The Prime Minister announced on 7 April 2006 the Government's Interim
Response to the Report of the Taskforce on Reducing Regulatory Burdens on
Business
http://www.pm.gov.au/news/media_releases/media_Release1869.html.  The
Response is at:
  a.. RTF: http://www.pm.gov.au/docs/rethinkingregulation.rtf  (495KB)
  b.. PDF: http://www.pm.gov.au/docs/rethinkingregulation.pdf  (323KB)
The Report "Rethinking Regulation: Report of the Taskforce on Reducing
Regulatory Burdens on Business: Australian Government?s Interim Response" is
at http://www.regulationtaskforce.gov.au.  From this Report:

  Reviewing ?.com.au? domain name extensions

  The Australian domain name system is critical infrastructure in the
context of modern e-commerce.  Responsibility for administering the .com.au
extension resides with the industry self-regulatory body, au Domain
Administration.

  Business raised several concerns about domain name governance and
regulation. These included the red tape surrounding the prohibition of
trading .au domain name licences in a secondary market; and the requirement
that an individual or business must have an Australian business number or a
tax file number to acquire a domain name with a .com.au extension.

  The Taskforce did not have time to examine these concerns, although it
acknowledges that prima facie there may be issues which warrant a review.

  Recommendation 5.59

  The Australian Government should consider conducting a review of .com.au
domain name administration.

The Government's Interim Response to Recommendation 5.59:

  Response

  The Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts is
examining Australia?s domain name administration and policy structures
following five years of operation under a self regulatory model. The
recommendation on domain names will be considered in the course of this
process.

SETEL's Submission to the Taskforce is at
http://www.setel.com.au/site.php?id=257 (PDF).  Its comments on the scope
for regulatory reduction in .au domain name industry commence at page 9.
They relate to:

  a.. the prohibition on transfers of com.au domain name licences between
registrants

  b.. development of a competitive secondary market in .com.au domain name
licences

  c.. general review of the domain name industry in Australia and DNS
governance and regulation, notably of the auDA regulatory scheme.


Ian Johnston




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