The Panel, drawn from industry and community representatives, advised the Board on potential changes to rules governing dot au domain names. Its report is sensible and forward-looking, avoiding the regulatory capture that is increasingly evident in decision-making by ICANN.
The Board has accepted the following recommendations -
Domain Name Eligibility and Allocation Policy Rules for Open 2LDsThe Board noted the following recommendations, pending further information from auDA staff regarding implementation issues -
• the requirement for registrants to be Australian (or registered to trade in Australia) should remain in place.
• the “special interest club” eligibility criterion for org.au and asn.au domain names should be more clearly defined.
• auDA should publish the results of its periodic audits.
• auDA’s position on third party rights with respect to domain name leasing or sub-licensing arrangements should be clarified and published.
• the close and substantial connection rule for id.au should be relaxed to include domain names that refer to personal hobbies and interests.
• direct registrations under .au should not be allowed at this time.
Reserved List Policy
• the Reserved List Policy should be retained, and updated as necessary to ensure consistency with Commonwealth legislation.
• the names and abbreviations of Australian states and territories should remain on the Reserved List, but may be released on application provided that the proposed registrant is eligible to use the name under normal policy rules, and that they have received permission from the relevant state or territory government.
Domain Monetisation Policy
• the Domain Monetisation Policy (2008-10) should be abolished as a separate policy;
• Schedules C and E of the Domain Name Eligibility and Allocation Policy Rules for Open 2LDs (2008-05) should be amended to include domain monetisation under the close and substantial connection rule for com.au and net.au domain names (as exemplified in Attachment A to the Panel’s report);
• the existing conditions of use on domain names registered on the basis of domain monetisation under the “close and substantial” connection rule should be retained;
• the definition of “domain monetisation” should be replaced with a description of permissible practice, to accommodate a range of monetisation models; and
• the Guidelines for Accredited Registrars on the Interpretation of Policy Rules for the Open 2LDs (2008-06) should be amended to include additional explanatory material regarding domain monetisation.
Prohibition on Misspellings Policy
• the Prohibition on Misspellings Policy should be retained in its current form.
• That registrants should be able to license a domain name for a 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 year period.
• in the absence of any compelling technical or policy reason to maintain the restriction, single character domain names should be released (subject to the registrant being eligible to register the name).
