How to register a .com.au domain name

Your domain name is your address on the internet, like yourbusiness.com.au. It is the first thing you sort when you set up a website, and it is one of the few parts you truly own. Get it right once and it is yours for as long as you keep renewing it.

This walks through what a domain actually is, the .au rules that trip people up, how to check and register one, what it really costs, and how we connect it for you if you would rather not touch the technical side.

What a domain name actually is

A domain is the human-friendly name people type to reach your site. Behind the scenes it points to wherever your website lives. Two parts matter:

• → the name itself, like yourbusiness
• → the ending, like .com.au, .com, or .net.au

For an Australian small business, .com.au is usually the right call. It signals you are a local, registered business, and customers here trust it. A plain .com works too, but .com.au reads as more established locally. You can register both and point them at the same site if you want to be safe.

The .au eligibility rules

This is where people get surprised. You cannot just grab any .com.au name. To register a .com.au or .net.au you need:

• ✅ a valid ABN or ACN
• ✅ a name that relates to your business, your products, or your services

That is the barrier that keeps .au domains cleaner than open endings. If you do not have an ABN yet, you can register one for free through the government. The official rules and the ABN link live at business.gov.au. Newer .au direct names, like yourbusiness.au, follow similar Australian-presence rules.

How to check if a name is free

Before you fall in love with a name, check it is available:

1. Go to any domain registrar's search box.
2. Type the name you want with .com.au on the end.
3. If it is taken, the search will suggest alternatives.
4. Try a couple of variations, but keep it short and easy to say.

A few tips that save regret later. Keep it short. Make it easy to spell out over the phone. Avoid hyphens and numbers where you can, since they are awkward to say aloud. Ideally the domain matches your business name so there is nothing extra for a customer to remember.

How to register it

Once you have a free name you like, registering is quick:

1. Pick a registrar. Australian ones are common and support .au well.
2. Add the domain and confirm your ABN or ACN when asked.
3. Choose your term. One or two years is fine, longer is also fine.
4. Turn off any upsells you do not need, then pay.

Expect roughly $15 to $30 a year for a .com.au. That is the honest going rate. Hosting, email, and privacy add-ons are separate, and you do not need to buy them all at checkout just because they are offered.

Own it yourself, always

This is the one rule I will repeat. Register the domain in your own name or business name, in an account you control. It is tempting to let a web designer "just handle it," but if the domain sits in someone else's account you can be locked out of your own address later, or held up when you want to move.

If you use us to build your site, you keep the domain. We simply connect the one you already own.

How we connect it for you

Once the domain is registered, it has to be pointed at your website. That means editing DNS records, which is the part that makes most people close the tab. When we build a site, this is included. You register and own the domain, send us access or the records, and we connect it so your site loads at yourbusiness.com.au with the secure padlock in place.

The whole thing is part of the flat $249 AUD build for the Website tier, no separate technical fee. If you want to hand over the fiddly bits and just have a working address, start on the pricing page. And if you are still mapping out the whole build, how to make a website for your business covers the full run, what pages a small business website needs covers structure, and setting up a professional business email covers the you@yourbusiness.com.au address that rides on the same domain.