Victoria will be Australia’s “data centre centre”, Premier Jacinta Allen has declared while committing more than $5 million to an action plan to speed up a $25 billion digital infrastructure pipeline.
The new state plan will include mapping out greenfield sites against energy and water supplies, as well as a new workforce of TAFE trained data centre builders and operators.
Victoria has around 40 data centres already, with one of Australia’s largest – a $2 billion NextDC campus in Fishermans Bend – also under development. But it trails NSW, where the Minns government is also incentivising more investment.
“We’re going after the data centre jobs. We’re going to be ruthless about it,” theVictorian Premier said on Thursday.
“… We want to be the ‘data centre’ centre. We have the land, the energy and the talent – and now, I’m announcing the Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan.”
The plan will use transport, energy and water usage data, including recycled water, to determine the locations, while the state government said it will also partner with TAFEs to train more construction, operation and digital workers.
Alongside the $5.5 million plan, the Allen government also pledged $8.1 million to train the white collar workers most at risk from artificial intelligence in how to use the technology in new careers.
Premier Allen said details on both will be released in coming weeks.
Victoria’s moves come after NSW government revealed it had attracted $73 billion in proposed data centre and digital infrastructure investments through a new Investment Delivery Authority last month.
The Minns government on Friday announced it has approved the southern hemisphere’s biggest data centre, a $3.1 billion campus at Marsden Park in Sydney’s north-west.
Operator CDC received approval in 12 months, a relatively quick green light from the state government for a data centre.
“Investments like this are crucial to cementing NSW as the innovation powerhouse of Australia, and the Southern Hemisphere,” NSW Innovation minister Anoulack Chanthivong said.
As state governments vie for the data centre jobs and capital investments, major operators have formed a new lobby group to push for more incentives like speedy approvals, land tax relief or cheaper power.
The federal government will next week launch a national AI plan that is expected to also focus on data centre opportunities.
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.