Board Minutes - 11 October 2004
Public Version
Meeting of the .au Domain Administration Board
11 October 2004 - 10.00am
.au Domain Administration Limited, 107 Faraday Street. Carlton VIC 3053
Present:
Larry Bloch, Greg Crew, Chris Disspain, Kim Heitman, Jo Lim, Josh Rowe, Peter Shilling, Tony Staley
Teleconference:
Cheryl Langdon-Orr
Observers:
John Higgins (Hayes Knight), Lindsay Barton (DCITA), Derek Whitehead and David Thompson
Apologies:
Kim Davies, Ric da Paz, Peter Nissen and Greg Watson
1. Continuous Disclosure
There were no matters to be disclosed.
2. Confirmation of Minutes
The minutes of the August 2004 meeting were confirmed.
3. Name Policy Review Panel
DW gave a progress report. The Panel has recently completed its second consultation and will consider the outcomes on 13 October. There has not been much public response to the Panel's reports to date, indicating that there is a no real impetus for policy change at this time. The Panel's draft recommendations to the auDA Board address the following issues:
eligibility criteria for asn.au and org.au
domain name licence periods
non-Australian registrants
domain names that match TLDs
policy rules for id.au
allocation criteria categories.
4. Finance Report
Motion (proposed KH, seconded GC): That the board approve the 2003-2004 audited accounts. Carried.
The board noted the September accounts, previously approved by the finance committee.
The board noted that there will be a 6 month review of the auDA Domain Name Fee in February 2005.
5. CEO Report
The following issues were noted:
AusRegistry reporting
auDA and AusRegistry have met with individual registrars to discuss their particular concerns. AusRegistry has recently implemented some improvements to registry-registrar communications, which have been well received by registrars.
eq.edu.au
auDA recently met with Education Queensland, AICTEC and DEST. All parties are working on a compromise solution to the problem.
Membership
Action: CEO to circulate the list of new members for approval on the board mail list.
6. Independent Directors' Remuneration
TS and GC left the room for this discussion.
The board noted that there has not been an increase in independent directors remuneration since 2002. The recommended increase from $45,000 to $60,000 was considered to be commensurate with non-executive directors' fees in other non-profit organisations.
Motion (proposed JR, seconded LB): That: (1) the term of the independent directors be extended for a further 12 months; and (2) the rate of remuneration for independent directors be increased to $60,000. Carried.
7. CEO Contract
CD and JL left the room for this discussion.
The board approved the CEO's contract.
8. AGM 2004
The board noted that there will be an ordinary resolution at the AGM to appoint Ken Wright as auditor as replacement for Ron Meagher who is retiring from Meagher Howard Wright.
auDA has received 2 nominations for director in each class, meaning that there will be an election in demand class only. The board agreed that there is a need to boost membership during 2005, especially in representative association class. The purpose of the representative association class is to provide a balance between supply and demand, and also to give auDA access to expertise in other industries.
9. auDA Foundation
The CEO advised that the auDA Foundation will open for submissions in early 2005. The Foundation's application for deductible gift status is still pending.
Motion (proposed KH, seconded CLO): That the board approve the transfer of $2 million from .au Domain Administration Ltd to auDA Foundation Ltd. Carried (LB voted against).
10. Code of Practice
CLO presented the revised Code of Practice, following a review by the Code of Practice Committee during September.
The board endorsed the revised Code of Practice. The board also agreed that:
the annual review be replaced with a provision for ad hoc review in response to market demand
Maddocks should maintain a watching brief on legislative changes that may impact on the Code.
Action: auDA staff to ask Maddocks to maintain a watching brief on legislative changes that may impact on the Code.
11. Community Geographic Domain Names
The board considered the ETHOS reports on the OCOS pilot project. The board made the following observations:
releasing community geographic names on a "sink or swim" basis (ie. without additional community facilitation and support) would almost certainly result in failure of the namespace
it is not auDA's role to provide facilitation and support services to communities, but auDA does have a responsibility to ensure that new 2LDs are given a fair opportunity to succeed
delaying the release of commercial geographic names would deny business stakeholders access valuable and desirable names.
Action: auDA staff to prepare a detailed proposal and implementation plan for board consideration.
12. Registry Competition Review Panel
DT gave a progress report. The Panel has considered all comments on its first consultation report, including those from the auDA Board. The Panel will shortly release its second consultation report including the following draft recommendations:
retain the multiple registries model
retain the periodic registry tender process and licence agreement model
adopt a "volume threshold" process for adding new 2LDs
synchronise new 2LD licence terms with the main periodic registry tender.
The board noted that the Panel's terms of reference do not include consideration of technical issues, tender implementation details, registry licence agreements or transition to a new registry operator. These are all matters for auDA to determine.
13. Board Correspondence
No correspondence was received.
14. Other Business
There was no other business.
15. Next Meeting
There will not be a board meeting following the AGM.
The next board meeting will be held on Monday 22 November 2004.