Australian Data Centres: Projects, Companies & Infrastructure

Australia had 162 operational data centres and about 1.4 GW of operational capacity at 31 March 2026, according to DC Byte. The pipeline behind them is many times larger. AI training and inference, cloud expansion and hyperscale leasing are pushing projects of several hundred megawatts into planning systems in Sydney, Melbourne and beyond. On AEMO's 2026 forecast, data centres could use about 13% of the electricity supplied through the east coast grid by 2035-36.

The AISB Data Centre Intelligence Hub tracks the projects, operators, contractors and infrastructure behind that growth. Each project record links back to a planning document, a company announcement or an agency report, and shows the date we last checked it.

Australian Data Centre Market Overview

How big is Australia's data centre market?

Australia's operational data centre capacity was about 1.4 GW in 2025. That figure is IT load, meaning the power available to the servers, storage and network equipment. It does not include the extra power used for cooling and electrical losses. DC Byte's April 2026 forecast expects capacity to reach about 3.2 GW by 2030. Venture Insights gives a similar trajectory, from 1,428 MW of deployable capacity in FY25 to 3,176 MW in FY30.

Where is the demand coming from?

Three workload types account for most new capacity:

• Cloud. Hyperscale cloud platforms lease large blocks of capacity, often whole buildings, and expand region by region.
• AI. GPU clusters for model training and inference draw far more power per rack than conventional servers and increasingly need liquid cooling. NEXTDC says its approved M4 campus in Melbourne is designed for rack densities of 1,000 kW.
• Enterprise and government colocation. Organisations moving out of their own server rooms into third-party facilities, including government workloads with specific security and sovereignty requirements.

Almost all of today's capacity sits in two cities. AEMO's 2026 ESOO attributes 66% of data centre electricity consumption in the National Electricity Market to New South Wales and 30% to Victoria. CommBank estimates that about half of proposed capacity is in NSW and about a quarter in Victoria, with growing interest in Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

How much is being invested?

CommBank's economics team estimates that building the full pipeline would cost around $220 billion. Its central estimate is about $150 billion of nominal construction by 2030. It also expects data centre investment to add around 0.2 percentage points to real GDP growth in both 2026 and 2027.

The largest single transaction in the sector so far was the acquisition of AirTrunk by a Blackstone-led consortium with CPP Investments, announced in September 2024 at an implied enterprise value of more than A$24 billion. More on capital flows, landholdings and transactions: Data Centre Investment in Australia.

Why pipeline figures disagree

Published pipeline figures for Australia vary widely. This is mostly because each source is measuring something different, not because one is wrong.

The AEMO figure counts connection requests to network businesses. A single project may lodge more than one enquiry, and many enquiries never become buildings. AEMO notes that around 36% of projects on its 2025 ESOO list have since been cancelled, including more than 30% of projects that had been classed as committed. DC Byte says its "early stage" category covers projects that have not yet secured all of land, power and permits and "may or may not eventuate".

The DC Byte "under construction" figure is also narrow. It counts only data halls where mechanical and electrical fit-out is under way, so it will be lower than lists that count any site with earthworks started.

In practice, treat committed and under-construction capacity as the near-term market, and treat early-stage and connection-enquiry figures as an indicator of interest rather than supply.

Major Australian Data Centre Projects

These are some of the largest projects we currently track. Most are not yet approved. Capacity is the figure given by the developer or planning application. Where sources differ, the project page explains why.

NEXTDC S7, Eastern Creek. The NSW Planning Portal describes S7 as a 612 MW data centre comprising three two-storey data storage buildings, 340 backup diesel generators, diesel fuel storage and an on-site substation. It is a State Significant Development (SSD-113934740) and is at the Prepare EIS stage. NEXTDC acquired the 25.5 ha site in October 2024. DCD reported in December 2025 that OpenAI and NEXTDC had signed a memorandum of understanding for OpenAI to use capacity at the site. An MoU is not a binding lease, and no final commitment has been published.

CDC Marsden Park. CDC Data Centres broke ground in October 2024 on a 20.1 ha campus of six four-storey buildings with 504 MW of ICT capacity. CDC describes it as the largest data centre campus in the Southern Hemisphere.

AirTrunk MEL2. AirTrunk announced its second Melbourne campus in December 2025: more than 354 MW, more than A$5 billion of direct investment, and multi-phase construction. AirTrunk says MEL2 takes its Australian platform to 1.2 GW across five sites.

NEXTDC M4. The Victorian Government approved NEXTDC's $2 billion M4 campus at 127 Todd Road, Port Melbourne. NEXTDC says the 162 MW campus will use direct-to-chip liquid cooling and non-potable recycled water.

