We're seeking feedback on the Terms of Endorsement for the .au Domain Administration (auDA), which outline the Australian Government's expectations of auDA in its management of the .au domain.
Why we want your input
The Terms of Endorsement, which outline the Australian Government’s expectations of auDA, were last updated in November 2021. Feedback will help ensure the Australian Government’s Terms of Endorsement for auDA remain fit for purpose.How you can voice your opinion
Read the discussion paper and the proposed revisions to the Terms of Endorsement at Attachment A of the paper and upload or email us your submission.What will be the outcome of this consultation?
Your feedback will inform the Australian Government’s Review of auDA’s Terms of Endorsement and help shape the revisions to these Terms.The Issue
auDA is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that manages the .au country code top level domain (all websites ending in ".au"). This includes developing and administering the policies and rules for the .au domain. auDA operates under a sponsorship agreement with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). This sponsorship is based on ongoing endorsement from the Australian Government. You can read more about the endorsement arrangements on the ICANN website.
The purpose of the Terms of Endorsement is for the Australian Government to outline its expectations to auDA. The Terms also set out auDA's core functions and the principles under which it administers the .au domain. The Australian Government's endorsement is captured within auDA's Terms of Endorsement.
The Terms of Endorsement are routinely reviewed to ensure they remain fit for purpose. In line with this practice, work on the current Review has commenced and is expected to be completed in 2025.
Given the increasing importance of the Internet, the way auDA carries out its core functions on behalf of .au users is more important than ever.
This current Review is an opportunity to refresh the Terms of Endorsement, to better support auDA and the Australian Government to work together on common goals as we face an increasingly contested Internet governance landscape.
A refreshed Terms of Endorsement will ensure Australia continues to be well placed to support an open, free, secure and interoperable global Internet.
The Australian Government has developed proposed revisions to the Terms of Endorsement at Attachment A of the discussion paper, and we are seeking your feedback on these revisions.
Relevant documentation
Proposed Revised Terms of Endorsement for comment (see Attachment A of Discussion Paper)
Participate
22 Jan 2025 09:00 AEDT
19 Feb 2025 09:00 AEDT
Open
days
remaining 27 of 28
We invite you to tell us your views on this topic.
Please include:
- contact name
- organisation name, if applicable
- contact details, including telephone number, postal and email addresses
- confirmation whether or not your submission can be made public—published—or kept confidential.
All submissions to be made public need to meet the Digital Service Standard for accessibility. Any submission that does not meet this standard may be modified before being made public.
If your submission is to be made public, please ensure you do not include any personal information that you don't want to be published.
If your submission is confidential, please ensure each page of the submission is marked as confidential.
Please click on the 'Have your say now' button below to upload your submission.
Submissions can be uploaded through the Have Your Say Page and/or emailed to internetgovernance@communications.gov.au.
Privacy Collection Notice
.au Domain Administration (auDA) Terms of Endorsement Review"
Your submission, including any personal information supplied, is being collected by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts ("the Department") in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988.
Use
The Department may use your submission to inform Government's 2025 Review of auDA's Terms of Endorsement (the Terms) and help shape the revision of the Terms.
Contacting You
The Department may use your contact information to make further contact with you about your submission and the consultation process.
Publication
Unless marked confidential (see below) submissions (including the author's name) may be published in part or full on the Department's website or in any public response by the Department. When publishing, the Department will redact any personal contact details of the author.
Confidentiality
Confidential submissions will not be published and will only be disclosed in the following circumstances:
- in response to a request by a Commonwealth Minister;
- where required by a House or a Committee of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia;
- where necessary in the public interest; or
- where authorised or required by law.
Submissions will only be treated as confidential if they are expressly stated to be confidential. Automatically generated confidentiality statements or disclaimers appended to an email do not suffice for this purpose. If you wish to make a confidential submission, you must indicate this by ensuring your submission is clearly marked confidential. Even if a submission is not marked confidential, the Department may choose not to publish it, or any part of it, in the Department's discretion (for example where it includes personal information or opinions about a third party).
Access
The Department will securely store your personal information and the Department's privacy policy contains information regarding complaint handling processes and how to access and/or seek correction of personal information held by the Department. Further information is available at Privacy | Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.