Deus Ex Machina wrote:
 > while we are talking of bad policies:
 > if you consider that in the pyramid of business sizes, the biggest 
layer ie
 > soho businesses is not the bottom layer. underneath soho is an even
 > bigger layer of what I call proto businesses. these are people thinking
 > about going into business or investigating setting up a business or just
 > dreaming about it. this layer does not qualify for an abn and as such
 > they dont qualify for a .com.au (you are not allowed to apply for an
 > abn simply to apply for a domain name). elimination of requirement for a
 > magic number would let these people back into the space. this is another
 > bad and useless policy that has outlived its use by date.

I'm not convinced that this is true.
http://help.abr.gov.au/content.asp?doc=/content/16985.htm
implies that as long as you beleive you are operating something like a 
business you can have an ABN.
 From there you can apply for a .com.au domain name.
I don't really see a great benefit in allowing anyone to get a .com.au 
domain - some basic proof that you are a business helps to reinforce 
that confidence in the .com.au 2ld that I see in the Australian public.
Joe Public knows that a .com might be a dodgy American company, but with 
a .com.au domain they have some comeback with Consumer Affairs.

In mucking around on a couple of registers pages, I note that you can 
also have a state business number.
This greatly enlarges the number of people who can apply, IMHO.

Lea