Australia's Major Data Centre Markets

Each market has its own planning system, grid constraints and mix of operators. The city hubs cover these in detail.

Sydney

Australia's largest data centre market by capacity and pipeline. Venture Insights puts Sydney's share of national deployable capacity at 58%. DC Byte forecasts Sydney's operational capacity to rise from about 0.8 GW in 2025 to 2.0 GW by 2030. Sydney data centres

Western Sydney

Where most large new Sydney campuses are being planned, including NEXTDC S7 at Eastern Creek. This hub covers individual precincts (Eastern Creek, Kemps Creek, Erskine Park, Marsden Park), grid capacity, and the planning issues raised in assessments, such as generator noise and energy use. Western Sydney data centres

Melbourne

Australia's second-largest market. DC Byte forecasts Melbourne's capacity to rise from about 0.4 GW in 2025 to 1.1 GW by 2030. Current projects include AirTrunk MEL2 and NEXTDC M4. Melbourne data centre construction

Brisbane

A smaller market than Sydney and Melbourne, with Queensland projects increasingly tied to renewable energy zones and transmission planning. CommBank lists Queensland among the states with growing developer interest. Brisbane and Queensland data centres

Perth

Western Australia runs on a separate grid (the SWIS/WEM), not the NEM, so power and connection rules differ from the east coast. Perth is also a landing point for subsea cables to Asia. Perth and Western Australia data centres

Canberra

Canberra is shaped by government demand. Security classifications, sovereign ownership and the Australian Government's Hosting Certification Framework matter more here than in other markets. Canberra data centres

AI Data Centres in Australia

An AI data centre is designed around GPU or accelerator clusters rather than general-purpose CPU servers. That affects almost every part of the building:

• Compute. Training clusters link thousands of GPUs. Inference workloads are smaller per job but grow with usage.
• Rack density. Conventional enterprise halls were designed for single-digit kW per rack. GPU racks run far higher, and NEXTDC's M4 design targets 1,000 kW.
• Power. Higher density means more power per square metre of hall, larger substations and earlier engagement with network businesses.
• Cooling. Air alone struggles at GPU densities, so operators are adding direct-to-chip liquid cooling. AirTrunk says it was the first operator in APAC to deploy it at scale, at its Johor campus in Malaysia.
• Connectivity. GPU clusters need very high-bandwidth, low-latency networking inside the building, as well as diverse fibre routes out of it.

The Australian Government set out its Expectations of data centres and AI infrastructure developers on 23 March 2026. The Expectations cover five areas: the national interest, support for the energy transition, sustainable water use, local skills and jobs, and research and innovation. They are not legally binding, but legal commentators expect them to influence how governments assess and prioritise projects.

Data Centre Companies in Australia

The Australian market involves five main types of company. Some businesses fit more than one type.

We do not rank companies. Operator profiles record locations, disclosed capacity, current projects and sources.

View Australian Data Centre Companies · Data centre operators in Australia

Data Centre Construction

A large data centre is several projects in one: a civil and structural build, a high-voltage electrical project, a mechanical and cooling project, and a large commissioning programme. The main trade packages are:

Large campuses are usually built in phases, so one site can go through civil works, fit-out and commissioning several times over a decade. Suppliers therefore have repeat opportunities at the same site.

Australian Data Centre Suppliers

Browse companies that build, equip and operate Australian data centres, grouped by category:

Supplier listings describe what a company does. They are not endorsements. Project experience is shown only where it can be verified.

Data Centre Power & Energy

Access to power now does more than anything else to decide where large data centres can be built in Australia. Land zoned for industrial use is relatively easy to find. A grid connection of several hundred megawatts, deliverable on a known date, is much harder.

The main components:

• Grid access. Large campuses connect at transmission or high-voltage distribution level. The connection process runs through the relevant network business (in NSW, Transgrid at transmission level and Endeavour Energy, Ausgrid or Essential Energy for distribution) and can take years.
• Substations. Most hyperscale campuses include their own substation, as S7 does.
• Transmission. Where new capacity can connect often depends on transmission upgrades planned under AEMO's Integrated System Plan.
• Renewable supply. Operators increasingly contract renewable generation through power purchase agreements (PPAs). The federal Expectations ask operators to support the energy transition without pushing up prices for other users.
• Backup power. Diesel generators remain the standard backup, and planning assessments look closely at their noise, air emissions and fuel storage.
• BESS. Battery energy storage systems can sit alongside or partly replace UPS systems, and in some designs help manage grid demand.

AEMO's 2026 ESOO found 225 data centre projects in network connection processes, with 67 GW of proposed connection capacity, up from 38 GW a year earlier. Its central forecast is much lower, at about 34 TWh of consumption by 2035-36, because many of those projects will not proceed.

