Who actually owns your domain name? Why letting your web developer hold the keys is a risk

18 Sep 2026, by Micron21

Most business owners we speak to are surprised to learn that the thing they’re least likely to check on, is often the single most important asset that's core to their online presence.  What we're talking about here isn't their logo or their social media accounts, and not even their website, but rather it's their actual domain name.

A domain name is the address that your customers type in, and is where your email gets delivered to.  Domain names are printed on your business cards, invoices, and signage that includes shop fronts and on vehicles.  Yet, in a number of small businesses, many are surprised to learn that nobody in the business actually holds it.  Instead, it might sit quietly in the name of the web developer who built their site for them a decade ago in 2016, or with the marketing agency that ran a small campaign for them years ago, or even with a former staff member who set it all up for them as a favour.

Most of the time, this causes no problems at all – right up until the moment it does.  And that moment - well that usually always happens at the worst possible time -  such as when you’re having to move to a new provider because the relationship with current developer has soured, or simply that your calls to them no longer connect because they have ceased to operate.  So this month we thought we’d explain how domain ownership actually works in Australia, how to check yours in a couple of minutes, and what to do if it turns out to be in the wrong name.

It sounds like a technicality, but it explains everything that follows herein which is that you don’t actually own a domain name, instead you hold a licence to use it.

In the Australian domain space, everything ending in .au, is overseen by an organisation called auDA (.au Domain Administration).  Their domain is auda.org.au and they set the rules for who can hold .au domains (eg .au directly; com.au; .net.au; etc ) with your domain being licensed to you for a set period under those rules.

auDA themselves use the analogy of a car registration, and it’s a good one.  Registration is recorded against a specific person or entity, it needs to be renewed, and it doesn’t automatically move to someone else just because the car changed hands.  Domain names work in a similar way – which is why the question “whose name is it in?” matters so much.

Here’s where the Australian rules differ from the rest of the world, and where the risk really comes from.

To hold a .com.au or .net.au domain name, you need to be an Australian commercial entity.  In practice, this usually means providing an active ABN (Australian Business Number) or ACN (Australian Company Number) at the time of registration.  Foreign companies trading here can also use an ARBN or an Australian trade mark.

That identifier isn’t just a box to tick during sign-up.  It is recorded against the domain name as the “registrant”, and it is what establishes who legally holds the licence.  Whichever entity is listed there, is the entity that holds the domain – regardless of who paid for it, who designed the website, who has the password, or whose name is on the invoice each year.

This is the crux of the problem.  If your web developer completed that form using their ABN rather than yours, then as far as the official record is concerned, the domain is theirs and not yours.

To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with asking a developer to register a domain for you.  auDA explicitly permits it, provided you’ve given them your explicit written permission.

What they’re equally clear about, is that the developer should be using your details – your business name, your contact details and your company’s ABN – because those details are what show who holds the domain name licence.  auDA also spell out the problems that arise when a developer uses their own details instead, such as that the developer may not actually meet the eligibility requirements to hold that name; you become reliant on them continuing to exist as a business in order to keep control of your own name; and renewal notices go to them rather than to you – meaning that if they don’t pass those notices on, your registration can quietly lapse.

That last point is worth sitting with for a moment, because a lapsed domain doesn’t only just take your website offline, it also takes your email with it.

In our experience, the trouble shows up in one of four ways:

• You want to change providers, and you can’t: Moving a domain requires authorisation from the registrant contact – and if that contact is your developer’s email address, you need their cooperation to go anywhere.  A cooperative developer makes this painless. However, an unresponsive or unhappy one, makes it very difficult.
• The relationship breaks down: If there’s a dispute over an invoice or the quality of work, a business that holds your domain holds a great deal of leverage over you. We’d like to say this is rare, and not common, however it can and does happen with businesses being caught offguard when it unexpectedly happens to them..
• The developer’s business ceases to exist: This is the one that catches people out the most, because it requires nobody to behave badly at all.  Developers retire, wind up their companies, or simply let their ABN lapse.  Under the .au rules, a licence is tied to an entity that must remain valid – so when that entity disappears, the domain licence sitting under it is at risk of cancellation.  And with that business gone - the person whose authorisation you need to fix it - is usually gone too.
• Renewals quietly stop happening: If notices go to an email address you don’t monitor, or to a business that may no longer be paying attention, then the first sign of trouble is usually your website and email go dark without warning.

The good news is that this is easy to verify. It’s free, and you don’t have to be technical to do it.

