Transferring a .com.au domain outside of Aus?

[meathead1234]

Hey guys,

Just completed a deal with a client outside of Aus who will be purchasing a .com.au domain. We are aware that non-Aus residents aren't allowed to own a .com.au without an ABN, so trying to figure out the best way to do it.

A few options we have (on top of having a watertight contract stating the new ownership):

- Setup a new ABN with my client as administrative contact
- Keep the domain in previous owner's name/ABN who is just "holding" it contractually for client

One thing we want to avoid is having a tax burden on the seller if the domain remains under her name/ABN.

It's likely the domain is just going to be 301'ed to the .net but it's important that ownership is sorted.

Does anyone have any experience in these situations and willing to offer some advice?

Thanks!

Thomas

[rob]

new ABN would be the best bet.

Make sure things are watertight as I had a notification from AUDA once saying 'sort X problem inside 7 days or we delete the name' which is a stupidly short timeframe.

[meathead1234]

Can a ABN be attained by a non-Aus resident? It's literally just for the ownership of the domain, earnings will be outside of that country and declared elsewhere. And by "watertight" - what do you mean by that? Any pitfalls to look out for?

[grynge]

The rules are pretty strict. Section 1 d) would be the only real way to stop any problems. For more info click the links below.

SCHEDULE C

ELIGIBILITY AND ALLOCATION RULES FOR COM.AU

The com.au 2LD is for commercial purposes.

The following rules are to be read in conjunction with the Eligibility and Allocation Rules for All Open 2LDs, contained in Schedule A of this document.

1. To be eligible for a domain name in the com.au 2LD, registrants must be:
a) an Australian registered company; or
b) trading under a registered business name in any Australian State or Territory; or
c) an Australian partnership or sole trader; or
d) a foreign company licensed to trade in Australia; or
e) an owner of an Australian Registered Trade Mark; or
f) an applicant for an Australian Registered Trade Mark; or
g) an association incorporated in any Australian State or Territory; or
h) an Australian commercial statutory body.

2. Domain names in the com.au 2LD must be:
a) an exact match, abbreviation or acronym of the registrant’s name or trademark; or
b) otherwise closely and substantially connected to the registrant.

[meathead1234]

Thanks for that - it's been quite hard to actually find a solution.

Think we're leaning towards virtual office + new ABN for the new owner. Main concern is avoiding any tax issues for the previous owner if we just change the admin details and leave her ABN in place for the ownership of domain.

[simon johnson]

Thomas,

I'm a member of auDA and part of the Names Policy Panel, so I thought I'd chime in with some advice. :-)

You REALLY need to follow the Allocation Rules at http://www.auda.org.au/policies/auda-2008-05/ in particular d) as per what grynge already pointed out.

If you choose to ignore this, your "client" may not be eligible and you could have the domain taken away from you (put into Pending Delete).

Please do this properly - its not worth the risk.

Simon