Can a Trademark Get You a .com.au? Registering an Australian Trademark for .au Eligibility

Yes. Under auDA's current .au Licensing Rules, a business or person outside Australia with no ABN, ACN or Australian address can hold a .com.au or .net.au domain by relying on an Australian trademark, and a pending trademark application that appears on IP Australia's database already counts. The condition is strict: the domain must be an exact match of the words in the trademark, and if the trademark application is refused or the registration lapses, the domain licence can be cancelled. The first step is filing the mark with IP Australia, which is what we do when we register trademarks in Australia for clients abroad.

Verified on 18 October 2026 against the .au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing (July 2026 version, in force since 28 July 2026), auDA's guidance pages, IP Australia's guidance and the Trade Marks Act 1995. auDA is reviewing its rules; the section on the review below says what is proposed and what is not.

The rule at a glance

Question	Answer	Source
Can a foreign business get a .com.au without an ABN?	Yes, with an Australian trademark (application or registration) or an ARBN	auDA com.au page; Licensing Rules 1.4
Does a pending application count?	Yes. "Australian Trade Mark" means a pending application or a registered mark that appears on IP Australia's trade mark database	Licensing Rules 1.4
Which domain can you register with it?	Only an exact match of the words in the trademark	Licensing Rules 1.4 (Australian Presence, item 17) and 2.4.5
Do you need an Australian address for the domain?	No. auDA does not consider the business's physical address	auDA com.au page
Which .au domains does it open?	com.au, net.au and .au direct (name.au), always as an exact match	Licensing Rules 2.4.3-2.4.5
What if the trademark lapses?	You lose your Australian Presence and the domain licence is cancelled	Licensing Rules 2.11.5-2.11.6
What does the trademark application need?	An address for service in Australia or New Zealand (your own or an agent's) and an intention to use the mark	Trade Marks Act 1995 s.27 and s.215(5); IP Australia
How long until the trademark is registered?	At least 7 months; examination usually 3-4 months after filing	IP Australia

The three ways a foreign business qualifies for a .com.au

Every .au domain holder needs an "Australian Presence", and com.au and net.au also require a "Commercial Entity". The Licensing Rules list who qualifies; for a company or person based outside Australia, three routes are realistic. auDA's own com.au page puts it simply: "If you don't have an ABN or ACN, you can still be eligible if you hold an ARBN or an Australian trade mark."

Route	What it means	Which com.au names it allows
Australian subsidiary (ACN) or business with an ABN	A company registered under the Corporations Act 2001 or an entity issued an Australian Business Number	A match or acronym of its name, a match of its trademark, and the other options in rule 2.4.4(2)
ARBN	The foreign company itself registers as a foreign company under the Corporations Act 2001 and holds an Australian Registered Body Number	The options in rule 2.4.4(2), based on its registered name
Australian trademark	A foreign company or person "who holds or has applied for an Australian Trade Mark" (Commercial Entity, item 11)	Only an exact match of the trademark's words (rule 2.4.5)

The trademark route is the lightest of the three: it needs no Australian company and no registration as a foreign company. It also protects the brand itself in Australia, which a domain alone does not. Its limit is the narrow choice of domain names.

The exact-match rule, with examples

When your Australian Presence comes only from a trademark, rule 2.4.5 says the domain "must be an Exact Match to the words which are the subject matter of the Australian Trade Mark". The rules define Exact Match as all the words, in the order in which they appear in the trademark, ignoring only four things:

• the DNS suffix, such as com.au;
• punctuation marks, such as an exclamation point or an apostrophe;
• the articles "a", "the", "and", "or" and "of";
• ampersands (&).

auDA's own example uses the trademark "The Little Red Wagon Bookshop":

Domain	Allowed?	Why
thelittleredwagonbookshop.com.au	Yes	All the words, in order
littleredwagonbookshop.net.au	Yes	"The" is an article and can be dropped
lrwb.com.au	No	An acronym is not an exact match
littlered.net.au	No	Only some of the words

This is stricter than what an Australian company gets. An Australian business using its own trademark only needs a "Match", which the rules define as "one, some or all" of the words in the same order. A foreign holder relying on the trademark for its presence must use all of them. The exact-match requirement has applied since auDA's rules changed on 12 April 2021; older guides that say a domain "closely related" to the trademark is enough describe the pre-2021 rules.

