 applicants is automatically rejected.

Please note that applicants and prospective applicants can also actively withdraw or decline their application on the AuDA portal where priority tokens can be requested.

=== Priority Registrations Timeline ===
[[File:aulaunchtimeline.png]]

== General Availability applications ==
Any string that is not currently registered under one of the existing .au 3rd level extensions or otherwise reserved by the Registry will be available for registrations on a First-Come-First-Served basis from March 24th, 2022.

Any applicant fulfilling the Australian presence requirement can submit a an order for any available .au string.

== Validation of Natural Persons applying to register a .AU domain name ==
AuDA requires all Registrars to validate the details of anyone applying for a .au domain âusing Reliable and Independent Electronic Data or valid identity documentsâ before submitting their application to the Registry systems.

For 3rd level extensions such as com.au that are restricted to Australian businesses, this type of validation is already built into the regular registration workflow, using the ABN/ACN numbers provided in the domain registration command.

As 2nd level .au domains are open also to Natural Persons, HEXONET will need to perform validation of the applicantâs details before submitting their orders to the Registry.

Unlike ABN/ACN numbers lookups, these checks are not free. We are currently working on a separate paid validation service that Resellers can offer to their customers to validate a Contact Handle that can then be used to apply for one or more .au domains.

For full details on the Validation for Natural Persons service, please see https://wiki.hexonet.net/wiki/AUValidation.

== How to submit registration orders ==
'''PLEASE NOTE: After March 24th, regular General Availability registrations should be submitted with the "AddDomain" command. For Grandfathering applications, "AddDomainApplication" must be used until September 20th when the Priority phase ends.'''

Supported periods:
* Priority registration with multiple potential applicants: 1 year
* Priority registration with single applicants: 1-5 years
* General availability registration: 1-5 years


=== Priority Registrations (Grandfathering) ===
To submit a registration order on behalf of a customer with a Priority right, the following additional fields should be included in the AddDomainApplication command:

* CLASS = AU_GRANDFATHERING 
* X-AU-PRIORITY-TOKEN = String (This field is optional when submitting the AddDomainApplication, and it is not required when the 3rd level domain on which the priority right is based is managed by HEXONET and by the Reseller submitting the preorder (see section âPriority Registration Tokensâ for more details). Where the 3rd level domain is managed by a different Registrar/Reseller, this field needs to be populated with the Priority Token provided by AuDA to the Registrant using the ModifyDomainApplication command before March 24th, 2022 in order for the request to be submitted to the Registry.)
* X-AU-GRANDFATHERING-TLD = <com.au|net.au|org.au|asn.au|id.au> (This is the 3rd level extension of the domain on which the priority right is based. For instance, if you are applying for mydomain.au based on mydomain.net.au, you can fill the value ânet.auâ here. It is very important that this field is filled in correctly for domains that are managed by HEXONET and the Reseller, to ensure that we can import the Priority Token correctly. This is required even in case only one 3rd level domain exists matching the string.
Resellers should take extra care in ensuring that the Registrant details of the 3rd level domain are correct and match those submitted in the AddDomainApplication for the 2nd level domain. In case the same Registrant holds the domain in multiple 3rd level extensions, it is the responsibility of the Reseller that the domain with the highest Priority right is entered here.)
* X-AU-IMPORT-TOKEN = <1|0> (optional - Default 1) (When the 3rd level domain is managed by the Reseller through HEXONET, we will automatically import the Priority Token to submit the application to the Registry. If needed, we will also populate any additional X-FLAGS required to submit the order correctly using the data from the corresponding 3rd level .au domain.In case the Reseller does not wish for the token to be imported automatically, this field can be set to 0. In this case, the X-AU-PRIORITY-TOKEN field will need to be filled in with the Priority token obtained from AuDA. In this case, we will obviously not attempt to import the token, even if the domain is with us. Furthermore, we will not attempt to populate any of the other X-FLAGS either. I.e. it is entirely up to the Reseller to ensure all the data is added correctly to the pre-order, including all the relevant X-FLAGS.
If the 3rd level domain is managed by HEXONET but on behalf of a Reseller other than the one submitting the order, this field will be ignored and the token will not be automatically imported even if the field is set to 1.)
* X-AU-REGISTRANT-ID-TYPE and X-AU-REGISTRANT-ID-NUMBER = these 2 fields need to be filled in with the same values used for the 3rd level domain on which the Priority application is based (e.g. if an ABN number was used to register the corresponding com.au domain, then the value ABN and the ABN number need to be added in these 2 fields).