1. Go to auDA’s .au WHOIS lookup tool at whois.auda.org.au and enter the.au domain name you want to query in the search bar, then click on the "Look It Up" button.
2. Scroll down to the registrant details, and look at these two fields in particular: Registrant and Registrant ID.
3. The Registrant should be your business’s legal entity name. The Registrant ID should be your ABN or ACN.

If what you see there is your developer’s business name, your agency’s ABN, or the name of an individual rather than your company, then your domain is not currently held by your business – even if you’ve been paying the invoices for it every year.  As auDA puts it, if your company name isn’t in the WHOIS, you are not recorded as the licence holder, even if you already have the passwords and access.

While you’re there, it’s also worth checking the registrant contact email address. If that’s pointing at a developer, an agency, or a staff member who left three years ago, then you might not be receiving renewal notices – and that’s a problem even when the ABN itself is correct.

If you’ve discovered a problem, don’t panic – this is usually fixable, and in most cases it’s resolved with a straightforward conversation.

Start by talking to your developer: The overwhelming majority of these situations are not malicious.  Most developers registered the domain that way years ago because it was quicker at the time, or because that was simply how they did things back then.  Ask politely, and most will happily help put it right.

Then speak to the registrar that the domain sits with: Depending on the circumstances, moving a domain into your name is handled either as a correction to the registrant details -  where the wrong details were recorded at the time of registration;  or as a full change of registrant (COR) - which is the formal process for moving a licence from one entity to another.  Your provider will be able to tell you which applies in your case.  A change of registrant requires both parties to be eligible and involves entering into a new licence agreement, and providers often charge a fee for processing.

One thing to note is that any remaining years on your licence will unfortunately not carry across during a COR, however it does involve a two year registration, which places your next renewal date two years ahead of when the COR took place.

If your ABN has been used without your permission, contact auDA directly: They provide a general enquiry form on their website for exactly this situation.

One thing to be aware of: a domain name can’t be transferred while it’s subject to a complaint or a dispute resolution process.  So if you think a relationship is heading that way, it’s far better to sort out the domain early, while everyone is still on good terms, than to try to untangle it afterwards.  If a dispute has already started, or there’s real money at stake, then it’s worth getting proper legal advice – as we can only help with the technical side of things, not the legalities.

A handful of simple habits will keep you in control:

• Register the domain in your business’s name and ABN: This is important to do, even if someone else does the actual registering for you. If a developer is doing it on your behalf, give them written permission and make sure they’re using your details, and not theirs.
• Use a business email address as the registrant contact: Ideally use a shared email address such as accounts@ or admin@ rather than an individual’s personal email address. This is because, people can and do leave, whereas the mailbox stays.
• Keep your ABN or ACN current: Your eligibility has to hold for the entire licence period, not just at the moment you register. If you restructure your business, change entities, or let an old ABN lapse, check what that means for any domains sitting under it.
• Put it in writing when engaging a developer or agency: A single line confirming that all domain names will be registered in your business’s name, and that you’ll be given access to them, prevents almost every version of this problem.
• Diarise your renewals yourself: Rather than relying entirely on someone else to forward you a notice, it's good practise to diarise the renewal dates.
• Check the WHOIS once a year: Using this WHOIS tool from auDA is the simplest safeguard there is to determine who is managing the.au domain name licence that you are enquiring about.

As a final note: If you’re buying or selling a business, domains deserve a specific mention in the contract.  Buying a business does not automatically transfer its domain names to you, and if the original entity is deregistered before the transfer happens, sorting it out afterwards becomes considerably harder.

If you’ve checked your domain in the WHOIS and something doesn’t look right, or you would simply like someone to take a look with you, let us know!

As a .au accredited registrar, Micron21 manages domains for businesses of every size and we’re very familiar with untangling this particular situation – including domains that have been sitting with a former developer or agency for years.

You can reach us on 1300 769 972 (Option #1) or via email at sales@micron21.com.

1, auDA, “com.au domain names”, https://www.auda.org.au/au-domain-names/the-different-au-domain-names/com-au-domain-names/
2, auDA, “Transfer your .au domain name”, https://www.auda.org.au/au-domain-names/manage-your-au-domain-name/transfer-your-au-domain-name/
3, auDA, “.au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing”, https://www.auda.org.au/au-domain-names/au-rules-and-policies/au-domain-administration-rules-licensing-2/
4, auDA, “Buying or selling a business: don’t forget your domain name”, https://www.auda.org.au/news-insights/blog/buying-or-selling-business-dont-forget-your-domain-name/