What changed under the .au domain rules in 2026?
The new .au domain rules for 2026 can take your website and business email offline if the ABN or ACN linked to your domain has lapsed. From 20 May 2026, auDA’s accredited registrars only renew a .com.au, .net.au or .au direct domain when the business number tied to it is current and active. If your details don’t match an active entity inside the renewal window, the renewal is blocked and the domain can eventually be deleted. We’re already fielding calls about this, so here’s what’s actually going on and the five steps we’d take today to stay safe.
An expired ABN used to be ignored at renewal. Now it can quietly switch off your whole online presence.
MyWebs Agency
Why would my .com.au suddenly stop renewing?
Because the compliance check now happens at renewal, not just at registration. For years, registrars let outdated registrant details slide. Under auDA’s .au licensing rules, a .com.au or .net.au must be held by an Australian entity with a genuine connection to the name, and that connection is proven by an active ABN or ACN. When your domain enters its 90-day renewal window, the registrar checks the linked number against the live register. If the ABN was cancelled when you closed an old company, restructured, or simply let it lapse, the system can refuse the renewal. The domain that runs your website and email is suddenly in limbo.
- Website goes dark. Visitors and Google get an error instead of your site.
- Email stops. Anything on your domain (sales@, accounts@) stops sending and receiving.
- Customers can’t reach you. Suppliers and clients hit a dead address at the worst time.
- Recovery is messy. Pulling a domain back from pending delete is possible but slow and not guaranteed.
- Find the ABN or ACN linked to your domain.
- Confirm that number is still active on the register.
- Check the registrant name matches your current business.
- Fix any mismatch before the renewal date, not after.
This isn’t a niche problem. There are more than 4 million .au domains on the register, with .com.au the biggest slice, according to auDA’s monthly registry reports. A big chunk of those belong to small businesses that registered years ago and have never looked at their registrant details since. The new .au domain rules turn a forgotten admin detail into a live risk to your trading. The cheapest fix is a five-minute check now, well before anything is due.
Treat your domain like your business licence, not a set-and-forget bill. If the name on it is wrong, everything built on top of it is exposed.
MyWebs Agency
How to check your .au domain before renewal
Start with a WHOIS lookup. Run your domain through auDA’s WHOIS tool and note the registrant ID, which is usually your ABN or ACN. Then drop that number into ABN Lookup and confirm it shows as active and tied to your current business name. If the entity is cancelled, or the name on the domain belongs to an old company or a former web developer, that’s the gap you need to close. Do this for every .au domain you own, including ones you only use for email or redirects, because the .au domain rules apply to each one separately.
What happens if your domain gets suspended
Under the new .au domain rules, a suspended domain doesn’t just hide your homepage. Your DNS stops resolving, so the website, your domain email, and any apps that send from that address all fail at once. We’ve seen a cafe lose its online orders over a weekend and an electrician miss quote requests for days because nobody realised the email had quietly died with the domain. If you’re already staring at an outage, our emergency website support team can help triage it, but recovery from pending delete is never as clean as just renewing on time.
The 5 steps to stay compliant with the .au domain rules
Here’s the short version of what we do for clients on a care plan, and what you can do yourself this week to stay on the right side of the .au domain rules. None of it is hard. The trick is doing it before the renewal window, not during a panic.
- List every .au domain you own. Check your registrar account and any old invoices. People forget the second domain they bought to protect their brand.
- Match the ABN or ACN to a live entity. The number on the domain must be active and belong to the business that actually trades.
- Fix mismatches with your registrar now. Update the registrant details, or lodge a Registrant Name Change if the business behind the domain has changed.
- Set the renewal to auto and confirm the contact email. Reminders go to the registrant email, so make sure it’s an address you actually read, ideally a role account like [email protected].
- Put domains, hosting and backups under one roof. When your managed Australian hosting and domain sit with people who watch the renewal dates, this whole issue disappears.
Which .au extension needs what?
Eligibility differs slightly by extension, so it helps to know which rule applies to your domain. Here’s the quick reference we give clients.
| Extension | Who it’s for | What must stay active |
|---|---|---|
| .com.au / .net.au | Australian businesses and commercial entities | Active ABN or ACN connected to the name |
| .org.au | Not-for-profits and incorporated associations | Eligible registration as a non-profit body |
| .id.au | Individuals (personal use) | Australian citizen or resident |
| .au direct | Anyonk with a verified Australian presence | Active ABN or ACN, or citizenship/residency |
One more heads-up: auDA has said trademark-based eligibility requirements are coming separately in the months ahead, on top of these ABN and ACN checks. If you’d rather not track any of it, this is the kind of thing we handle quietly as part of our web design and care services, alongside looking after your WordPress site. You can read the official detail in TPP Wholesale’s notice on the change.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to switch from .com.au to .au direct?
No. The new .au domain rules are about keeping the ABN or ACN on your existing domain current, not changing extensions. You can keep your .com.au exactly as it is, as long as the linked business number is active.
Will my website really go offline if I miss this?
Yes. Under the .au domain rules, if the domain fails its compliance check and is suspended or deleted, both your website and any email on that domain stop working until it’s resolved. That’s why we treat the renewal date as a hard deadline.
How do I check if my .au domain is compliant?
Run a WHOIS lookup on your domain, find the ABN or ACN listed, and confirm it’s active and matches your trading entity. If anything is cancelled or out of date, contact your registrar to update it before the renewal window opens.
When did the new .au domain rules start?
The stricter renewal checks began on 20 May 2026 and are applied during the 90-day window before your domain expires. Trademark-based eligibility rules are expected to follow later in the year.
Not sure whether your domain, hosting and email are set up to survive a renewal check? We’ll take a look for you. Book a free website audit and we’ll check your .au domain details, flag anything that could trip the new .au domain rules, and make sure your site and email keep running. It’s a quick conversation that can save you a very bad week.