National Data Centre Plan

John Debrincat
Jun 16
4 min read

A National Data Centre Plan for Australia?

There are some unconfirmed news reports (e.g. Certified Strategic) that Anthropic could be preparing to build Australia’s largest data centre. So what resources could it consume, where might it be build and what controls are in place?

what would australias largest data center look like

So what is our National Data Centre Plan? Australia has a National AI Plan, released in December 2025, which includes the goal of building “smart infrastructure” and attracting global AI investment. But it is broader than data centres; it is an AI industry and adoption plan, not a national land-use, water, power and location plan for data centres. But Australia's leading environmental issues exist around climate, water and power. Data Centres are more than just a component of the technology that drives the digital landscape and AI. Data Centres like Power Generation facilities are national infrastructure. If fact the data centers within Australia can reach beyond Australian boarders.

Australia has a national policy framework called Expectations of data centres and AI infrastructure developers, released in March 2026. These expectations sit under the National AI Plan and are intended to guide data centre and AI infrastructure investment. They cover national interest, energy transition, water use, skills, jobs, research and local capability.

However, these expectations are not a full statutory planning code. The government says they work alongside existing national, state and territory laws and do not alter existing legal obligations. They apply to new or expanded developments, including hyperscale and large-scale AI compute centres, but not small edge or on-site enterprise data centres.

Australia has a National AI Plan and national data-centre expectations, but not yet a single binding National Data Centre Plan.

Are there specific national rules or controls?

There are emerging national controls, but they are more about prioritisation, energy, water, security and grid behaviour than direct zoning.

The Australian Government says it will prioritise proposals that align with the national expectations, and energy-intensive data centre proposals that do not align will not be prioritised in Commonwealth regulatory assessments.

The expectations say new data centres should not place upward pressure on energy prices, should secure new clean energy or storage, pay their share of transmission and distribution costs, minimise energy demand and emissions, and support grid stability through flexibility and data sharing.

For water, the expectations say data centres should minimise water use, engage early with water utilities and communities, use efficient cooling, use non-potable water where possible, apply circular water opportunities, cover infrastructure costs and report water use transparently. In other words there are no plans around one of the most scarce and critical commodities in Australia - WATER.

Are there location and planning controls?

Yes, but mainly through state and local planning systems - there are no National Planning codes yet these are nationally critical infrastructure.

The clearest example is NSW, because Sydney and Western Sydney are major data-centre growth areas. NSW treats some large data centres as State Significant Development (SSD), meaning they are assessed through a state-level pathway rather than only by local councils. NSW states that SSD can include data centres, and that SSD applications are assessed by the Department with input from state and Commonwealth agencies and councils, with public exhibition requirements.

But nationally, there is not yet one uniform rule saying, for example;

data centres must be outside residential areas,
must be in renewable energy zones, or
must use recycled water.

Those questions are still handled through a mix of state planning laws, local zoning, environmental assessment, water utility approvals, grid connection processes, fire and building requirements, noise controls, traffic assessment, and project-specific conditions.

So What About A National Data Centre Plan?

Recent reporting says the federal government has been discussing a “triple lock” approach: data centres would need to bring new renewable energy supply to offset demand, pay their full share of network infrastructure costs, and provide demand flexibility while cooperating with market operators to strengthen the grid. The same report notes criticism that this is not yet locked in through legislation.

Some countries have developed National Plans or Roadmaps for examples; China, Singapore, Ireland, Malaysia and Chile. But others are moving in that direction as well.

The better-developed national approaches usually cover five issues:

Recognise data centres as critical infrastructure, not just private industrial buildings.
Link data-centre growth to energy planning; can the grid, renewable energy, storage and transmission can support it.
Manage locations to protect resource capacity, security and conflicts.
Address water and environmental performance.
Link data centres to sovereignty and national capability.