April 2019
Ensuring .nz can respond
Following a letter the DNCL Board sent to InternetNZ regarding the Christchurch terrorist attack, InternetNZ has made an interim policy change. This change clarifies and makes explicit the capacity for the Domain Name Commission to take extraordinary compliance steps during extraordinary circumstances. This has been done using the power under the .nz Policy Development Process to make an interim policy, one that will have effect for up to six months.
A series of clauses have been added to the .nz Operations and Procedures Policy, enabling the Domain Name Commissioner to take “action to mitigate or minimise” harm that use of the .nz domain space is created in emergency or exceptional circumstances. The Domain Name Commissioner will be limited to suspending, temporarily transferring or locking a domain name — temporary changes that can easily be reversed if required.
More information is available via a blog post by Jordan Carter, InternetNZ Chief Executive.
Global Domains Division - Bangkok
Our Complaints and Compliance Manager, Dylan Connolly will be attending the Global Domains Division (GDD) conference in Bangkok from the 6-9 May. A focus of the event will be registrant rights and ways for the global community to tackle domain name abuse.
Independent Review
We have recently received the first draft of our Independent review which was completed by David Pickens. We are seeking submission on this review until 6 June, especially in relation to the recommendations that Mr Pickens has suggested. The independent review, recommendations as well as submission received to date can be found here.
New Zealand's place online
Our parent company, InternetNZ, has recently announced it is undertaking a review of the policies related to the .nz domain name space. InternetNZ is thrilled to announce that Sue Chetwin has been appointed as Chair of the Panel and is now looking to appoint an Advisory Panel of diverse, smart and engaged people to help review the policies related to the .nz domain. More information can be found on the InternetNZ website.
Thanks, and good luck to Josh
The Domain Name Commission would like to express our thanks to Josh Cookson who recently left the Domain Name Commission. Josh has made an immense contribution to the activities of the Domain Name Commission over the last 10 years, especially in the areas of policy development and liaising with our Registrars. We wish him all the best for the future.
Come work with us
We are currently looking for a Business Analyst/Implementation Manager. This 18 month fixed term role will lead the implementation of the Commission's Independent Review and oversee the new compliance framework. Position description, and additional information can be found on our website.
What we have been working on
- Since introducing the Individual Registrant Privacy Option (IRPO) a year ago, we've seen consistent growth in .nz domain name holders using the service. Read more about the IRPO here.
- In February 2019, there were over 3,500 .school.nz domain names registered. We think it is important for Kiwi schools to have a distinctive online presence. Read more about .school.nz domain names here.