.nz

.nz
Introduced	1987
TLD type	Country code top-level domain
Status	Active
Registry	NZRS Limited
Sponsor	InternetNZ
Intended use	Entities connected with New Zealand
Actual use	Popular in New Zealand
Registered domains	715,642 (5 August 2018)
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 the second level or at the third level within certain second-level categories
Dispute policies	Dispute and Complaint Process
DNSSEC	Yes
Registry Website	NZRS Limited; Domain Name Commission

.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 5 August 2018 there were 715,692 registered .nz domains.^[2]

History[edit]

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]

Second-level domains[edit]

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.^[6] 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.^[7]

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 weren't 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' 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[edit]

.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)^[8]^[9]
.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[edit]

.cri.nz – Crown Research Institutes
.govt.nz – national, regional and local government organisations operating with statutory powers. The government registrar, DNS.govt.nz^{[permanent dead link]} 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[edit]

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

Registry software and protocol[edit]

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.^[10]

.nz domain statistics[edit]

The most popular registrar of .nz domain is Umbrellar Limited t/a Domain Agent with a market share of 11.73%.^[11] Currently around 10.27% of the .nz internet is served via secured HTTPS protocol, with the Let s Encrypt Authority X3 being the most popular SSL certificate.^[11] Apache is the most popular web server, serving 38.90% of the .nz domains, followed by Nginx serving 24.07% of the total .nz domains.^[11]

Māori domain names[edit]

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]