Choosing a domain name, a step-by-step guide for Australian businesses

You have settled on the name for your business, or you are rebranding an established one, and the next step is the website. The address your customers type into a browser is part of your brand, and once it is taken by someone else it can be very hard to get back. Choosing and registering a domain name is a short process, but doing it in the wrong order creates problems that take months and thousands of dollars to fix.

When you finish this process you will hold a registered domain name that routes customers to your website, and ideally a registered trade mark that stops other businesses from trading under the same or a confusingly similar name. One thing to understand before you start: registering a domain name gives you a licence to use that address, not ownership of the name itself, and a business name registration does not give you trade mark rights either. Those are three separate registers, and this guide takes you through each one in the order that avoids the traps.

What you need before you start

You will need the following in place before you start:

An eligible Australian presence: to hold a .au domain name you must satisfy auDA's Australian Presence requirement, most commonly by holding an Australian Business Number (ABN) or Australian Company Number (ACN), or by being an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
A settled name: decide on the brand or trading name before you search, so you are testing one name rather than several.
An extension strategy: decide whether you need .com.au, the shorter .au direct format, .com, or a combination of them.
A realistic budget: domain registration itself is inexpensive, but budget separately for a trade mark application, which starts at $250 and takes at least seven months.
Reserved social media handles: check that the name is free on the major platforms so your online presence is consistent.
Time for clearance checks: searching the trade mark and business name registers before you commit is the step most people skip.

Step 1: Settle on the name and the extension

The domain name should match the name you trade under, so that customers who know your business can find it online. If your company is called Coastal Plumbing Services but your website is only reachable at a shortened variation, you are asking customers to remember two names instead of one.

Beyond matching your brand, a few practical rules apply to most businesses:

Keep it short: long names invite typos and are harder to say aloud, which costs you traffic.
Avoid hyphens: hyphens are rare in typed addresses and customers forget them, so a hyphenated version of someone else's name rarely builds a brand of its own.
Use a distinctive word: a coined or distinctive name is easier to protect as a trade mark than a purely descriptive one.
Consider a keyword: including what you do or where you are, such as a location, helps customers understand the business from the address alone.

On extensions, your main choices are:

.com.au: the standard choice for Australian businesses targeting Australian customers.
.au direct: since 24 March 2022 Australians can register names directly before the .au, such as yourbusiness.au, which gives a shorter address than .com.au.
.com: the global default. Many businesses register both .com.au and .com, and point the .com at their Australian site so that customers who forget the .au still find them.

An Australian extension also signals to customers and to search engines that your business is local, which can help your site surface for Australian searches.

Step 2: Check that the name is available

Before you commit to a name, check whether anyone already holds it:

Run a whois lookup: a whois search tells you whether a domain is registered and, for many names, who holds it.
Check availability through a registrar: accredited registrars offer availability checks across .com.au, .au, .com and other extensions in one search.
Check the social platforms: confirm the handle you want is free on the main networks, because a brand whose domain and social handles differ is harder for customers to find.

If your preferred name is taken in one extension, you can add a short word that does not change the meaning, or use a different extension. The point of this step is to find out early whether the name is realistically yours to use.

Step 3: Clear the name against existing rights

Availability is not the same as clearance. A name can be free to register as a domain and still conflict with rights someone else already holds. Before registering, search:

The Australian trade mark register: IP Australia's Australian Trade Mark Search lets you check whether anyone has registered a trade mark that is identical or deceptively similar to your proposed name. A trade mark is deceptively similar to another if it so nearly resembles it that it is likely to deceive or cause confusion, under s 10 of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth).
The business names register: business names are registered through ASIC and searchable on the Australian Business Register, so you can see whether another business is already trading under the name.
Overseas registers: if you plan to sell overseas, a quick check of major foreign registers is worthwhile, because a foreign mark can still be enforced against you in Australia if it is well known here.

Skipping these searches is where most domain disputes start. If your domain name matches a mark someone else registered first, your own trade mark application can be rejected under s 44 of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth), which requires rejection where a mark is substantially identical or deceptively similar to an earlier registered mark for similar goods or services. You can also be on the receiving end of an infringement claim. It is far cheaper to discover a conflict now than after you have printed the name on packaging and signage.

Step 4: Register the domain with an accredited registrar

Australian .au names can only be registered through an auDA-accredited registrar. When you apply, the registrar will validate that you meet the Australian Presence requirement, checking your ABN, ACN or other qualifying connection. That validation is repeated when a name is renewed or transferred, so your eligibility needs to continue while you hold the name.

One rule that catches businesses out: if you rely on an Australian trade mark to meet the presence requirement for a .com.au or .net.au name, the domain must be an exact match of the words in the trade mark, ignoring punctuation, articles and the .com.au itself. This rule has applied since 12 April 2021, and it means a trade mark for "The Little Red Wagon Bookshop" supports littleredwagonbookshop.com.au but not lrwb.com.au.