AddDomainApplication command example:
<pre>
command = AddDomainApplication
class = AU_GRANDFATHERING
domain = yourDomain.au
techcontact0 = (contact)
ownercontact0 = (contact)
admincontact0 = (contact)
billingcontact0 = (contact)
period = (INT)
nameserver0 = (nameserver)
nameserver1 = (nameserver) 
X-AU-PRIORITY-TOKEN = (token) 
X-AU-GRANDFATHERING-TLD = <com.au|net.au|org.au|asn.au|id.au>
X-AU-IMPORT-TOKEN = <1|0> 
X-AU-REGISTRANT-ID-TYPE       = (TEXT)
X-AU-REGISTRANT-ID-NUMBER     = (TEXT)
</pre>


The below states (provinces) are valid for the state contact field:
* VIC - Victoria
* NSW - New South Wales
* SA - South Australia
* NT - Northern Territory
* WA - Western Australia
* TAS - Tasmania
* ACT - Australian Capital Territory
* QLD - Queensland
* JBT - Jervis Bay Territory

=== Go Live Registrations ===
To submit a Registrations order on behalf of a customer without a Priority right for a domain that is not reserved by the Registry, the following additional fields should be included in the AddDomain command:

* X-AU-REGISTRANT-ID-TYPE = (TEXT) (When the Registrant is an Australian business, accepted values here are ABN/ACN/TM. When the Registrant is a Natural person, the only accepted value here is âPRIVATEâ)
* X-AU-REGISTRANT-ID-NUMBER = (TEXT) (When the Registrant is an Australian business, this field needs to contain the ABN/ACN number of the Registrant or the TM number on which the application is based, in order to allow us to validate it before submitting the registration request to the Registry. When the Registrant is a Natural person, this field can be left blank as the Registrant validation is handled through a separate validation product (see section âValidation of Natural Persons applying to register a .AU domain nameâ above).

Please remember that in the case an applicant not based in Australia uses an Australian Trademark to establish their Australian Presence, then the domain applied for must match the Trademark.

AddDomain command is as follows:
<pre>
command = AddDomain
domain = yourdomain.au
techcontact0 = (contact)
ownercontact0 = (contact)
admincontact0 = (contact)
billingcontact0 = (contact)
period = (INT)
nameserver0 = (nameserver)
nameserver1 = (nameserver) 
X-AU-REGISTRANT-ID-TYPE       = (TEXT)
X-AU-REGISTRANT-ID-NUMBER     = (TEXT)
</pre>

=== Modifying an existing Priority Order that is in pending status ===
Priority pre-orders that were submitted with incomplete data remain in pending status until the Reseller updates them adding the necessary details. This is typically the case for applications where the 3rd level domain is managed by another Registrar and the Reseller needs to obtain the Priority token from the Registrant.

The extra fields for this command are the same as described above under AddDomainApplication. Additionally, the field âapplicationâ is required and should contain the ID of the application that the Reseller wishes to modify. This information is returned on a successful execution of the AddDomainApplication command or by querying the applications.

ModifyDomainApplication command example:

<pre>
command = ModifyDomainApplication
class = AU_GRANDFATHERING
application = <ID>
X-AU-PRIORITY-TOKEN = <token>
X-AU-IMPORT-TOKEN = <1|0>
</pre>

== Important Information on Billing processes for .AU Priority Preorders ==
Please note that AuDA charges Priority Applications at the time they are submitted. 
In those cases where multiple applicants are eligible for the same string, the Registry will accept - and charge - every application that is submitted successfully. When the contention sets are resolved (see section above for details), the applications of the losing applicants will fail. '''The Registry will not issue any REFUNDS in these cases.'''

If, however, HEXONET is unable to submit a priority application successfully (due to errors in the data provided, or because the applied-for domain is no longer available for registration), the application fee will be refunded to the Reseller's account. These refunds will, however, be processed manually. We appreciate your patience while we handle these cases.

Additionally, please note that to ensure a smooth order processing, '''all pre-orders for .AU domains will be considered final on 20 March 23:59 UTC'''. After this deadline has passed, Resellers can no longer cancel their pre-orders for a full refund. Pre-orders submitted after this date will be finalized and charged right away upon submission. It will still be possible modify them/update them, though, and the general information about billing for pre-orders described above will apply.