Your .AU domain could be cancelled if your details are out of date

Image: auDA

From 1 May 2026, the rules around .AU domain renewals are changing.

If your ABN or ACN details are missing or out of date, your domain won't renew. It'll go to auto-delete instead.

That means your website goes offline. Your business email stops working. Customers can't find you. And recovering it isn't guaranteed.

What's changing

Australia's Domain Authority is tightening eligibility checks for .com.au and other .AU domains. Until now, outdated ABN or ACN details were largely overlooked at renewal time. From May, they won't be.

If your domain's registered ABN or ACN doesn't match an active entity, renewal will be blocked.

Who's affected

Any Australian business with a .AU domain. It's worth checking even if you set everything up years ago. ABN details change when businesses restructure, get sold, or go through other transitions.

How to check yours

Go to the WHOIS database and look up your domain. You'll see the ABN or ACN currently registered against it. Check that it matches your current business entity and that it's still active with the ATO.

If anything is out of date, contact your domain registrar and ask them to update the eligibility details before your domain's next renewal date.

If your .AU domain is managed through ShadowSafe, please let us know if your ABN, ACN, or any other registration details have changed by submitting a support ticket. We can check your records and make sure everything is in order before May.

The enforcement changes currently only apply to ABN and ACN numbers. Trademark-based eligibility requirements are coming separately over the coming months.

It’s also worth noting: if your domain does lapse, recovery may still be possible — but it's not guaranteed, and the window is tight.