auDA reviews renewal, expiry and deletion policy

Yesterday we received notification from auDA (the .au Domain Name Regulator) that they had instigated a review into the Domain Renewal Expiry and Deletion Policy.

According to auDA the review will focus on:

• 1. Whether the current 30 day pending delete period for expired domain names (ie. where the registrant has not renewed their domain name) is appropriate.
  2. Whether the current “domain purge” procedure (ie. where domain names are purged from the registry at a random time between 10.30am and 5.00pm AEST on the next business day after the pending delete period ends) is effective.
  3. What action (if any) auDA should take in relation to unofficial domain drop lists, and the domain-catching services being provided by some accredited registrars and other industry participants.

At the risk of sounding pessimistic, auDA may be using this review as a cover to stifle innovation by putting a stop to, or restricting domain drop lists and auctions. auDA needs to carefully consider these issues, the .au name space is already over regulated by world standards, the last thing we need is more regulation.

We have been asked to make a submission on behalf of Australian domainers – without speculating on what our submissions will say, it is clear that there is great support for the drop lists and auctions.

If you are a domainer and you would like to make submissions, we encourage you to contact us so that we can combine your comments / views with our broader submissions to this review.