.com.au or .au: Which Domain Should Your Business Get?

Since March 2022, Australian businesses can choose between the familiar .com.au and a shorter .au, such as yourbusiness.au. More than 814,000 .au names are now registered, but .com.au is still about four times as common, with 3.3 million (auDA).

I’m Jay, a freelance web developer who builds websites for businesses across Australia. This guide compares .com.au and .au, explains what each means for Google, and helps you choose.

The short answer: if you already have a .com.au, keep it for your website and email, and register the matching .au so nobody else can, then redirect it to your .com.au. If you’re starting fresh, both work equally well on Google. A .com.au is more familiar to customers, and a .au is shorter and often easier to get.

.com.au vs .au: the differences#

The biggest differences are who can register each one and what name you’re allowed to choose.

	.com.au	.au
Example	yourbusiness.com.au	yourbusiness.au
Names registered (July 2026)	3.3 million	814,000
Who can register	Australian businesses and organisations	Anyone with an Australian presence, including citizens, permanent residents and organisations registered in Australia
Which names you can choose	One based on your legal name, registered business name or trade mark, or a product, service or activity you provide	Any available name; it doesn’t need to match your business
What customers expect	The address most Australians know and trust	Newer, but shorter and easier to type
Google	Tells Google your site is for Australia	Tells Google your site is for Australia
Registration period	1 to 5 years	1 to 5 years

Sources: auDA, auDA registry stats, VentraIP, Web Hosting Today.

The .com.au rules may get stricter#

In October 2026, auDA proposed narrowing which new .com.au and .net.au names you can register. Under the proposal, new names would have to match your personal name, registered business name or Australian trade mark, so names based on a product or service would no longer qualify. Existing .com.au names would keep the current rules, and a public consultation is planned before anything changes (Web Hosting Today).

If you’re planning a .com.au based on a product or service name rather than your business name, register it sooner rather than later.

Is .com.au or .au better for Google?#

Neither. Both end in .au, Australia’s country code, and Google treats a country-code domain as a strong sign that a site is meant for that country (Google). A .com.au and a .au send Google the same message: this business is Australian.

What decides your rankings is everything else: useful content, a fast site that works on phones, and links from other Australian websites. Test your current site with my free website speed test.

Don’t switch an established .com.au to .au for SEO. Moving domains is a full site move. Every page needs a redirect, and rankings often dip for a while. You’d take that risk for no gain. If you ever do move, follow the same steps as a redesign without losing your Google rankings.

Which one should you choose?#

It depends on where you’re starting from.

Your situation	What to do
You already have a .com.au	Keep it as your main website and email. Register the matching .au as well, and redirect it to your .com.au.
You’re starting a new business	Check both. If the .com.au is free, make it your main address and register the .au to protect your name. If only the .au is free, it works just as well on Google.
Someone else has your .com.au	The .au may still be free. Check first that another business isn’t using the same name, or customers may confuse you and you could be infringing on their brand.
You’re a sole trader without a registered business, or it’s a side project	A .com.au needs an Australian business identifier, such as an ABN. A .au only needs an Australian presence, such as citizenship or permanent residency.
Most of your customers are overseas	Either .au domain tells Google your site is for Australia. If you mainly sell overseas, a .com may suit you better.

When .au direct launched, existing .com.au owners had priority to claim their matching .au until 20 September 2022 (Wikipedia). If you didn’t claim yours, it may now be free for anyone with an Australian presence to register, so it’s worth checking today.

How to use both without hurting your SEO#

Owning both is common and safe, as long as only one of them shows your website.

1. Choose one main domain. This is the address on your business cards, emails and Google Business Profile. For most businesses, it’s the .com.au.
2. Register the other one. Use the same registrar, so renewals happen in one place.
3. Redirect it with a 301. Point the second domain at your main one with a permanent (301) redirect, so yourbusiness.au/contact goes to yourbusiness.com.au/contact. Your host or registrar can set this up in a few minutes.
4. Don’t run two copies of your website. The same site on two domains splits your rankings and confuses Google.
5. Keep your email on the main domain. You can forward emails sent to the second domain, but don’t use both for sending.
6. Test it. Type the second domain into your browser, with and without www, and check it lands on the right page of your main site.

Registering and owning your domain#

Your domain is one of your most valuable business assets, so set it up properly from day one.

• Use an auDA-accredited registrar. Only accredited registrars can sell .au domains. auDA’s free WHOIS lookup shows whether a name is taken.
• Register it in your business’s name. A .com.au needs an Australian identifier such as an ABN or ACN (VentraIP). Use your own, not your web developer’s.
• Keep the logins yourself. Give your developer access when they need it, but don’t let them hold the account.
• Register for longer and turn on auto-renew. Both .com.au and .au can be registered for 1 to 5 years (VentraIP). An expired domain takes your website and email down with it.
• Keep your contact email current. Renewal reminders go to the email on the account, so update it if you change email address.

Choosing a developer? Ask who will own your domain before you sign; it’s one of the 10 questions to ask before you hire.

Common questions#

Is .au better than .com.au for SEO?#

No. Both end in Australia’s country code, so Google treats them the same way. Your content, speed and links decide your rankings.

Do I need an ABN to register a domain?#

For a .com.au, you need an Australian business identifier such as an ABN or ACN. For a .au, an Australian presence such as citizenship or permanent residency is enough.

Can someone else register my business name as a .au?#

Yes, if it’s still available and they have an Australian presence. That’s why it’s worth registering the .au that matches your business, even if you never use it as your main address.

Should I move my email to .au?#

No. Keep your email on your main domain. Changing it means updating every account, invoice and contact who knows your current address.

What about .net.au?#

It follows the same kind of rules as .com.au but is much less common, with about 179,000 names compared with 3.3 million .com.au names (auDA). Most businesses choose .com.au or .au.

How I can help#

I can set up the redirect from your second domain, connect it to Google Search Console and check that nothing breaks. If you’re moving to a new domain, I’ll plan the redirects so you keep your rankings. I work with businesses in every state and territory.

Send me your domains on Fiverr, and I’ll tell you what needs setting up.

Sources#

• About .au direct domain names, auDA
• Registry monthly stats, July 2026, auDA
• auDA proposes exempting nearly 3.5 million existing .com.au and .net.au domains from new allocation rules, Web Hosting Today
• Who is eligible for .au domain names, VentraIP
• How long can I register a domain name for?, VentraIP
• Managing multi-regional and multilingual sites, Google Search Central
• .au, Wikipedia