[3] APNIC provides numbers resource allocation and registration services that support the global operation of the internet.

APNIC's open PDP also invites stakeholders interested in Internet number resources from around the world (but mostly the Asia Pacific) to participate.

These include representatives from governments, regulators, educators, media, the technical community, civil society, and other not-for-profit organizations.

These divisions encompass all APNIC activities, including that of acting as a central source of information for Members.

APNIC provides an alternative to the whois called the Registration Data Access protocol (RDAP), which was designed to address issues in the whois service, the most important of which are: standardization of queries and responses; internalization considerations to cater for languages other than English in data objects; and redirection capabilities to allow seamless referrals to other registrations.

APNIC also has no technical ability to 'suspend' an Internet service, no mandate to withdraw address registrations, no investigative powers, nor any authority to take action as an enforcement agency.

APNIC only delegates the authority of reverse zones to the DNS name servers provided through domain objects.

These courses are designed to educate participants to proficiently configure, manage and administer their Internet services and infrastructure and to embrace current best practices.

With the other RIRs, APNIC is a member of the Number Resource Organization (NRO), which exists to protect the unallocated number resource pool, to promote and protect the bottom-up policy development process, and to be the focal point for input into the RIR system.

It was established as a pilot project to administer address space as defined by RFC-1366, as well as encompassing a wider brief: "To facilitate communication, business, and culture using Internet technologies".

By the time 1997 rolled around, it was becoming increasingly clear that APNIC's local environment in Japan was restricting its growth – for example, the staff was limited to 4–5 members.

Therefore, the consulting firm KPMG was contracted to find an ideal location in the Asia Pacific region for APNIC's new headquarters.

Since then, APNIC has continued to grow from its humble beginnings to a membership of more than 7,700[14] in 56 economies throughout the region and a secretariat of around 88 staff members located in the head office in Brisbane, Australia.