As of 20 May 2026, auDA (the body that manages .AU domains) now enforces strict eligibility checks at renewal. If the ABN or ACN linked to your domain is out of date or no longer active, your renewal will be blocked.
What has changed:
- All .AU domains (.com.au, .net.au, .org.au, .id.au, and direct .au) will only renew if the registered ABN or ACN is current and active
- Compliance checks now occur within the 90-day renewal window — not just at registration
- Previously, outdated details were rarely enforced; that is no longer the case
Who is affected:
- Any Australian business with a .AU domain, regardless of how long they have held it
- Businesses that have restructured, rebranded, changed ownership, or whose ABN has lapsed since the domain was registered
What happens if you do nothing:
- Your domain renewal is blocked
- Your website goes offline and business email stops working
- The domain may be deleted — recovery is not guaranteed
What to do now:
- Run a WHOIS lookup at whois.auda.org.au to find the ABN or ACN on your domain record
- Confirm it is still active at abr.business.gov.au
- If details are wrong, contact your domain registrar or IT provider to update them before your next renewal
If you are unsure whether your domain details are current, contact us — we manage domain registrations for a number of our clients and can check on your behalf.