Melbourne Data Centre Construction & Project Pipeline

Melbourne is Australia's second-largest data centre market. DC Byte estimates about 0.4 GW of operational capacity in 2025, rising to about 1.1 GW by 2030. Construction is concentrated in the western and north-western suburbs: Derrimut, Laverton, Brooklyn, West Footscray and Tullamarine. NEXTDC's approved M4 campus at Fishermans Bend is the main inner-city exception.

At least three large campuses are under construction or approved in 2026: CDC's Laverton campus (under construction since February 2025), AirTrunk's MEL2 (announced December 2025, 354 MW+) and NEXTDC M4 (162 MW, approved January 2026).

Melbourne Data Centre Market

The 9.0 GW pipeline figure includes early-stage projects that DC Byte says "may or may not eventuate". The committed figure of 1.0 GW is a better guide to what is likely to be built in the next few years.

Melbourne's role is changing. It has traditionally been the second location for companies whose primary data centre is in Sydney, used for disaster recovery and for cloud providers' second Australian regions. Hyperscale and AI demand is now bringing campuses of Sydney scale to the west of the city.

Current Data Centre Projects

Data Centres Under Construction

CDC Laverton

CDC started work on 17 February 2025. CDC said the campus would inject more than $2.7 billion into the economy during construction. The 2025 release describes a 150 MW campus. CDC's current Melbourne page says Laverton will add "over 400 MW" and puts CDC's total Melbourne capacity at 780 MW+. The difference is probably between the first approved stage and the full site potential, but CDC has not published a reconciliation.

CDC Brooklyn

CDC's first Melbourne campus has been operating since 2024 (BK1). The remaining Brooklyn buildings are in development. CDC expects the campus to exceed 350 MW on completion.

AirTrunk MEL2

AirTrunk announced MEL2 on 24 December 2025: more than 354 MW, more than A$5 billion of direct investment, more than 4,000 construction jobs and more than 200 operational roles, delivered in multiple phases. AirTrunk says MEL1 and MEL2 together take its Melbourne capacity above 630 MW. CRN reported MEL2 as operational from 2027. AirTrunk's own release does not give an opening date.

Major Operators

Operator profiles: CDC · AirTrunk · NEXTDC · Equinix

Key Development Areas

The western cluster puts data centres close to the transmission network, industrial zoning that allows 24-hour operation and backup generators, and freight routes for heavy equipment.

Power Infrastructure

Victoria's transmission network is owned mainly by AusNet. Planning arrangements differ from other NEM states: AEMO and the state's VicGrid body both have transmission planning roles. Distribution in Melbourne's west is managed by Jemena, CitiPower/Powercor and United Energy, depending on location.

Victorian data centres used about 30% of NEM data centre electricity in 2025-26, according to AEMO's 2026 ESOO. A national analysis summarised by Energy-Storage.news found 17 data centre projects totalling 9 GW in transmission connection queues, 31% of them in Victoria.

On supply, Amazon's April 2026 renewable deals included Victorian projects such as the Golden Plains 2 wind farm (201.8 MW) and several Anza solar-plus-storage sites, reported by Energy-Storage.news.

More: Data centre power infrastructure

Victoria's Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan (September 2026)

The Victorian Government announced the plan on 22 September 2026. It applies to new applications, not to those already being assessed. Its main requirements for new data centres:

• Energy. Bring their own renewable energy supply and storage, matching new demand with new generation. Compliance and firming details will be finalised alongside Commonwealth standards.
• Water. Use recycled or non-drinking water for water-intensive cooling. Design water usage effectiveness must not exceed 1.0 L/kWh for potable water or 1.6 L/kWh for non-potable water, according to Hall & Wilcox's summary.
• Siting. Stay out of residential zones, with a 150 m buffer from homes and avoidance of schools and childcare centres.
• Local benefit. A "Local Investment Guarantee" covering local jobs, TAFE funding and community facilities.
• Planning pathway. Council-led assessment or the Development Facilitation Program, with a new "Investment Front Door" for major proposals. Detailed siting and built-form guidance is to follow in 2027.

The Government says the data sector delivered $5.8 billion of capital expenditure in Victoria last year.

Cooling Requirements

Melbourne's climate is milder than Sydney's west or Perth, which allows more hours of free cooling (rejecting heat without running compressors). Summer heatwaves above 40°C still set the design condition for heat rejection plant.