When you register you receive a licence governed by auDA's rules, not outright ownership of the name. The licence is renewable, and it is worth registering the variants you care about at the same time. If you are a .com.au holder, also consider the matching .au direct name and the .com, then set the extras to redirect to your main site. That prevents someone else from registering a name confusingly close to yours and intercepting your traffic.

Step 5: Protect the name with a trade mark

A domain registration protects your address, not your brand. Under s 17 of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth), a trade mark is a sign used to distinguish your goods or services from those of other businesses, and a registered trade mark is what gives you the right to stop others using the same or a deceptively similar name.

Registration is worth doing early because it deters others from adopting your name and gives you a clear infringement claim if they do. Under s 120 of the Act, a person infringes a registered trade mark by using as a trade mark a sign that is substantially identical or deceptively similar to it in relation to the goods or services for which it is registered. Where the mark is well known in Australia, s 120 also allows action against use in relation to unrelated goods or services, which is the provision that most often matters when a squatter holds your name for a purpose you never intended.

To register, you apply to IP Australia with the application fee, which starts at $250, and the process takes at least seven months. During examination IP Australia will compare your mark against earlier registrations, so the clearance search from step 3 becomes the basis of your application. A lawyer can help you choose the right classes of goods and services and respond to any objections from the examiner.

Step 6: Recover a name someone else already holds

If someone has registered a domain that matches your business name or trade mark, you have four broad options:

File a complaint under the auDRP: The .au Dispute Resolution Policy (auDRP) is a cheaper and faster alternative to court for disputes over .au domain licences, covering com.au, net.au, org.au and .au direct names. You must prove all three elements: the name is identical or confusingly similar to a name or trade mark in which you have rights; the registrant has no rights or legitimate interests in the name; and the name was registered or subsequently used in bad faith. The complainant bears the onus of proof. If you succeed, the panel can order the name cancelled or transferred to you, provided you are eligible to hold it. Filing fees start at $2,000 for a single-member panel covering up to five names, the registrant has 20 days to respond, and decisions are binding with no appeal, although there is a 10 business day window before a transfer is implemented so that either party can start court proceedings.
File a UDRP complaint for international names: The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), administered by ICANN, applies to .com and other global extensions and works on the same three elements: identical or confusingly similar, no legitimate interests, and registration and use in bad faith.
Negotiate with the owner: A whois search can identify the registrant, and many domain disputes are resolved by buying the name directly. That can be expensive if the holder is squatting on it for a profit, but it is often quicker and more certain than a dispute.
Sue for trade mark infringement: If the name infringes your registered trade mark, you can sue under s 120 of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth). This is the most expensive and slowest option, and the outcome is never guaranteed, but for a well-known mark it can reach conduct the dispute policies do not. IP Australia's First Response service sets out the practical options for disputing a .au domain and for challenging an international domain name.

Where people get held up

The mistakes that cause the most trouble are:

Registering before the clearance checks: the domain is live in minutes, but if it conflicts with an earlier trade mark you can lose the name and your branding spend. Run the searches in step 3 first.
Treating a registration as ownership: a domain licence and a business name registration each give you specific, limited rights, and neither stops a prior trade mark owner. Only a trade mark registration does that.
Missing the eligibility rules: registrars revalidate your Australian presence at renewal and transfer, and the exact-match rule for trade mark-based com.au names is easy to trip over.
Registering only one extension: customers forget the .au, and squatters register the variants you did not. Register the extensions you need and redirect them.

When professional help is needed

A lawyer's main value in this process is the clearance work. A trade mark attorney or IP lawyer can run a proper registrability search, advise whether your name is distinctive enough to register, and tell you which classes of goods and services to apply for so your protection actually covers what you sell. If the examiner objects, a lawyer can argue your case or negotiate with the trade mark office.

If a dispute arises, a lawyer will assess whether you hold the rights the auDRP or UDRP requires, draft the complaint, and manage the proceeding, or negotiate the purchase of an occupied name on your behalf. Where infringement litigation is the only realistic route, a lawyer will advise on the strength of your claim under s 120, the costs involved, and the prospects of injunctive relief before you commit to a fight.

The clearance check before you register

The order you do things in is what determines whether this process ends well. Domain registration is effectively instant, while trade mark protection takes months, so the temptation is to grab the domain first and think about rights later. If you do, you can spend months building a brand on a name that a prior trade mark owner is entitled to take from you, or that you cannot protect from copycats. Do the availability and clearance checks first, then register, then protect.

In summary: match your domain to your brand, keep it short and distinctive, confirm it is available, clear it against the trade mark and business name registers, register through an accredited registrar with your ABN or ACN in hand, and protect the name as a trade mark before you build the brand. If someone has already taken your name, the auDRP and UDRP offer faster and cheaper routes than court, provided you hold the rights to back a complaint. A legal professional can help with the searches, the trade mark application and any dispute, but the single step that saves the most money is checking the registers before you register.