Data centre construction is one of the largest sources of private building investment in Australia. CommBank's economics team estimates about $150 billion of nominal data centre construction by 2030. It expects data centres to add about six percentage points to real business investment growth in 2026. Construction is concentrated in Western Sydney and Melbourne's western suburbs, with new activity starting in Perth, Canberra and regional Queensland.
This page explains how data centres are built, who builds them, what they cost (from announced figures), and why equipment lead times now drive project programmes.
Australian Data Centre Construction Market
| Indicator | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated nominal data centre build to 2030 | ~$150 billion | CommBank, Aug 2026 |
| Estimated cost of building the full pipeline | ~$220 billion | CommBank |
| NSW data centre projects in the SSD pipeline | 19, valued at $50.3 billion | NSW Government, Aug 2026 |
| NSW facilities operating or under construction | 60+ | NSW Government |
| Contribution to real business investment growth, 2026 | ~6 percentage points | CommBank |
| Additional energy trades needed for data centres | ~13,000 | Powering Skills Organisation, via ABC |
The construction market has three segments:
- Hyperscale campuses. Multi-building, multi-phase programmes of hundreds of MW, delivered over years (Marsden Park, Laverton, MEL2).
- High-density metro builds. Smaller buildings on established sites, designed for AI densities (IC3 Super West, Goodman SYD01, NEXTDC M4).
- Fit-outs and expansions. New data halls inside existing shells, which are the most frequent type of project.
Current Construction Pipeline
| Project | Location | Developer | Capacity | Construction status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDC Marsden Park | Marsden Park, NSW | CDC | 504 MW ICT | Under way since Oct 2024 |
| CDC Laverton | Laverton, VIC | CDC | 150 MW / 400 MW+ | Under way since Feb 2025 |
| Microsoft Kemps Creek | Kemps Creek, NSW | Microsoft | Not disclosed | Building Two due 2026 (AW Edwards) |
| Goodman SYD01 | Artarmon, NSW | Goodman | 61 MW IT | Started 2026; first hall Q2 2028 |
| Macquarie IC3 Super West | Macquarie Park, NSW | Macquarie DC | 47 MW | Topped out Dec 2025 (FDC Construction) |
| CDC Beard | Beard, ACT | CDC | 39 MW | Under construction |
| CDC Perth | Maddington, WA | CDC | Up to 200 MW | Construction (RenewMap) |
| Firmus Southgate | Tasmania, Melbourne | Firmus | Up to 150 MW first stages | Under construction |
Next wave (approved or in planning): NEXTDC M4, NEXTDC S7, AirTrunk MEL2, the Mamre Road campus, STACK SYD01, Goodman Project Atlas, CDC KC1 and Western Downs Digital Park. Full project database
How Data Centres Are Built
A typical Australian hyperscale building goes through eleven workstreams. Several run in parallel.
1. Site preparation
Site survey, geotechnical and contamination investigation, demolition of existing structures, vegetation clearing and service diversions. Investigation reports are published with NSW SSD applications. STACK SYD01's application, for example, includes geotechnical and contamination reports.
2. Civil works
Bulk earthworks to create level building pads, stormwater drainage and detention, internal roads, and utility trenches. Stormwater is a recurring planning issue on large sites in the Mamre Road precinct.
3. Structural
Foundations, ground slabs and superstructure. Data halls need floors rated for heavy equipment. Liquid-cooled GPU racks increase floor loads. Multi-storey data centres (CDC Marsden Park's six four-storey buildings, for example) need structural design for stacked plant.
4. Electrical
Usually the largest trade package by value. It covers the HV connection and on-site substation, transformers, medium and low voltage switchgear, main switchboards, busways and distribution to each hall and rack. It is designed for redundancy (N+1, 2N or similar). NEXTDC S7's application includes an on-site substation.
5. Mechanical
Chilled water plant, pumps, pipework, air handling, and building management and control systems.
6. Cooling
Heat rejection (dry coolers, cooling towers or adiabatic systems), computer room air handlers, and increasingly liquid cooling distribution: coolant distribution units and secondary loops to racks.
7. Backup power
Diesel generators, fuel storage and UPS systems with batteries. Fleets are large: S7's application includes 340 generators, and the Mamre Road campus between 842 and 852 depending on document version.
8. Fire protection
Very early smoke detection (such as aspirating systems), suppression systems suited to electrical equipment, sprinklers where required, compartmentation and fire engineering.
9. Security
Perimeter fencing, vehicle barriers, access control, mantraps, CCTV and a security control room. Requirements are highest for government-certified facilities.
10. Fibre
Diverse fibre entry points, carrier rooms and meet-me rooms, and internal structured cabling.
11. Commissioning
Staged testing from factory acceptance tests through installation checks, functional testing and integrated systems testing. Integrated systems testing simulates failures (a utility outage, for example) to prove that generators, UPS and cooling respond correctly. Commissioning often runs several months per phase.