Data Centre Cooling

Cooling usually accounts for most of a data centre's energy use outside the IT load itself. The main approaches:

• Air cooling. Computer room air handlers (CRAH) and computer room air conditioners (CRAC), with hot and cold aisle containment. Still standard for conventional densities.
• Chilled water. Central chillers with heat rejection through dry coolers or cooling towers, serving air handlers or liquid cooling loops.
• Direct-to-chip liquid cooling. Coolant is piped to cold plates on the processors through coolant distribution units (CDUs). This is now the main method for high-density GPU racks.
• Immersion cooling. Servers sit in dielectric fluid. It is used less widely at present, but some high-density and edge deployments use it.

Water is becoming a bigger issue in planning. Evaporative cooling towers use substantial volumes of water, and the federal Expectations ask operators to minimise consumption and work with utilities on secure supply. NEXTDC's plan to use non-potable recycled water at M4 reflects this. In Australia's climate, cooling design also has to handle sustained heatwaves in Sydney's west, Perth and inland Queensland.

Data Centre Tenders & Procurement

Most data centre work in Australia is not publicly tendered. Private developers usually appoint a head contractor, and that contractor then procures trade packages and equipment from its own panels. Government data centre and hosting procurement is more likely to be published, through AusTender and state procurement portals.

The tenders section tracks:

• public tenders and approaches to market relating to data centres and related infrastructure
• procurement signals in public documents, such as a planning approval, a published contractor appointment or an announced construction start
• recently closed opportunities, as a record of who buys what

It is not an official tender portal. Every listing links to the original source, and you should confirm details with the buyer.

Latest Australian Data Centre Developments

22 September 2026: Victoria announces its Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan. New data centres must bring their own renewable supply and storage, use recycled or non-drinking water for water-intensive cooling, and keep a 150 m buffer from homes. Source

17 August 2026: NSW releases its Data Centre Policy Framework. It sets six performance areas, including no net cost to consumers, and commits to assessing compliant projects within 75 days. The NSW SSD pipeline holds 19 projects worth $50.3 billion. Source

14 August 2026: Transgrid's Network Capacity Allocation Policy takes effect. For loads of 30 MW or more, capacity is allocated only when a connection agreement is signed. Transgrid reports more than 10 GW of enquiries within 12 km of Sydney West. Source

25 August 2026: AEMO publishes the 2026 ESOO. Data centre consumption is forecast to rise from ~5 TWh to ~34 TWh by 2035-36. Network businesses reported 225 projects and 67 GW of proposed connections. Source

6 August 2026: CommBank estimates ~$150 billion of data centre construction by 2030. The estimate is from CommBank economist Lucinda Jerogin's analysis of the ~6 GW pipeline. Source

23 March 2026: Federal Government releases Expectations of data centres and AI infrastructure developers. The non-binding expectations cover energy, water, jobs, the national interest and research. Source

19 January 2026: NEXTDC announces approval of M4, Port Melbourne. A 162 MW, $2 billion campus designed for direct-to-chip liquid cooling. Source

24 December 2025: AirTrunk announces MEL2. More than 354 MW in north-west Melbourne, with more than A$5 billion of investment. Source

Australian Data Centre Pipeline Report

The AISB Australian Data Centre Pipeline Report brings together every project we track in one document. It covers capacity by city and stage, AI-focused projects, developers and operators, power and cooling requirements, construction activity and the stages where suppliers are usually engaged. It also sets out the methodology behind each figure.

Get the Australian Data Centre Pipeline Report Free download. We ask for your name, business email, company and supplier category.

Supplying Australia's Data Centre Industry?

Winning data centre work takes more than technical capability. Developers, head contractors and operators need to be able to find you, understand your experience and see your company as a credible supplier before a project reaches final procurement.

The AISB Data Centre Revenue Engine is for infrastructure, engineering and technology companies selling into this market. It combines the project intelligence on this Hub with account targeting, SEO and AI Search visibility, content, outreach, CRM and automation. The aim is to build relationships with developers and contractors while projects are still in planning, before they reach procurement.

How this Hub is researched

The AISB Data Centre Intelligence Team compiles this Hub from public sources, in this order of preference: government planning portals, government agencies such as AEMO, developer and operator announcements, investor disclosures, contractor and consultant project records, and reputable industry publications. Where sources conflict, we say so and show both figures. Where information is not public, we mark it "Not publicly disclosed" rather than estimating.

"Last verified" means the date someone last checked the source. It is not the date the page was last edited.

See something that needs updating? Submit a correction. Developers, operators, suppliers and consultants can submit corrections. Each one is checked against a source before we publish it.