Can I register this?

[antipodes]

I want to upgrade to a paid host and need a domain. This will be a com.au domain. I want to use my own name but it isn't registered as a business. Can i do that?

I am also wondering about place names, names of suburbs for eg., how do they register these names when such a name cannot be registered with the government business names registration? I see lots of names in this category and woinder how they do this.

thanks for help with these items
antipodes

[CHC]

Most of our Australian clients do not bother with .com.au domains as there is to much hoop jumping to go through, registering a .com is far cheaper and easier.

[garry]

Hi antipodes

There are many pros for just having a .com name instead of a .com.au. as CHC says

1. you dont need to have a registered business
2. Cheaper all the way, in registration, hosting & yearly fees.
3. Less bull to get through, in the way of ABN's, registration papers etc.
4. Quicker.....I can have a site up today if I have a .com name......not a few days time waiting for .com.au
5. Support.....I can post a Question late at night and wake up next morning to find it resolved.
OK I got carried away there, but it has happenned to me many times.

Try finding a town name available nowadays, they have all been snapped up as .coms

Cheers from the Northern Territory Outback

[antipodes]

yes, I see a lot of ozzie coms around instead of au. Problem I encountered when looking around at aussie listing opportunities is that many demand u have an au domain.

For someone starting out this could mean the difference between getting listed, especially on government databases where your work folio can be seen, could be as simple as au.

Seems a little fascist but that's the way it is. Also, Google has that australian search facility which could mean I don't appear in such geo searches.

I'd be interested in your thoughts on these issues.
thanks
antipodes

[Woz]

Aussie .com.au's can only be registered to a legal entity such as a Company name, Business name, and so on. Howver, you can trade under your personal name, and obtain an ABN for such, without having to register it as a business name. Therefor, if you have an ABN for your personal name, you can also register yourname.com.au

Having said that, as has already been said, a lot of Australians register .coms simply because they are easier and cheaper. The only reason I can see, apart from possible legal ones, for having a .com.au is if you are specifically targetting the Australian market and therefor need to ensure top listings in Australian SEs that filter by domain/host/owner such as AltaVista.com.au and Google.com.au/Anzwers.com.au.

Hope this helps

Onya
Woz

[antipodes]

yes this is true Woz. I am targetting australia and indeed local to my state. That puts paid to that I guess.
thanks heaps 4 help on this matter.
antipodes

[Rocket]

In addition to Woz's comment that if you have an ABN for your personal name you can also register yourname.com.au, under the new relaxed .au rules means any business can now register multiple names per business without requiring mulitple business names. This is done under the closely and substantially section of the .au policy which states:

2. Domain names in the com.au 2LD must:
...
c) be otherwise closely and substantially connected to the registrant, because the domain name refers to.
(i) a product that the registrant manufactures or sells; or
(ii) a service that the registrant provides; or
(iii) an event that the registrant organises or sponsors; or
(iv) an activity that the registrant facilitates, teaches or trains; or
(v) a venue that the registrant operates; or
(vi) a profession that the registrant's employees practise.