Two practical consequences follow. First, file the trademark in the exact wording you want as a domain: if you want acmerobotics.com.au, the mark should read ACME ROBOTICS, not ACME ROBOTICS AUSTRALIA. Second, each extra domain needs its own mark: a second brand name means a second application.

Pending application or registered mark: when it starts to count

The rules count "a pending trade mark application or a registered trade mark that appears on IP Australia's trade mark database". You do not have to wait the 7 months or more that registration takes. What matters is that the application is visible in Australian Trade Mark Search, IP Australia's public database, because that is the source registrars use to validate trademark-based eligibility (auDA Registrar Rules 2.4.6).

Stage	Timing	Counts for .com.au?
Online filing	The application gets a trademark number at the time of filing	Once it appears in the database
Publication of the application details	Usually visible in Australian Trade Mark Search after 11pm on the day publication starts; status "Published: Awaiting indexing", then "Awaiting examination"	Yes, as a pending application
Examination	Usually 3-4 months from filing	Yes, while pending
Acceptance and opposition	Acceptance is advertised for 2 months; anyone can oppose	Yes, while pending
Registration	At least 7 months after filing, even with expedited examination	Yes
Renewal	The registration lasts 10 years from the filing date	Only while it stays registered

Sources: IP Australia (Timeframes and fees; Trade Marks Manual part 5.2; Australian Trade Mark Search help), Trade Marks Act 1995 s.72(3) and Trade Marks Regulations 1995 reg 5.6.

When you register the domain, the trademark number goes into the public registration record: auDA's Whois schedule lists an "Eligibility ID", giving the "TM number for registered trademark" as an example, and the "Eligibility Name". Before filing, run an Australian trademark search to check the words are free: a conflicting earlier mark is one of the most common reasons an application is refused, and a refused application takes the domain with it.

What a foreign applicant needs to file in Australia

IP Australia lists two eligibility conditions for any applicant: you must "reside (or have an agent that resides) in Australia or New Zealand", and you must "intend to use the trade mark for the goods and/or services in your application".

• An address for service in Australia or New Zealand. The Trade Marks Act 1995 s.215(5) says it "must be an address in Australia or New Zealand". A company based elsewhere uses its agent's address; that is how we file for clients abroad.
• An intention to use the mark. Section 27(1) allows an application by a person who uses or intends to use the mark, authorises or intends to authorise someone else to use it, or intends to assign it to a company about to be formed.
• An owner with legal personality. The applicant must be a person or a company, not a trading name (s.27(2)).
• Goods and services by class. Australia uses the Nice Classification, and official fees are charged per class. See how trademark classes work.
• Priority, if you already filed abroad. A filing made in another country within the last 6 months can be claimed as priority.

What about a Madrid Protocol filing? Australia has been a Madrid Protocol member since 11 July 2001. An international registration designating Australia receives an Australian trademark number and shows in Australian Trade Mark Search. However, auDA's rules never mention international registrations, so whether a registrar accepts one as an "Australian Trade Mark" is not settled in the text. If the domain matters, confirm with your registrar before relying on a Madrid designation, or file nationally. Read more on how the Madrid System works.

What can go wrong

The trademark route ties the domain to the life of the trademark. auDA's rules say a holder "must continue to have an Australian Presence throughout the Licence Period", and the note to rule 2.11.6 gives the example directly: a foreign person "whose Australian Trade Mark registration has lapsed no longer has an Australian Presence and the Licence will be cancelled".

