Board Minutes - 16 June 2008
Public Version
Meeting of the .au Domain Administration Board
16 June 2008 - 11.00am
Maddocks. Level 7, 140 William Street. Melbourne VIC 3000
Present:
Tony Staley (Chair), Chris Disspain, Marty Drill, Julie Hammer, Kim Heitman, Amin Kroll, Jo Lim, Graham McDonald, Josh Rowe, Tony Steven, Alex Woerndle, Elspeth Ross, Jacki O’Sullivan (Minutes)
Teleconference:
Bennett Oprysa and Cheryl Langdon-Orr
Observers:
Paul Szyndler (DBCDE)
Apologies:
John Higgins (Hayes Knight) and Greg Crew
1. Confirmation of Agenda
The Agenda was confirmed.
2. Apologies
The following apologies were noted:
John Higgins (Hayes Knight) – Finance Report.
Greg Crew - Industry Competition Advisory Panel update.
3. Continuous Disclosure
There were no matters to be disclosed.
4. Confirmation of Minutes
The minutes of the 14 April 2008 meeting were confirmed.
5. Finance Report
The Board noted the May accounts.
The Board was advised the 07/08 year-end accounts would be completed by end July and available at the August Board meeting.
6. CEO Report
The CEO Report was reviewed and the following items were noted:
Misspellings: The CEO raised the issue of major brand owners being unaware of registrations of similar misspellings of brand domain names. The Board noted that it is not auDA’s role to provide protection to brand owners, however there may be more that auDA can do to encourage brand owners to protect themselves.
7. Policy Development
Industry Competition Advisory Panel update:
Greg Crew was an apology for the update and his apology was noted by the Board. A written report was provided on the Panel status to date.
Alex Woerndle & Amin Kroll would raise the subject of the Panel at the Registrars conference in July.
The Panel is aiming to issue its first public consultation report paper by the end of June with the final recommendations paper to the auDA Board scheduled for December 2008.
The board noted that registrar accreditation applications are currently on hold pending the review of the accreditation policy and process by the Panel. The board agreed that the suspension should apply to all prospective applicants, and that it would not be appropriate to grant any exemptions. Given that the Panel’s recommendations may have the effect of changing the business case for becoming a registrar, the board agreed that suspending accreditation applications is the most appropriate approach.
8. Complaints Committee Report
Graham McDonald gave a verbal update to the Board on the Complaints Handling Committee. 2 meetings have been held so far with initial discussions around the structure and options of an appeals mechanism for handling complaints. A report will be provided to the Board at the next meeting in August.
9. Security Review
Bernie Turcotte attended and gave a verbal update to the Board on the progress of the Security Review. The following was noted:
The review is aimed at benchmarking the security arrangements for .au and the .au 2LDs against world best practice.
Bernie is currently conducting site visits in Australia. Reports are currently being prepared and will be made available shortly.
10. auCD Report
The board noted the report.
11. Membership Applications
The members below were approved in the classes indicated:
Karl Williams (Supply)
David Underhill (Supply)
Karen Mills (Demand)
Stuart Benjamin (Demand)
12. Board ‘Retreat’
It was confirmed that the auDA Board Meeting and Board Retreat would be held at the Sebel Heritage, Yarra Valley on Monday 18 & Tuesday 19 August 2008. Jacki O’Sullivan will contact all Board members regarding venue transfers and final arrangements.
It was noted that Emily Taylor, Nominet UK would attend the Retreat to update the Board on how Nominet UK operates including details of their sponsorship of the UKIGF which feeds into the UNIGF.
13. Board Correspondence
There was no board correspondence.
14. Other Business
The Board thanked Jo Lim and wished her well on her impending maternity leave.
15. Next Meeting
The next board meeting will be held on Monday 18 August 2008 at the Sebel Heritage, Yarra Valley at 2.00pm.