Watch on YouTube REGULARSAI / PUBLIC RESEARCH
What’s built, what’s credible and what’s still on paper. Explore projects by stage, then follow the sources.
Latest material update 1 September 2026 · individual records retain their check dates
01 / THE TRACKER
Green is operating. Amber is pipeline. Red marks conflict or an adverse outcome. Pins show suburb- or region-level locations, never sensitive exact addresses.
Selected entry
Project proponent
Kemps Creek
Six-building state-significant proposal. Generator and fuel figures should be read against the latest lodged EIS revision.
Campus record · checked 24 Jul 2026
Source: NSW Planning Portal152 matching entries · facilities, campuses and clearly labelled portfolios
Across operating, construction, committed and early-stage capacity
April 2026 industry base case
End of 2025
By 2030
Latest material update 1 September 2026 · entries retain individual check dates
CURRENT / MATERIAL CHANGES
New planning files, ownership changes and grid reports sit beside the national baseline rather than silently changing it. Company claims stay attributed; scenarios stay labelled as scenarios.
Firmus reports a multi-year agreement for two Malaysian AI factories and more than 900 MW contracted across its wider customer portfolio in four countries. That total is neither Australian-only capacity nor capacity operating today; no Australian project total or status changes on this announcement alone.
Firmus and SUBCO announce approximately US$300 million for up to 150 Tbps over 25 years on APX East. The cable targets service in Q4 2028. This is a future connectivity commitment, not delivered data-centre capacity or evidence that an Australian facility is operating.
First Ministers agreed that Commonwealth legislation will set nationally consistent minimum requirements for large data centres covering energy, water and land use, with skills and training measures. Legislation is intended for early 2027; the detailed rules and any alternative-energy pathway are not yet published.
EPA Victoria formally objected over potential noise and cumulative site impacts. Hume City Council has asked the Planning Minister to reject the current proposal; no refusal, withdrawal or amended application is recorded.
The 2026 ESOO forecasts consumption rising from about 5 TWh in 2025–26 to 34 TWh in 2035–36: roughly 3% to 13% of NEM grid-supplied electricity. AEMO says more than 40% of projects tracked since 2025 have dropped out or regressed in connection status.
Councillors approved the 288 MW maximum-demand proposal 6–1 with conditions. The planning milestone does not settle the project's energy supply, construction timing or community appeal risk.
NSW has released a three-pillar framework covering planning, electricity cost recovery and a water-pricing review. It reports 28 GW of connection requests, about 13 GW in advanced discussions and 20 SSD projects worth $51.4B. The electricity fees and guarantees remain proposals subject to consultation and legislation.
Projects must meet development-readiness criteria within three months after signing a Network Connection Agreement or risk losing conditional capacity. This is a project-specific milestone, not a single deadline applying to every NSW proposal.
Firmus says fully subscribed commitments will accelerate Project Southgate. It reports more than US$3B of new equity over the past year and a post-money valuation above US$10.5B; these are company-reported financing figures, not project capacity.
AEMO's final risk review models conditional disturbance scenarios, including about 1.5 GW of simultaneous Sydney data-centre disconnection in 2030 without suitable ride-through standards. It is a risk scenario, not a blackout forecast.
AEMO reports 12 projects and 7.6 GW at application stage, with five projects and 1.4 GW progressing through implementation. Maximum requested connection capacity is not realised demand and excludes WA and off-grid projects.
02 / THE GAP
It is an upper-bound inventory. The industry report puts 78% of tracked capacity in an early-stage category that “may or may not eventuate.”
The report’s March snapshot rounds operating capacity to 1.5 GW; the 1.4 GW figure above is its end-of-2025 base. Timing and rounding account for the difference.
NEM data-centre consumption from 2025–26 to 2035–36: about 3% rising to 13% of grid-supplied electricity.
Network requests and advanced discussions, not approved projects or realised demand. More than 90% targets Sydney–Newcastle–Wollongong.
Roughly 85% of today’s tracked total is not forecast to be operating by 2030.
If all proposed capacity proceeded, it would exceed seven times the capacity of Australia’s largest coal station.
Land, permits, grid capacity, new generation, water infrastructure and customers all change the odds.
Maximum requested NEM connection capacity: 7.6 GW at application and 1.4 GW in implementation. It is not realised demand and excludes WA and off-grid projects.
03 / THE FIGHTS
“Contested” is not a prediction. It means a material public, planning or community dispute is documented.
A $1.1 billion project withdrawn before determination after noise from 18 backup generators became a central issue.
A small proposal near a public school was withdrawn in June 2026 after an organised local campaign.
A still-active state-significant proposal: six buildings, 852 backup generators and objections from nearby institutions.
04 / METHOD
Australia has no definitive public census of data centres. This public-evidence edition reconciles operator location pages, planning records and state project trackers. Commercial directories are used only where their broader coverage adds a location that can be attributed.
A daily watch flags major developments without changing the website. A monthly evidence audit may publish well-supported material changes, with sources and a corrections entry. This is a periodic review process, not a continuous automatic refresh of every map record.
This is a curated public tracker, not a national census. One pin may be a building, campus or grouped portfolio; the record type is shown on every entry. Do not add the pins to infer a national facility total.
Operating, construction, committed and early-stage are kept separate. A proposal is not treated as a working facility.
Published figures may refer to fitted IT load, full-site demand or maximum buildout. Each entry keeps the source’s wording.
SOLID is primary documentation. REPORTED is attributed reporting. CONTESTED flags unresolved definitions or claims.
Each entry shows its evidence grade, source and last-check date. Material corrections are dated rather than silently overwritten.
05 / PRIMARY SOURCES
Start with the dated national baseline, then inspect the planning records, market-operator reports and attributed company disclosures behind each change.
Help build the map
Drop the suburb and a planning or development-application link in the episode comments. That is how this tracker gets better.