There are rules as to which type of domain ending (aka namespace) a person or organisation can use. In Australia, these rules are managed by the regulatory body, .au Domain Administration, auDA.
The following are the rules for domain endings from the auDA website open to the Australian public:
- asn.au – incorporated associations, political parties, trade unions, sporting and special interest clubs
- com.au – commercial entities registered with ASIC and businesses registered with state governments
- id.au – Australian residents and citizens
- net.au – the same as .com.au
- org.au – charities and non-profit organisations
gov.au, edu.au, and csiro.au are not available to the general public
State and Territory namespaces, for example, qld.au or nt.au are available for community groups and places in those states and territories. For example, sydney.nsw.au or perth-community-players.wa.au.
Domains that do not end in .au, can also be purchased. The following are available for anyone to buy:
- .com – Commercial, often American or international sites
- .net – Network, available for anyone
- .org – organisation, originally intended for non-profit organisations
More recently, other generic endings have been made available. The list is huge and here are some examples:
- .author
- .accountant
- .biz – should be held by a commercial entity
- .build – construction industry
- .cafe
- .car
- .dentist
- .eat – restaurants and foodies
- .education
- .events
- .gifts
- and the list goes on…check here at ICANN for the full list