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ARTICLE · 28 APRIL 2026

Data Centre Projects In Australia—the Race To Prioritisation, Accelerating AI Workloads

A&O Shearman
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Australia has introduced a prioritisation framework for data centre and AI compute projects through Commonwealth Expectations that will influence regulatory approvals and project sequencing.

AustraliaTechnology
Ravi de Fonseka
Ravi de Fonseka
Daniel Thompson
Daniel Thompson
Varsha Srinivasan
Varsha Srinivasan
Dannelle Howley
Dannelle Howley
David Christensen
David Christensen
Daniel Harris
Daniel Harris
Ka Sen Wong
Ka Sen Wong
Author LinkedIn connections

Australia has introduced a prioritisation framework for new and expanded data centre and AI compute projects. Federally, the Commonwealth Expectations (“Expectations”) of data centres and AI infrastructure developers set the project attributes that will underpin a project’s “social licence” and influence which proposals are prioritised through Commonwealth regulatory processes.

Summary

The Expectations flow directly from the National AI Plan, which identifies sovereign digital infrastructure as a strategic priority for an AI-enabled economy and sets an explicit goal of attracting global hyperscalers and cloud providers to build capacity onshore.

In New South Wales (NSW), the government is pairing a fast‑track pathway for selected major projects with a principles‑based strategy now being consulted on (submissions close May 8, 2026).

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