I am thinking about getting a .com.au domain. A good deal of my customers are Aussies and my question is this. Will having a .com.au pointing to my existing server help out getting traffic from Australia? and being as I am in the US can I register an Australian domain ?
I was looking to do this as well. You can find a list of registrars here: http://www.auda.org.au/registrars/accredited-registrars/ Yes, they will have preference in SE's like Google.com.au. Do you know if they're restricted only to Australian residents, or is it open like co.uk? I can't seem to find an answer to that question on the official site.
I used to search for host company and find that many host company have their branch and datacenter worldwide in US, UK, Australia and east Asian. There are many such hosting companies . Just sign up in their site and register .
To my knowledge, to get a com.au you need to have an ABN, meaning you need to be a registered biz in Oz and pay taxes etc.