What to do if your .au domain cannot be renewed
You may receive an email with a subject similar to: Action required to renew yourdomain.com.au
This means that the ABN or ACN currently registered against your domain name is no longer valid.
This often happens when:
- your business has changed to a new ABN or ACN;
- the old business has closed;
- your ABN has been cancelled; or
- the domain is still registered to a previous business owner.
You must fix this before the domain name can be renewed.
What you need to do
Option 1: Reactivate your ABN
If you are a sole trader and the same ABN should still be used, you may be able to reactivate the ABN through the Australian Business Register.
Once the ABN is active again, please contact us so we can check the domain registration.
Option 2: Change the registered owner
If the domain should now be registered to a different person, business, ABN or ACN, you will need to complete a Change of Registrant.
A Change of Registrant transfers the domain name to the correct legal owner.
To do this:
- Download the AU Transfer of Legal Registrant form from our Transfer of Legal Registrant page.
- Complete and sign the form.
- Email the completed form to support@domainhostingshop.com.au.
- We will check the form and send you an invoice.
- After payment, we will submit the change to the domain registry.
The cost is $75 AUD. This includes the Change of Registrant and a new two-year registration period.
Important information about the date
If the previous ABN or ACN has already been cancelled, the transfer form or supporting document may need to show that the domain was transferred before the ABN or ACN became invalid.
Please provide any documents that show when the business or domain name changed ownership.
Why this is required
Australian domain name rules require the registered owner to remain eligible to hold the domain.
A domain cannot normally be renewed while it is registered to an invalid or cancelled ABN or ACN.
Domain Hosting Shop may not know that the eligibility email has been sent, because it is generated automatically as part of the .au domain checking process.
Please send us the completed Change of Registrant form and any supporting documents so we can help process the change.