The .AU registry, auDA, has the following rules in place:

First come, first served
1. Domain name licences are allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. It is not possible to pre-register or otherwise reserve a domain name.

Registrants must be Australian

2. Domain name licences may only be allocated to a registrant who is Australian, as defined under the eligibility and allocation rules for each 2LD.

Composition of domain names
3. Domain names must:
a) be at least 2 characters long;
b) contain only letters (a-z), numbers (0-9) and hyphens (-), or a combination of these;
c) start and end with a number or a letter, not a hyphen; and
d) not contain hyphens in the third and fourth position (eg. ab--cd.com.au).

Domain name licence renewal period
4. The domain name licence period is fixed at 2 years. It is not possible to license a domain name for a shorter or longer period.

5. Renewal of a domain name licence at the end of the 2 year period is dependent on the registrant continuing to meet the eligibility and allocation rules for the relevant 2LD.

Number of domain names
6. There is no restriction on the number of domain names that may be licensed by a registrant.

auDA’s Reserved List
7. auDA’s Reserved List contains names that may not be licensed. The list is available on auDA’s website at http://www.auda.org.au.

Prohibition on registering domain names for sole purpose of resale
8.  A registrant may not register a domain name for the sole purpose of resale or transfer to another entity.