Applies to: all Rhythm Digital clients with a .au domain name
Your domain name is licensed rather than owned, and it needs renewing. If it lapses, your website goes offline and so does your email. It's one of the few things that can take your whole online presence down in a single day, and it's entirely preventable.
There's also been a rule change this year that has caught out a lot of Australian businesses. Worth five minutes of your time.
The change from May 2026
Since 20 May 2026, auDA (who oversee all .au domain names) requires the ABN or ACN attached to your domain to be current and active when it comes up for renewal.
This used to be checked loosely. It isn't any more. If the business number on your domain doesn't match an active entity, your renewal is blocked, even if your credit card works and you've paid on time.
When that happens, the domain lapses. Your website goes offline and your email stops. Getting a lapsed domain back is possible but expensive, slow and not guaranteed.
This is not a hypothetical. We've already worked through around fifty client domains that needed their details corrected, so if it turns out yours needs attention, you're in good company.
Who this catches out
Nobody sets out to have wrong details. It happens quietly when:
You started as a sole trader and later moved to a company or trust, and the domain still has the old ABN on it
The business was sold or restructured and the domain came across but the details didn't
An ABN was cancelled, sometimes automatically by the ATO for inactivity or unlodged returns
The domain was registered years ago by a former staff member, an old web developer or an accountant, using their details
If any of that sounds even vaguely familiar, it's worth checking.
What we're doing about it
For clients whose domains we look after, we've been checking these and updating them where needed. If yours needs attention, we'll contact you rather than waiting for you to notice.
Where the business entity has genuinely changed, for example from a sole trader ABN to a company ACN, it isn't just a matter of editing a field. auDA treats it as a Change of Registrant, which is a formal process that transfers the domain licence from the old entity to the new one. There's paperwork and it takes a few days.
We can manage that process for you. We do it regularly and it's much less painful with someone who's done it before.
If you'd rather check it yourself
Find out what's on your domain. Look it up at whois.auda.org.au. It'll show you the registrant name and the ABN or ACN attached.
Check that number is active. Search it at ABN Lookup. You want to see it listed as active, with the entity name matching.
If it doesn't match, get in touch with us or with whoever manages your domain.
Do this well before your renewal date, not on the day.
Other things worth checking while you're there
Your expiry date. Know when it is. Put it in your calendar with a month's warning.
The contact email on the domain. Renewal reminders go to whatever address is on the domain record. If that's a former employee's address or an old provider, you'll never see the warnings. This is the single most common reason domains lapse.
Auto-renew and the card behind it. Auto-renew is worth having on, but it only works if the card hasn't expired. Cards get replaced every few years and nobody thinks to update the domain registrar.
Who actually controls it. If your domain sits in an old web developer's account, it's worth moving it somewhere you control. It's your asset, and you shouldn't need someone else's cooperation to keep your business online.
Who manages your domain
It varies, and it's worth knowing which applies to you.
We manage it, as part of your work with us
Your IT provider manages it. For a lot of our clients that's Entourage Technology, who are part of the same business group as Rhythm Digital. We work together on domain and DNS matters, so there's no need to play messenger between us.
You hold it directly with a registrar you signed up with at some point
If you're not sure, ask us and we'll find out.
What happens if it does lapse
There's usually a short grace period where you can renew normally. After that it goes into a redemption period where it can still be recovered, but at a much higher cost. After that it's released and anyone can register it.
If you think your domain has lapsed, act the same day. Time genuinely matters here.
We can check yours
Email support@rhythmdigital.au and ask us to check your domain. We'll tell you where it's registered, when it expires, what business number is on it and whether that number is currently active, and we'll sort out anything that needs fixing.
It costs you nothing and it's a far better conversation than the one that starts with your website being offline.
Official sources: auDA WHOIS lookup, ABN Lookup, and the auDA licensing rules.
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