The types of entities and domain names allowed within the edu.au domain space are defined in Schedule A, Section 1.2 of
.au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing. The following four steps provide a summary of the criteria contained within this policy and the standard application of these criteria by the edu.au registrar in assessing applications.
In order to be granted an edu.au domain name licence, the applicant and the proposed domain name must meet the criteria in all four steps.
Contents:
Step 1: Nature of the organisation
Step 2: Connection to the domain name
Step 3: The Reserve List
Step 4: Level of the domain name
Schedule A, Sections 2.5 - 2.7 of .au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing
In order to be considered eligible for a domain name in the edu.au space, the organisation applying must be a recognised education or training entity operating in Australia. To determine this, the policy outlines criteria for two overarching categories - those for which there is an appropriate government accreditation or registration authority (
A), and those for which there is no such government authority (
B). The criteria for each is further defined by the following sub-categories:
Category A
Organisations for which there is an appropriate government accreditation of registration authority, which includes:
- Schools (government and non-government)
- Pre-schools and childcare centres
- Training organisations
- Higher education institutions
- Bodies serving overseas students
Organisations belonging to
Category A are required to be registered or accredited with one of the following government authorities:
- State or territory education department (or appointed body)
- Australian Children's Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA)
- Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA)
- Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA)
- Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS)
Category B
Organisations for which there is no appropriate government accreditation of registration authority, which includes:
- Industry organisations and peak bodies
- Research organisations
- Professional/Parent/Student associations
- Providers of non-accredited/non-award training
- Entities not otherwise listed
Organisations belonging to
Category B are required to demonstrate that the primary function of the organisation is the provision of education, training and/or related research or services in Australia, and that the organisation is recognised within the education sector. The applying organisation is required to provide a written warranty stating the nature of the organisation supported by two referees already operating within the edu.au domain space. A PDF version of the warranty is available via the
Form template page.
If you can meet the requirements for either
Category A or
Category B your organisation is eligible to register domain names in the edu.au space.
The following steps outline which domain name(s) you may register.
Schedule A, Section 2.2 of .au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing
The allocation and composition criteria under edu.au policy requires that domain names must refer to:
- the name of the applying organisation, or
- a project or program that the applying organisation owns, or of which it can be considered the principal administrator.
Where the proposed domain name refers to the name of the applying organisation, this can include the legal name, business names, trading names, registered trademarks or other names registered with the appropriate government accreditation or registration authority. Domain names may either be an exact match for such names, or be substantially and closely connected such as via an acronym or abbreviation.
For example, Smiths Training College Australia Pty Ltd may choose to apply for the following:
- smithstrainingcollege.edu.au
- smithstraining.edu.au
- smithscollege.edu.au
- smithsaustralia.edu.au
- stcaustralia.edu.au
- stca.edu.au
- smiths.edu.au
Where a domain name refers to a project or program, there must be a semantic relationship between the domain name and the name of the project or program, and the applicant is required to complete the written warranty confirming the details of the project or program. A PDF version of the warranty is also available via the
Form template page.
Schedule A, Section 2.3 of .au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing
To support the reputation and effective operation of the edu.au domain as a fair and equitable service for the education and training sector, certain terms or combinations of terms cannot be registered as a domain name. These include, but are not limited to:
- generic education and training words on their own
- personal names (unless they are the name of the organisation)
- names containing obscene or offensive language
- names expressing a value judgment or political message
- names that are included in the auDA Reserved List Policy or otherwise prohibited from use through government legislation
- otherwise deemed to compromise the reputation or effective operation of edu.au namespace or any of its child zones
There is no hierarchy of rights in the edu.au domain space. The use of a trademark or business name does not imply authority to use a domain name, and these restrictions apply irrespective of the connection the applicant may have to the proposed domain name.
Schedule A, Sections 2.8 - 3.1 of .au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing
Domain names in the edu.au space can be registered at the third level (3LD) and the fourth level (4LD). For example:
- 3ld.edu.au
- 4ld.vic.edu.au
Organisations that are based in a single state or territory are required to be registered at the fourth level, using an extension (also known as a child zone) identifying the appropriate jurisdiction. Organisations that have national interests and responsibilities such as the delivery of education or training in multiple states or territories may register at the national or third level and/or at the appropriate fourth levels.
For example, if Smiths Training College Australia Pty Ltd were operating in both New South Wales and Victoria it could choose to apply for any or all of the following:
- smithstraining.edu.au
- smithstraining.nsw.edu.au
- smithstraining.vic.edu.au
To be approved for a third level domain name, the applying organisation must demonstrate that they, or the project or program the domain name refers to, has national interests and responsibilities. This can be demonstrated by:
- being listed as providing services in two or more states or territories with the appropriate government accreditation or registration authority; or
- providing a written warranty stating the organisation has national interests and responsibilities supported by two referees already operating within the edu.au domain space; or
- providing a written warranty stating the project or program has national interests and responsibilities supported by two referees already operating within the edu.au domain space.
A PDF version of each warranty is available via the Forms template page.
Please note
1. It is not possible to reserve or otherwise pre-register edu.au domain names - assessment of each step is based on the current operations of the applying organisation, not planned or future operations.
2. The applying organisation must meet each of the criteria in its own right - assessment of each step is against the legal entity proposed as the registrant or licence holder and not a parent, subsidiary or otherwise related company or entity.
3. For the purposes of step 1, organisations that provide general services (eg sale of books, supplies, software services, referral services, financial and administration services etc) to the education and training sector are not considered to be eligible.
