In 2017 auDA formed a Policy Review Panel (PRP) to develop and make recommendations for the consolidation and reform of its existing policies, with the aims of reducing the regulatory burden on business and improving the utility of the .au domain.
The PRP consulted the Australian government, internet industry groups and the wider Australian Community.
The Policy Review Panel produced a report containing 25 recommendations aimed at simplifying and modernising the way domain names are administered. You can read the report here: Recommendations to the auDA Board: Reform of Existing Policies & Implementation of Direct Registration.
The auDA Management Response, outlining which recommendations were implemented, can be found here: auDA Management Response: 2017 Policy Review Panel Final Report and Recommendations.
Next steps
This current round of policy consultation ends on 31 October 2019. You can see how it fits in to the process in this document.
Once public submissions close, auDA will collate and consider all feedback in a draft report.
The draft policy will be amended based on feedback.
Where there are significant changes, the policy will be put out for a further period of public consultation, along with a statement outlining what changes have been made and why.
auDA will then advise the Board of the public submissions and the rationale for why comments have been accepted or rejected..
The board will then vote on whether or not to adopt the policy and its implementation date.
The outcome of the consultation, together with a summary of technical and process improvements, will be considered by the auDA Board in late 2019 or early 2020.
The .au licensing rules will not come into effect until the Board approves a commencement date.