There are conditions under which you can claim back an Australian domain name that has been taken, such as a .com.au, .net.au, etc.

auDA is the authority on domain names in Australia. auDA policies can be found here: http://www.auda.org.au/policy/current-policies/

To determine if you are able to dispute it, it's worthwhile checking if you are eligible to register the domain name you wish to have. The following is an extract from the auDA eligibility criteria for .com.au (source: http://www.auda.org.au/policies/auda-2012-04/ )

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, in accordance with the categories of “close and substantial connection” set out in the Guidelines on the Interpretation of Policy Rules for the Open 2LDs.

3. A domain name may also be registered in the com.au 2LD under paragraph 2(b) for the purpose of domain monetisation, in accordance with the explanation of “domain monetisation” set out in the Guidelines on the Interpretation of Policy Rules for the Open 2LDs, provided that the following conditions are met:

a) the content on the website to which the domain name resolves must be related specifically and predominantly to subject matter denoted by the domain name; and

b) the domain name must not be, or incorporate, an entity name, personal name or brand name in existence at the time the domain name was registered*.

* Definitions:

• “entity name” means the name of an Australian registered company or incorporated association as listed with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), or the name of an Australian government body. It does not include a registered business name;

• “personal name” means the given name(s) and/or last name of a person; and

“brand name” means the name of an identifiable and distinctive product or service, whether commercial or non-commercial.

If you wish to dispute a domain name please refer to the auDA website for further details.

Disputing a domain name could be a long process. It might be worthwile registering an alternate domain name that is eligible for use with your website. This way there will be no hold-ups in getting your website live. Other domains name can be associated with a website even after its live.

1. Where can I register domain names and emails?

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