New .au registrant transfers policy - implementation update 26/02/08

Posted by Jo Lim on 26 February 2008

In December 2007, the auDA Board approved a recommendation from the 2007 Names Policy Panel that the Transfers (Change of Registrant) Policy be relaxed to allow a registrant to transfer their domain name licence to another eligible entity, for any reason.

The auDA Board has approved an implementation plan for the new transfers policy. Key features of the new policy are as follows:

  • it will not be allowable to register a domain name for the sole purpose of resale or transfer to a third party
  • registrants will not be able to transfer their domain name for the first 6 months after the initial registration (this does not apply to domain names that have been renewed or previously transferred)
  • after 6 months, registrants will be able to offer their domain name for sale/transfer by any means (eg. by listing the domain name for sale on a domain brokerage website, advertising the domain name for sale in a newspaper, or contacting a prospective buyer directly)
  • registrant transfers will be processed by the registrar of record using a standard transfer form, and the registrar may charge a transfer fee
  • parties to a transfer will be asked to disclose the sale method and price, on a voluntary and confidential basis, so that auDA may collect aggregated statistical data to improve access to market information for buyers and sellers.

auDA will consult further with AusRegistry and accredited registrars on the technical aspects of implementation.

auDA has not yet finalised the implementation timetable, but anticipates that the new policy will be introduced in mid-2008.

In the meantime, the current Transfers (Change of Registrant) Policy (2004-03) continues to apply and auDA will continue to investigate complaints about transfers that breach this policy.