There is widespread consensus that an industry self-regulatory regime should be established to take over responsibility for the management of the .au domain space. However ADNA lacked the authority required for it to operate effectively. On behalf of the Australian Government, NOIE has agreed to facilitate the development of a self-regulatory regime and oversee the transfer of delegation from Robert Elz to the new regime. The new target date for the transfer of responsibility from Mr Robert Elz to an industry self-regulatory regime is April 2000. This time frame has been establish by NOIE in consultation with key stake holders and is considered sufficient to allow for appropriate levels of consultation and the resolution of critical legal, funding and technical issues.
Comment is sought on the above principles.
It has also been proposed that both the domain space and the information on names registered in the domain space should be managed as a public trust in the public interest. To achieve this, the registry function should be clearly distinguished and separated from the registrar function. In this context, the registry function critically involves the development and maintenance of a database containing the zone file information on all names registered in a given 2LD, whereas the registrar function critically involves the sale of a name and associated services to an end user. The registry function must be centrally coordinated and managed, whereas the registrar function requires no central coordination and is an area in which competition should be developed. NSI registry services are subject to price caps established by relevant US authorities2.