Special Minister of State, Senator Eric Abetz, has announced that Australian domain name provider, NetRegistry, had been selected as the Registrar for the Government's gov.au domain.

"Following a competitive tender process NetRegistry has been selected to provide domain name support to Government agencies," the Minister said. Minister Abetz said the Australian Government would not hand over direct control of the domain to NetRegistry, but would allow the provider to run the day-to-day operations of the gov.au domain.

"The Australian public expect information and services provided under the gov.au domain banner to be of the highest standard and this arrangement strengthens this level of trust," said Minister Abetz.

Improved efficiency

Minister Abetz said the appointment of NetRegistry would improve the efficiency of Government domain operations, give Government agencies access to better services and support, while it allowed the Government to focus on the strategic development of the domain.

"We want to ensure that the gov.au domain can keep up with the growth in information and services provided online by governments," said Minister Abetz.

The Australian Government will maintain responsibility for the gov.au domain under arrangements with industry regulatory body .au Domain Administration (auDA). Minister Abetz said the current management arrangements for the gov.au domain involved Australian, State and Territory Governments working together to ensure a consistent and robust domain environment was maintained.

"Under the new Registrar arrangements this collaborative approach will be strengthened with the Government now able to focus on shared management and policy, with NetRegistry providing operational support," said Minister Abetz.