What is the brief history of Identity Digital Australia and .au?

In 2018 Afilias Australia transferred over 3.1 million .au domain names to its registry platform, the largest migration of domain names in a single transition at that time. In 2020, Afilias was acquired by Donuts, and in 2022, these companies became Identity Digital. The Identity Digital Australia office is based in Melbourne, Victoria where we employ staff across Operations, Security, Support, Marketing and Compliance. For more information about us visit our About page.

What is .au Direct?

.au direct offers general purpose domain names that can be registered by any verified Australian organisation or individual who wants to create or manage an online presence. They offer a shorter, simpler option for Australian internet users, where names can be registered immediately before the dot (for example, identitydigital.au).

What is the priority status tool?

The priority status tool enables users to see if there are multiple active applications for a .au direct domain name. In the cases of contention, applications will remain active until a negotiation takes place.

For more information visit https://www.auda.org.au/tools/priority-status-tool

How do I perform a WHOIS Lookup?

You can access a WHOIS Lookup via this link. To confirm, this is hosted in a data centre in Melbourne, Australia.

Why has my registrant or technical contact ID changed in the WHOIS results?

For improved privacy protection, the WHOIS service is now publishing the Repository Object IDentifier (ROID) in the registrant and technical contact IDs. This protects the privacy of users that may have used their personal name as a contact identifier.

How do I perform a domain name availability check?

A .au domain name availability check can be performed here.

Why is the status showing as serverRenewProhibited for my domain name?

This status indicates that the domain name has an expiry date that is more than 90 days away and therefore you cannot renew it at this time. When the domain name enters the 90 day renewal period this status will be removed.

Where can I access Port 43 WHOIS check?

A web-based .au domain name availability check can be accessed here.

Generic port 43 WHOIS lookups can be accessed here.

What is a Domain Password Recovery?

A Domain Password may need to be recovered if the registrant has requested for their domain name to be transferred to another person, or if they are updating the authorised email address in their account. A Domain Password may also need to be accessed if a registrant is transferring their domain name registration to a different registrar.

How do I complete a domain Password Recovery?

In the first instance you should contact your registrar to recover your Domain Password. If your registrar is unavailable, please go to this link.

Why would I receive a Password Recovery email?

Registrants would receive a Password Recovery email if the domain password has been requested for a name that their email address is listed as the authorised contact for. 

Who can request the Domain Password?

As the password recovery tool is public, anyone can request a domain name password, however the password will only be sent to the authorised email address as explained above.

As the registrant of a .au domain name trying to recover my password, why didn't I receive an email when I clicked the link?

This may be the result of firewall or security settings that are running in the background on your device. These programs may access the link automatically during scanning and use up the one-time click functionality. It is advised to change your settings to prevent this from occurring and if you are still unable to recover your password please contact your registrar.

How do I change the authorised contact email address for a domain name I have registered?

To update any registrant details, you will need to contact your registrar (find out who your registrar is by completing a WHOIS Lookup).