Data Centre Construction Companies
Builders with publicly reported Australian data centre projects:
| Builder | Reported project |
|---|---|
| FDC Construction | Macquarie Data Centres IC3 Super West, its seventh project with Macquarie DC (DCNN) |
| AW Edwards | Microsoft Kemps Creek (Microsoft) |
| Multiplex | A NEXTDC Sydney data centre (Business News Australia) |
| Hutchinson Builders | Global Switch, Sydney (Hutchinson) |
| Richard Crookes Constructions | Canberra Metronode (Richard Crookes) |
Head contractors for most current hyperscale projects (Marsden Park, Laverton, MEL2, S7) have not been publicly announced.
Electrical Contractors
Electrical contractors carry the largest share of trade work: HV substations, switchgear installation, main switchboards, busway and distribution, earthing, lighting, and testing and commissioning. They also carry the most workforce risk. Powering Skills Organisation estimates Australia needs about 72,000 more electricians and related trades by 2030.
Mechanical Contractors
Mechanical contractors deliver chilled water plant, heat rejection, air handling, pipework and, increasingly, liquid cooling distribution. Liquid cooling moves more mechanical work into the data hall itself: piping to rack rows, CDUs and leak detection.
Data centre cooling companies · Liquid cooling
Engineering Consultants
Engineering consultants produce the design: electrical, mechanical, structural, civil, fire, hydraulic, and commissioning management. Aurecon, for example, has published NEXTDC and Global Switch data centre projects. Planning-stage consultants (acoustic, air quality, traffic, ecology) are engaged earlier.
Data centre engineering · Environmental consultants
Construction Costs
How much does it cost to build a data centre in Australia?
No official Australian cost index exists. Announced project figures give an indication, but they are not comparable like for like, because some include land, some include IT fit-out and some use peak power rather than IT load.
| Project | Announced cost | Stated capacity | Implied cost per MW (announced) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NEXTDC M4 | $2 billion | 162 MW | ~$12.3 million |
| AirTrunk MEL2 | A$5 billion+ | 354 MW+ | ~$14.1 million |
| NEXTDC S7 (OpenAI MoU campus) | ~A$7 billion | 650 MW (NEXTDC) | ~$10.8 million |
| Mamre Road campus (amended) | $8.1 billion | 1.2 GW peak power | ~$6.8 million per MW of peak power |
| Macquarie IC3 Super West | $350 million | 47 MW | ~$7.4 million |
Implied cost per MW is our calculation from announced totals. It is not a figure the developers have published. Scope differs by project.
Global benchmarks: Turner & Townsend's 2025–2026 Data Centre Construction Cost Index found the cost per watt of a traditional air-cooled cloud data centre rose 5.5% in 2025, down from 9.0% in 2024. It reports a 7 to 10% average premium for liquid-cooled facilities in the US compared with air-cooled facilities of similar capacity.
More: Data centre investment in Australia
Equipment Lead Times
Long-lead electrical equipment now sets the programme for many data centre projects. Australian projects buy from the same global manufacturers as US and European projects, so global shortages affect Australian timelines.
| Equipment | Lead time | Source and market |
|---|---|---|
| Large power transformers | 128 weeks average (Q2 2025) | Wood Mackenzie, US |
| Generator step-up transformers | 143 weeks average | Wood Mackenzie, US |
| Switchgear | 44 weeks average | Wood Mackenzie, US |
Australia-specific lead-time data is not publicly reported. In practice, developers order transformers, switchgear, generators and chillers well before main construction starts, sometimes before planning approval. That is why equipment suppliers are engaged earlier than most trades. Transgrid's Network Capacity Allocation Policy now also asks developers to show progress on equipment procurement before grid capacity allocations become permanent.
Opportunities for Australian Suppliers
| Project stage | Typical work | Who usually buys |
|---|---|---|
| Planning and EIS | Environmental, acoustic, traffic, planning, geotechnical | Developer |
| Pre-construction | Design engineering, cost planning, long-lead equipment orders | Developer, sometimes via the head contractor |
| Early works | Demolition, earthworks, drainage, service diversions | Head contractor or developer directly |
| Main works | Structure, electrical, mechanical, fire, security, fibre | Head contractor, through subcontract packages |
| Commissioning | Testing, commissioning agents, load banks | Developer or commissioning manager |
| Operation | Facilities management, maintenance, security, cleaning | Operator |
Suppliers most often miss out by engaging too late. By the time a head contractor is appointed, the design and many long-lead equipment decisions are already made.
Current Projects
See live stage and source details for every project: Australian data centre projects · Western Sydney · Melbourne
Grow Your Data Centre Project Pipeline
For builders, trades and suppliers, winning data centre work depends on being known to developers and head contractors before packages are tendered. AISB's Data Centre Revenue Engine tracks projects from planning onwards, identifies the decision-makers and builds your visibility with them through search, content and targeted outreach.
Sources & Verification
- CommBank: Australia's data centre boom, 6 Aug 2026. Link
- NSW Government: Data Centre Policy Framework, 17 Aug 2026. Link
- Wood Mackenzie: T&D supply chain, 15 Oct 2025. Link
- Turner & Townsend: Data Centre Construction Cost Index 2025–2026. Link
- ABC News: Skills shortage, 2 Sep 2026. Link
- Project sources: see individual project pages.
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