.nz

.nz

Introduced	1987
TLD type	Country code top-level domain
Status	Active
Registry	NZ Registry Services
Sponsor	InternetNZ
Intended use	Entities connected with New Zealand
Actual use	Popular in New Zealand
Registered domains	654,031 (November 2015)
Registration restrictions	No restrictions under most second-level names; a few are "moderated" meaning that eligibility is checked before registration is granted
Structure	Names are registered at third level within generic second-level categories
Dispute policies	Dispute and Complaint Process
Website	NZ Registry Services Domain Name Commission
DNSSEC	Yes

.nz is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for New Zealand. It is administered by InternetNZ through its subsidiary, NZ Registry Services, with oversight and dispute resolution handled by the Domain Name Commission Ltd. Registrations are processed via authorised registrars. As of November 2015 there were 654,031 registered .nz domains.

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.

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 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 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.

Second-level domains

As is the case with most other English-speaking countries apart from the USA, Canada and Republic of Ireland, 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.

Unlike many other English-speaking countries, New Zealand uses 'govt' instead of 'gov' for government bodies, hence the second-level domain 'govt.nz'. There are also sub-level domains unique to New Zealand, such as 'iwi.nz' and the broader 'maori.nz', for Māori iwi and other organisations respectively, 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

• .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)
• .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 NZ 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 .nz registry uses open source software, which is periodically published on SourceForge. The protocol used by this software has non-repudiation built into it using PGP, and unlike ".com" there is no concept of "locking" domains – transferring a domain requires only knowledge of a secret called a UDAI key which business rules dictate is sent to registrants during registration (and must be re-issued on demand at no cost). This prevents Domain hijacking. The protocol was contemporary with EPP, and due to these extra design features is now being ratified as an internet RFC.

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.

External links

• IANA .nz whois information
• NZ Registry Services
• .nz Domain Name Commission
• List of .nz authorised registrars
• Benefit of .NZ domain name version