Guide
Who Owns My Website and Domain Name?
Your domain belongs to whoever is named as its registrant, and you can check that free. The website is separate. Under Australian law, whoever wrote the code owns it unless your contract hands it to you.
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Where this comes from
The domain rules here come from auDA's .au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing and its help pages on transfers, all read on 21 October 2026. The copyright points come from the South Australian Law Handbook's chapter on copyright ownership, which summarises the Copyright Act 1968. This is a plain-English guide, not legal advice. If a former designer is refusing to hand things over, talk to a lawyer.
What auDA's rules say about .au domains
- You hold a licence, not property. Clause 2.3.3 says a licence "confers No Proprietary Rights In a Domain Name". The rules spell it out: a person "does not legally 'own' a Domain Name".
- You need an Australian presence. Clause 2.4.1 requires it to apply, and 2.11.5 requires it for the whole licence. Australian citizens, permanent residents, Australian companies and registered bodies qualify. An Australian trade mark also counts, but only for a domain that exactly matches it.
- The licence runs for one to five years. You choose the period when you register or renew.
- The registrant is a legal name. Clause 2.2.2 requires the legal name of the person or business applying. That name is the holder.
- Your details must stay accurate. Clause 2.11.8 requires complete and true information, and 2.11.9 says changes must reach your registrar within 14 days.
- A lapsed domain goes public. You can renew up to 90 days before expiry and up to 30 days after. After that, clause 2.14.5 says it becomes available to anyone, first come, first served.
How to check who holds your domain
- Check your domain with our free lookup
Type your domain and it shows the business it's registered to, the registrar, any reseller in between, and who hosts your DNS, website and email, with a plan to get control back. It works for .com.au, .au and .com. If the business named isn't yours, the domain isn't yours yet.
Who owns the website itself
The domain is only the address. The design, the code and the hosting account are separate, and each can sit with someone else. Under the Copyright Act 1968, the author of a commissioned work owns the copyright (s 35(2)), unless an agreement says otherwise or it's assigned in writing. Work made by an employee belongs to the employer (s 35(6)). So if a contractor built your site and the contract says nothing about ownership, they may own the code and you may only have permission to use it. Some rental plans go further: one Australian provider's terms say the design and platform stay theirs and they don't provide copies when you cancel.
The four things to check, and where
| What | Where to check | You want |
|---|---|---|
| Domain | Our domain lookup, or your registrar account | Your business as registrant, your email as the contact |
| Hosting | The hosting account login and who gets the invoice | An account in your name, or a written right to move |
| Code and design | Your contract or terms of service | Copyright assigned to you in writing, or a clear licence |
| Email and DNS | Our domain lookup, then the DNS provider account | A login you hold, so a lapsed bill can't take your inbox down |
How to get your domain back
- 1
If the domain is in your name
Ask your registrar to update the contact email to yours, or use auDA's password recovery tool at pw.auda.org.au. That sends the transfer code to the contact email on record.
- 2
If you want to move registrars
Give the transfer code to your new registrar. auDA says there's no fee for a transfer between registrars and it can take up to three days.
- 3
If the designer is the registrant
Ask them to transfer the licence to your business. This is a "change of registrant": it starts with their domain provider, you sign a new licence agreement and pay the fee, and any full years left carry over.
- 4
If they won't cooperate
Put the request in writing, with your invoices showing you paid for the domain. If that fails, contact auDA or get legal advice. Note auDA's warning: buying a business doesn't transfer its domain automatically.
How we handle it
On every site we build, the domain, hosting and code stay in your name. If you leave, you take all three, and our maintenance plan has 30 days' notice to cancel. If you're stuck with a site someone else controls, we'll help you find out who holds what, and you don't need to hire us to do it.
Sources
- auDA: .au Domain Administration Rules, Licensinghttps://www.auda.org.au/au-domain-names/au-rules-and-policies/au-domain-administration-rules-licensing-2/
Australian presence, licence period, no proprietary rights, renewal and expiry. Read 21 October 2026.
- auDA: Transfer your .au domain namehttps://www.auda.org.au/au-domain-names/domain-name-help/transfer-name-different-registrant
Change of registrant, and that buying a business doesn't transfer the domain.
- auDA: Transferring a .au domain to another registrarhttps://www.auda.org.au/au-domain-names/domain-name-help/transferring-au-domain-name-another-registrar-fact-sheet
Transfer codes, the password recovery tool, no fee, up to three days.
- Law Handbook (SA): Ownership of copyrighthttps://lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/ch11s06.php
Commissioned works and employee works under the Copyright Act 1968.
Where to next
- Hosting, DNS and email we set up in your name
What we hand over at launch.
Get your site back under your name
Send us your domain. We'll tell you who holds the domain, hosting and code, and what it takes to move them to you. If you want us to look after it from there, we'll quote a fixed monthly plan.
Common Questions
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