Internet Society of Australia
A Chapter of the Internet Society
ABN 36 076 406 801
NEWS RELEASE Internet Society of Australia (ISOC-AU) 2000/03 The Internet is for Everyone! 9 May 2001 ISOC-AU WELCOMES auDA APPROVAL OF DOMAIN NAMES REPORT The Internet Society of Australia today welcomed approval of new policies for allocation of .au domain names by the new .au Domain Administration company, auDA. 'The new rules will allow companies and individuals to hold more than one domain name but maintain close connection between applicants and the name they apply for to avoid cybersquatting', said Tony Hill, ISOC-AU Executive Director. Australia has benefited from the unique eligibility criteria for .au that were put in place early in the growth of the Internet and the extensive consultations of the auDA Names Panel have failed to find any significant disagreement with this approach. However, with growth in popularity of the Internet it has become obvious that some of the rules were too constraining. With this relaxation in rules in some areas, individuals and businesses will be provided with a sound basis for obtaining the name that they want in order to fully participate in the global information society and economy. ISOC-AU played a significant role in establishment of a comprehensive self regulation regime under auDA which has now been endorsed by the Australian Government as the body to take over delegation for .au. 'We are pleased that the Names Panel process has produced mature discussion of domain name issues involving a wide range of stakeholders. 'Members of ISOC-AU and Australian Internet users are now looking for successful completion of a similar process to implement a competition regime for delivery of domain name services. 'However, it is essential that the new competition regime is in place before the relaxation of rules is implemented', said Mr Hill. 'We consider that the process is now sufficiently mature to allow full transfer of delegation of .au to auDA by the international body ICANN Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Contact: Mr Tony Hill, 0412 128 755, ed@isoc-au.org.au