COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHIC NAMES BALLOT

About the ballot

In July 2004 auDA conducted a public review of the restriction on geographic names in com.au and net.au.

Following the review, at its August 2004 meeting the auDA Board decided that commercial geographic domain names are useful and desirable for Australian businesses and that the restriction on using geographic names as domain names in com.au and net.au should be lifted.

auDA has determined that the fairest and most effective way of releasing the geographic names for use as com.au and net.au domain names will be by way of individual ballots.

The ballot process is explained in detail below.

Ballot proceeds will be used by auDA to support the implementation of the new community geographic name space.

What names will be included in the ballot process?

Under auDA policy a "geographic name" is defined as any location with an Australian postcode, as listed on the Australia Post postcode database. All names on the postcode database will be included in the ballot process, with the following exceptions: airport names; hospital names; university names; defence force names; government names; postal names or names with Australia Post designators (eg. BC, MC, PO); names that have already been registered in com.au or net.au. 

Some geographic names are available as domain names in both com.au and net.au, while some geographic names are only available in either com.au or net.au.

Where the same geographic name is available in both com.au and net.au, there will be two separate ballots. For example, there will be one ballot for richmond.com.au and one ballot for richmond.net.au.

Where a geographic name is made up of more than one word, there will be separate ballots for the non-hyphenated and hyphenated versions of the name. For example, there will be separate ballots for surryhills.com.au and surry-hills.com.au; there will be separate ballots for eightymilebeach.net.au, eighty-milebeach.net.au, eightymile-beach.net.au and eighty-mile-beach.net.au.

The available ballots will be listed on the auDA website. auDA may amend the available ballots from time to time.

Who can lodge a ballot application?  

 In order to lodge a ballot application, applicants must satisfy the normal com.au and net.au eligibility and allocation criteria in the Domain Name Eligibility and Allocation Rules for the Open 2LDs (2005-01). In brief, this means that:

applicants must be registered to trade in Australia (eg. company with ACN, business name owner with RBN, trade mark owner with TM number, sole trader with ABN); and 
the geographic name must be an exact match, abbreviation or acronym of the applicant's name, or the applicant must have a "close and substantial connection" with the geographic name. 

All applicants should confirm that they satisfy the eligibility and allocation criteria in the Domain Name Eligibility and Allocation Rules for the Open 2LDs (2005-01) before lodging a ballot application.

How does the ballot process work?

STEP 1:
· Ballot applications may only be lodged with a Participating Registrar. Ballot Applications cannot be lodged with auDA or the registry.
· The closing date for ballot applications is 31 July 2005. No further ballot applications will be accepted after this time.
· There is no fee for lodging a ballot application.
· Ballot applications will be checked for eligibility by the relevant Participating Registrar, and ineligible ballot applications will be rejected.
· Applicants may apply for more than one domain name, but they must lodge only one ballot application per domain name. After the ballot application period has closed, all eligible ballot applications will be submitted to the registry and checked for duplication. In all cases of duplication the relevant ballot applications will be removed and the applicant/s will be entirely excluded from the ballot for that geographic domain name.

STEP 2:
· Where only one ballot application is received for a domain name, that applicant will be the ballot winner.
· Where more than one ballot application is received for a domain name, the ballot winner will be drawn at random using an automated computer program.
· Where no ballot applications are received for a domain name, that name will be withdrawn from the ballot process and released by auDA at a later date.
· Each ballot result is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

STEP 3:
· The relevant Participating Registrar will notify the ballot winner.
· The ballot winner must pay the Release Fee ($825 inc. GST). Upon payment of the Release Fee the domain name will be released for registration.
· The Release Fee is not refundable.
· The ballot winner must register the domain name through the relevant Participating Registrar within the 30 day Release Period. Registration will be subject to the domain name licence terms and conditions offered by the Participating Registrar, and any applicable registration fees.
· If a "first round" ballot winner fails to complete Step 3, the domain name will be returned to the ballot process for a second round (refer back to Step 2). The "first round" ballot winner will not be eligible to participate in the second round.
· If a "second round" ballot winner fails to complete Step 3, the domain name will be withdrawn from the ballot process and released by auDA at a later date.

How do I lodge a ballot application?

Ballot applications can be made online through a Participating auDA Accredited Registrar. A list of Participating Registrars will be available on the auDA website from 1 June 2005.

When is the ballot?

The ballot application period is from 1 June 2005 to 31 July 2005. No further ballot applications will be accepted after the close of the ballot application period.

What are the ballot terms and conditions?

Download ballot terms and conditions.