Who owns your business domain name, and how do you check?

Short answer: whoever is listed as the registrant. For a .com.au domain, that should be your business, with your ABN or ACN. You can check in two minutes on the .au WHOIS. If a developer or agency is listed instead, ask them to transfer it to you now, while you’re on good terms.

Why it matters

Your domain is your website address, and usually your email address too. Whoever controls it can renew it, move it or switch both off. Australian online law firm Sprintlaw calls a developer registering the domain in their own name “one of the most common (and preventable) issues” (Sprintlaw, 2025).

How to check a .com.au domain

1. Go to the official .au WHOIS at whois.auda.org.au.
2. Enter your domain, for example yourbusiness.com.au, and tick the verification checkbox.
3. Find Registrant and Registrant ID. They should show your business name and your ABN or ACN.
4. Note the registrar, or the reseller if one is listed. That’s the company you deal with to change anything.

For a .com or another non-.au domain, use ICANN Lookup. Owner details are often hidden there, so also log in to your registrar account and check that the owner or registrant contact shows your business.

Own the login, not just the name

There are two things to control:

• The registration: the registrant should be your business.
• The account: the login with your domain provider should use your business email, with two-factor sign-in turned on.

Being the registrant is much harder to act on if only your developer can log in.

If your developer is listed as the owner

1. Ask in writing for a change of registrant to your business. For .au domains, this is started through the registrar or reseller. Your business signs a new licence agreement and pays the licence fee (auDA).
2. Keep proof the domain was bought for your business: quotes, invoices and emails.
3. If they won’t cooperate, contact the registrar or reseller shown on the WHOIS, and get legal advice if you need to.

Before you hire anyone

Register the domain yourself, or put it in writing that it’s registered to your business, with your ABN, and that you’ll get the login.

Where ShreeNova fits

We register your domain in your business’s name, and you get the login. Once the build is paid, the website is yours too. If you move to another developer, we hand over the code free, within 5 business days. See pricing, or read what to ask a web designer before you pay.