Expectations of Data Centres and AI Infrastructure Developers

Question

On 23 March 2026 the Government released its Expectations of Data Centres and AI Infrastructure Developers, described as expectations rather than requirements. a. What enforcement mechanism applies if a data centre developer does not meet the expectations? b. The expectations refer to ''national security and data sovereignty.'' Is data processed in Australian data centres by foreign-owned hyperscalers subject to Australian law, or can it be accessed by foreign governments under the legal frameworks of the companies' home jurisdictions, for example the US CLOUD Act? c. On 27 March 2026 the Investment Decision Agency endorsed 15 data centre projects worth $51.9 billion for prioritised support. How many of those 15 projects are Australian-owned and operated, and how many are foreign-owned hyperscalers?

Answer

See attached response.

Documents

• Question with answer (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• BI-032_Liddle_Expectations of Data Centres and AI Infrastructure Developers_DISR.pdf (opens in a new tab)