Why your name should be your domain
Your agency profile page belongs to your agency. A domain in your own name is the one address that moves with you for your whole career.
A .com.au in your own name is the address most vendors expect an Australian agent to have. To register one, you have to meet auDA’s eligibility and allocation rules, and plenty of name ideas that look fine don’t pass them.
Here’s what the current rules mean for an individual agent, how common name patterns hold up, what to avoid and how to check a name is free. If you’re still deciding between .com.au and the shorter .au, start with .com.au or .au: choosing a domain as an Australian agent.
Where the rules come from
auDA, the .au Domain Administration, sets the rules for every Australian domain. The current set is the .au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing, and auDA has a plain-English summary on its com.au domain names page. The rule numbers below refer to the Licensing Rules.
You may still read that a .com.au must have a “close and substantial connection” to you. That wording comes from auDA’s 2012 policy, which only applied to names last registered, renewed or transferred before 12 April 2021, and has since expired. The current rules use a specific list of allowed connections instead, set out below.
Test 1: you need to be a commercial entity
Rule 2.4.4 says a .com.au applicant must be a “Commercial Entity”. For an individual, the relevant part of that definition is a natural person who has been issued an Australian Business Number.
In practice:
- If you’re a contractor or sole trader with your own ABN, you meet this test in your own name.
- If you’re paid as an employee, you may not have an ABN of your own. Being an Australian citizen or permanent resident gives you an Australian presence, which is enough for a
.audirect name, but on its own it isn’t enough for a.com.au. - Your address doesn’t matter. auDA’s com.au page says the physical address of your business isn’t taken into account.
The rules also say you must stay eligible for the whole licence period (rule 2.11.7). If you cancel your ABN, your .com.au could be at risk, so keep the ABN active for as long as you hold the domain.
Test 2: the name has to match you
Under rule 2.4.4, a .com.au must be one of these:
- a match or acronym of your company, business, statutory or personal name
- a match of your Australian trade mark
- a match or acronym of a related company, or of a partnership or trust you’re part of
- a match or synonym of a service, goods, event, activity or premises you provide
The rules define a “Match” closely. The domain has to use one, some or all of the words or numbers in your legal name, registered business name or trade mark, in the same order, with no extra words. Things like “Pty Ltd”, “com.au”, punctuation, “the”, “and”, “of” and ampersands are ignored.
Two definitions matter most for agents:
- Legal name. For a person, auDA’s example is the name on your birth certificate or change of name certificate. A nickname or the shortened name you use on your signboards isn’t automatically your legal name.
- Business name. A name on the national Business Names Register. If you register “Jane Smith Property” as a business name under your ABN,
janesmithproperty.com.aubecomes an exact match.
How common name patterns hold up
| Pattern | Example for Jane Mary Smith | On .com.au |
|---|---|---|
| First and last name | janesmith.com.au | A match of your legal name: some of its words, in order |
| Full name with middle name | janemarysmith.com.au | A match of your legal name |
| Middle initial | janemsmith.com.au | Not clearly covered, because an initial isn’t a word in your name |
| Name you go by | jodiesmith.com.au (legal name Josephine) | Not a match of your legal name, unless it’s a registered business name |
| Name plus “realestate” or “property” | janesmithproperty.com.au | An extra word, so not a straight match. Register it as a business name first |
| Name plus suburb | janesmithpaddington.com.au | Same as above: works as a registered business name |
Short .au instead |
janesmith.au | Only needs an Australian presence. auDA’s .au direct page says you can choose any available name you have permission to use |
If the pattern you want isn’t a straight match, you have two clean options: register the matching business name first, or use .au, which has no matching rule. Many agents end up holding both.
The registrant has to be you
The registrant is the person or business the domain is licensed to, and that’s who controls it. auDA’s com.au page says someone else, such as a web developer, can register a name for you with your written permission, but they should use your details. Rule 2.2.6 says an agent applying for someone must make sure that person is recorded as the registrant.
So if the domain is meant to stay with you when you change agencies, register it with your own ABN, not your agency’s. Why your name should be your domain explains why that matters.
What to avoid
Your agency’s brand. A name built around your agency’s brand ties your address to them, which defeats the point of owning it. It can also cause a dispute. Under auDA’s dispute resolution policy, a trade mark owner can complain about a name that’s identical or confusingly similar to their mark, if the holder has no legitimate interest in it and registered or used it in bad faith. A successful complaint can see the domain cancelled or transferred.
Hyphens. The rules allow letters, numbers and hyphens, as long as the name doesn’t start or end with a hyphen. Allowed isn’t the same as good. “Jane hyphen smith” is easy to mishear and easy to forget at an open home.
Numbers. Also allowed, but “janesmith2” makes people ask whether it’s the digit or the word, and it suggests someone else already has the original.
Misleading area claims. A suburb in your domain should be one you actually work in. Avoid names that suggest you’re the official agency for an area. Advertising law applies online as well as in print. NSW Fair Trading’s advertising guidance, for example, notes that both state law and the Australian Consumer Law apply to online advertising. Our guide to advertising rules by state has the details for each regulator.
How to check a name is free
- Search it on auDA’s WHOIS tool. The .au WHOIS lets you check whether a
.auname is available, and if it’s taken, shows its status and the registrant’s name. - Check every ending together. Look at
.com.au,.auand.comat the same time, so you know which versions someone else could take. - Say it out loud. Read it to someone over the phone. If they can type it first time without you spelling it, it passes.
Keeping it once you have it
auDA licences run for one to five years, and you can renew at the end of each term if you’re still eligible. Keep your ABN active, keep your contact email current so renewal notices reach you, and turn on auto-renewal.
The rules may change. In August 2026, auDA’s Board approved in principle the recommendations of its 2025 Licensing Rules Review. One recommendation would limit .com.au names to a match of a personal name, registered name or registered Australian trade mark, removing the service-name option. auDA says no final decisions have been made, plans to consult on draft rule changes, and has proposed that existing licences keep operating under the current rules. A name that matches your legal name or a registered business name is the safe choice either way.
Get your name registered to you
When you search for a domain with us, we check .com.au, .au and .com together, and we check your ABN before you register a .com.au. The domain is registered in your details as the registrant, and you can transfer it to another provider at any time, free. Your domain is included in Starter, and you can search for your name on our domains page.
For more on choosing and keeping your name, read .com.au or .au, why your name should be your domain and changing agencies: how to keep your name and reviews.
This article is general information about auDA’s rules as published in October 2026, not legal advice. auDA’s Licensing Rules are the final word, and they change from time to time.
