.nz

.nz is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for New Zealand. It is administered by InternetNZ, with oversight and dispute resolution handled by the Domain Name Commission Limited (DNCL). Registrations are processed via authorised registrars. As of 31 February 2020 there were 709,265 registered .nz domains.[2]

.nz
Introduced1987
TLD typeCountry code top-level domain
StatusActive
RegistryNZRS Limited
SponsorInternetNZ
Intended useEntities connected with  New Zealand
Actual usePopular in New Zealand
Registered domains709,265 (30 February 2020)[1]
Registration restrictionsNo restrictions under most second-level names; a few are "moderated" meaning that eligibility is checked before registration is granted
StructureNames are registered at the second level or at the third level within certain second-level categories
Dispute policiesDispute and Complaint Process
DNSSECYes
Registry websiteNZRS Limited
Domain Name Commission

History

As with many long-standing domain registries the registry was maintained informally for some time. The first formally recognised administrative organisation was the University of Waikato until the responsibility was delegated to InternetNZ when it was formed in 1995.[3]

Prior to the current structure, the registry operator of .nz was Domainz. Historically, Domainz was a subsidiary of InternetNZ which also operated as a registrar and vendor of other add-on services such as DNS. This combination of a natural monopoly (the registry activities) and vertical integration (the registrar and other services) was seen by some as restricting competition[3] so InternetNZ moved to separate the provision of registry services into a separate organisation with strong oversight. The final part of this transition process was the sale of Domainz to Melbourne IT[4] in August 2003.

From 1 April 2008 the "Office of the Domain Name Commissioner" (several employees of InternetNZ, including the Domain Name Commissioner herself) became the "Domain Name Commission Limited", a subsidiary company of InternetNZ. [5]

Domain Changes
  • .geek.nz - This Second Level Domain was approved by The Council of InternetNZ on 5 July 2003.[6]
  • .kiwi.nz - This Second Level Domain was approved on 24 August 2012 and made available for registrations on 11 September 2012 at 10am.[7]

Second-level domains

There are a number of second-level domains that identify whether the user is a company, a non-commercial organisation, government body or other classification.

In October 2013, InternetNZ decided to allow domain names to be registered at the second level in the .nz domain name space, aligning the .nz domain name space with a majority of other top level domains that already allow registrations directly at the second level.[8] The second level domain names were launched with a sunrise period from 30 September 2014 to 30 March 2015 (to allow people with similar domains to register the shorter version). From 30 March 2015 .nz domain names were available to everyone.[9]

The early New Zealand second-level domains 'ac.nz', '.co.nz' and '.govt.nz' were based on those used in the UK. At the time it was considered desirable that the names were not in use as first-level domains, so '.edu.nz', '.com.nz' and '.gov.nz' were rejected. There are also sub-level domains unique to New Zealand, such as 'iwi.nz' for Māori iwi and the broader 'maori.nz' for other Māori organisations, and 'geek.nz' for 'geeks'.

The following second-level domains are in use with their official descriptions. Since only some of the domains are moderated, it is possible to register outside the area intended.

Unmoderated
  • .nz – First level NZ domain, general use.
  • .ac.nz – Tertiary educational institutions and related organisations
  • .co.nz – Organisations pursuing commercial aims and purposes
  • .geek.nz – For people who are concentrative, technically skilled and imaginative who are generally adept with computers
  • .gen.nz – Individuals and other organisations not covered elsewhere
  • .kiwi.nz – For people or organisations that associate with being 'Kiwi' (the colloquial term for New Zealanders)[10][11]
  • .maori.nz – Māori people, groups, and organisations
  • .net.nz – Organisations and service providers directly related to the NZ Internet
  • .org.nz – Not-for-profit organisations
  • .school.nz – Primary, secondary and pre-schools and related organisations

Moderated
  • .cri.nz – Crown Research Institutes
  • .govt.nz – National, regional and local government organisations operating with statutory powers. The government registrar, DNS.govt.nz controls registration; a government portal operates at www.govt.nz
  • .health.nz – Health organisations
  • .iwi.nz – Traditional Māori tribes, hapū, or Taura here groups. Available from register.iwi.nz
  • .mil.nz – The military organisation of the New Zealand government, the New Zealand Defence Force
  • .parliament.nz – Reserved for parliamentary agencies, offices of parliament, and parliamentary political parties and their elected members

Previously used
  • archie.nz – used for an Archie search engine server operated by the University of Waikato until the mid-1990s.

Registry software and protocol

The shared registry system (SRS), initially developed in 2002, is both the name of the core .nz registry system and the name of one of two main protocols, SRS protocol, used to communicate with the registry system. Since 2010, the SRS has also supported the extensible provisioning protocol (EPP),  which is now a common standard used by registries.

The SRS has been released as open source software, the last published version was made in 2010 and can be found on SourceForge.

In September 2019, InternetNZ announced their intention to replace the SRS and that the new system will not include the SRS protocol.

Māori domain names

On 22 July 2010, the Domain Name Commission announced that .nz domain names with macron vowels (ā, ē, ī, ō and ū) would be available from the following week to allow Māori language words to be correctly represented in domain names.[12]

References
  1. ".nz Statistics and Service Reports". dnc.org.nz. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  2. ".nz Statistics and Service Reports". dnc.org.nz. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  3. "Review of the Registry/Registrar Structure for the .nz ccTLD (The Hine Report)". 20 October 2000. Archived from the original on 25 August 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  4. "Melbourne IT buys NZ domain incumbent". 21 August 2003. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  5. "April 2008 .nz Newsletter" (PDF). 24 April 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  6. "New Second Level Domain - '.geek.nz' Approved". Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  7. "InternetNZ approves new second level domain - .kiwi.nz". Domain Name Comission. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  8. "New level of Internet domain names" on Scoop.co.nz website, dated 2013-10-11, viewed 2013-10-14
  9. "Launch date for short, simple .nz domains at the second level announced | .nz". www.getyourselfonline.nz. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  10. "InternetNZ approves new second level domain - .kiwi.nz | .nz Domain Name Commission". Dnc.org.nz. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  11. "Application for a new 2LD - .kiwi.nz | .nz Domain Name Commission". Dnc.org.nz. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  12. ".nz domain names with macrons to launch next week". NZ Domain Name Commission. 22 July 2010. Archived from the original on 25 July 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
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