Australian government launches review of .au management

The Department of Communications and the Art in the Australian government has announced that it would carry a review of the management of the .au country code top-level domain (ccTLD), ‘to ensure it remains fit for purpose in serving the needs of Australians online’. Australia’s ccTLD is managed by the not-for-profit organisation .au Domain Administration (auDA), in line with an operation and management framework last considered 16 years ago. The governmental review, expected to be finalised by early 2018, will explore the most appropriate framework for the management.au, how to ensure that government and community expectations inform auDA’s operation and decision-making, and risk and mitigation strategies for the security and stability of the domain.  A discussion paper seeking input from the Australian Internet community is to be published soon.