The Economic Contribution of the Data Centre Industry in Australia

Data centres drive economic growth and jobs across Australia's economy.

Data centres are the essential digital infrastructure underpinning Australia's economy, supporting everyday services from banking and healthcare to the AI tools increasingly used by Australian businesses and consumers. Building and operating data centres support economic activity across a broad domestic supply chain, from engineering and construction through to energy supply, cooling systems and facilities management.

Today, Australia's 1.6 gigawatts (GW) of operational data centre capacity generates $2.3 billion in annual economic activity and supports around 9,450 ongoing jobs across the economy.

The construction of this existing capacity has already contributed a further $13.8 billion in economic activity and supported more than 9,000 jobs.

Data centres are set to deliver even greater economic contribution as capacity doubles by 2030.

Australia's operational data centre capacity is forecast to more than double from 1.6GW to 3.9GW by the end of 2030, backed by around $42 billion in total investment. Building this pipeline is estimated to add $19.8 billion in economic activity and support 18,930 construction jobs. Once operational, this expanded capacity will generate $5.6 billion annually in economic activity and support 23,040 ongoing jobs each year.

These are high-quality jobs.

Data centre roles across construction and operations pay well above the typical Australian salary, with median annual earnings ranging from $109,000 to $154,000, at least 45 per cent higher than the median for all Australian workers. Many of these roles are also highly skilled, technical, and commutable, offering steady local employment in the trades and engineering professions that build and run this infrastructure.

Exporting AI compute could multiply Australia's economic benefits and deliver strategic advantages.

Not all AI compute needs to sit near the customer it serves. AI model training and batch inference workloads are latency-tolerant, meaning Australia can compete to host this compute for the Asia Pacific region and the rest of the world without needing to be close to the end user.

Capturing this export opportunity could add between $2.7 billion and $4.1 billion in additional annual economic activity by 2030, supporting 11,220 to 17,120 additional ongoing jobs, and requiring up to $52 billion in further construction investment.

Australia is competing to become the AI hub for the Asia Pacific region, a role that could deliver economic benefits and influence over AI governance.

Beyond the direct economic contribution, becoming a regional AI compute hub could deepen Australia's workforce capability and innovation ecosystem, while giving Australia greater influence over how AI infrastructure is governed across the region.

Australia is also best placed to deliver this compute sustainably: its renewable electricity generation share is nearly double that of regional competitors, meaning sourcing compute from Australia's grid could cut emissions by 3.7 times compared to serving the same demand from a higher-emitting regional grid.

Realising this opportunity requires the right policy settings today.

Few emerging industries offer Australia an opportunity of this scale. Capturing it will depend on the choices made now on energy, workforce, planning and investment settings. Accelerating planning approvals, easing grid connection constraints, and building the training pathways needed to grow a skilled workforce will help Australia compete for regional demand while managing the genuine trade-offs involved. Getting these settings right will determine whether Australia captures the full value of this opportunity or falls behind faster-moving regional competitors.

Read the full report here.