The newer Melbourne builds are designed for AI densities:

• NEXTDC M4. Direct-to-chip liquid cooling, rack densities up to 1,000 kW, and non-potable recycled water (NEXTDC).
• Firmus Southgate. Firmus reports a PUE of 1.10 and a more than 99% reduction in water use compared with standard data centres (Firmus).

More: Data centre cooling in Australia

Contractors & Engineering Companies

Most Melbourne data centre developers have not published their head contractor or engineering appointments for current projects. We list a contractor against a project only when the developer, the contractor or a planning document names it.

The main packages on a Melbourne hyperscale build are:

• head contractor or design-and-construct contractor
• HV electrical (substation, transformers, main switchboards)
• LV electrical and busway distribution
• mechanical (chillers, heat rejection, CRAH, liquid cooling distribution)
• fire protection and very early smoke detection
• security systems
• commissioning agent

Directories: Construction companies · Electrical contractors · Engineering

AI Infrastructure Development

Melbourne has two of Australia's most concrete AI deployments:

• Firmus Southgate Melbourne. The first mainland site of Firmus's Project Southgate, hosted in CDC infrastructure. Firmus announced a multi-year contract with a "global hyperscale customer" for about 18,400 NVIDIA GB300 GPUs. In February 2026, Firmus secured a US$10 billion debt facility led by funds managed by Blackstone, reported by DCD.
• NEXTDC M4. Described by NEXTDC as including a hyperscale "AI Factory", designed for NVIDIA Blackwell and Rubin Ultra architectures.

More: AI Data Centres in Australia

Opportunities for Suppliers

With CDC Laverton under construction, the remaining Brooklyn buildings in development, MEL2 in its early phases and M4 approved, Melbourne will have several large campuses at different stages at the same time. In general terms:

• Early phases (MEL2, M4) generate civil, structural, HV electrical and long-lead equipment work.
• Campuses under construction (Laverton, Brooklyn) generate fit-out, mechanical, electrical, fire, security and commissioning work.
• Operating campuses generate maintenance, facilities management, security and expansion fit-outs.

We don't know which contracts are open on these projects unless a source is cited. Contact the developer or the appointed head contractor for procurement details.

Latest Melbourne Project Updates

22 September 2026. Victorian Government announces the Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan: new-supply renewables, recycled water for cooling, 150 m residential buffers. Source

23 April 2026. Microsoft announces a A$25 billion Australian investment to the end of 2029, including expanding its Azure footprint by more than 140%. Source

16 April 2026. Amazon signs nine PPAs (430 MW) in NSW and Victoria, eight with co-located batteries. Source

19 January 2026. NEXTDC announces Victorian Government approval of M4. Source

24 December 2025. AirTrunk announces MEL2. Source

Frequently Asked Questions

Which data centres are being built in Melbourne?

CDC's Laverton campus is under construction, and CDC's Brooklyn campus has buildings in development. AirTrunk's MEL2 has been announced in north-west Melbourne. NEXTDC's M4 at Port Melbourne received approval in January 2026.

Where are Melbourne's data centres located?

Mostly in the western and north-western suburbs (Derrimut, Laverton, Brooklyn, West Footscray, Tullamarine), with interconnection-focused facilities in Port Melbourne and the city fringe.

How does Melbourne compare with Sydney?

Sydney's operational capacity was about twice Melbourne's in 2025 (0.8 GW against 0.4 GW, per DC Byte), and its pipeline is larger. Melbourne is growing from a smaller base and is where most operators put their second Australian location.

Building in Melbourne's Data Centre Market?

Melbourne's current construction cycle covers civil, electrical, mechanical and commissioning work across several large campuses at once. AISB helps contractors and suppliers identify the developers and head contractors to target, and build visibility with them before packages are let.

Sources & Verification

• DC Byte: Australian Data Centre Forecast Report, Issue 1, Apr 2026. Link
• CDC: Laverton commencement, Feb 2025. Link. Melbourne locations. Link
• AirTrunk: MEL2 announcement, 24 Dec 2025. Link
• NEXTDC: M4 approval, 19 Jan 2026. Link
• Firmus: Southgate expansion, Oct 2025. Link. Hyperscale customer agreement. Link
• Amazon: AU$20 billion investment, June 2025. Link
• Energy-Storage.news: Amazon PPAs, 16 Apr 2026. Link

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