What happens to the trademark	Legal basis	Effect on the .com.au
The words are descriptive or generic and the application is rejected	Trade Marks Act s.41	The pending application disappears and the presence with it
An earlier owner opposes successfully	2-month opposition period after acceptance	Same: no trademark, no presence
The registration is not renewed after 10 years	Act s.72(3)	Licence cancelled (rule 2.11.6)
The mark is removed for non-use	Act s.92(4): no good-faith intention to use when filing, or 3 years registered without use	Licence cancelled
The domain comes up for renewal	Licensing Rules 2.14.1	You must still be eligible to renew

Generic words do not work. IP Australia refuses marks that other traders may legitimately want to use, such as descriptive words or geographic names, and warns that adding "domain name terminology (e.g. com.au) isn't likely to make the trade mark distinctive". A minority of auDA's review panel made the same point about domains like "live, shoes or tyres": these words cannot be registered as trademarks, so the trademark route is for distinctive brand names, not keyword domains.

Filing only to get the domain is risky. Without a real intention to use the mark in Australia, the application can be opposed (s.59) and the mark removed at any time after filing (s.92(4)(a)). On the domain side, every applicant warrants that its information is true and that it will remain eligible (rule 2.10.1). Under the .au Dispute Resolution Policy, an eligibility warranty that is or becomes false is evidence of bad faith, and passing the registrar's eligibility check does not by itself prove a legitimate interest in the name.

The 2026 rules review: what changes and what doesn't

auDA is reviewing its Licensing Rules. In August 2026 its Board approved the review panel's recommendations in principle, but as of 18 October 2026 no rule has changed and the public consultation on draft rules had not opened; auDA said it aims to start it "by the end of October".

Topic	Proposal	Effect on the trademark route
Recommendation 2: allocation of com.au and net.au names	Delete rule 2.4.4(2)(f), which lets a registrant use the name of a service, goods, event, activity or premises (the old "close and substantial connection" test)	None. auDA confirms that "a match of their Australian trade mark" is retained
Australian Presence by trademark and the exact-match rule	No recommendation touches them	Unchanged
Recommendation 6: renewals	Renew at any time before expiry, for up to 5 years from the renewal date (today: within 90 days before expiry)	Applies to every holder; dates not set

If the proposal goes ahead, a trademark becomes more important rather than less: Australian businesses that today rely on a product or service name would need a matching business name or trademark instead.

Step by step

1. Pick the exact words you want as your .com.au and check they are distinctive, not descriptive.
2. Run an Australian trademark search for earlier conflicting marks.
3. File the application with IP Australia in exactly those words, listing the goods and services you will offer, through an agent with an Australian or New Zealand address for service.
4. Wait until the application appears in Australian Trade Mark Search and note its number.
5. Register the exact-match .com.au, .net.au or .au domain with an auDA-accredited registrar, using the trademark as your eligibility.
6. Keep both alive: answer any examination report, defend oppositions, use the mark, and renew the trademark and the domain on time.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a .com.au without an ABN?

Yes. A foreign company can rely on an ARBN or an Australian trademark (pending or registered) instead of an ABN or ACN. With a trademark, the domain must be an exact match of the mark's words.

Do I need to wait until my Australian trademark is registered?

No. auDA's definition of Australian Trade Mark includes a pending application that appears on IP Australia's database. The risk is that if the application is later refused or abandoned, the domain loses its eligibility.

Can I use one trademark for several domains?

Only for domains that are an exact match of the same words, for example the .com.au, the .net.au and the .au direct version of the name. A different name needs a different trademark.

Do I need an office in Australia?

Not for the domain: auDA says the physical address of the business is not taken into account. For the trademark application, you need an address for service in Australia or New Zealand, which can be your agent's.

How long does an Australian trademark last?

Ten years from the filing date, renewable. Registration takes at least 7 months from filing; in our experience, about 9 months when there are no objections or oppositions.

Ready to secure the name in Australia? Start with a trademark search in Australia, then register your trademark in Australia with local attorneys handling the filing and every step at IP Australia.