The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) and the Council Alliance for a Sustainable Built Environment (CASBE) have welcomed the Victorian Government’s new plan for sustainable data centres, but are seeking clarity on how the plan will apply to significant applications already in the development pipeline and more detail on benefits sharing for local communities.
The Government’s Sustainable Data Centres Action Plan, announced yesterday by Victorian Premier, Ben Carroll, will require new data centres to:
- Power themselves – with their own renewable energy supply;
- Protect homes and roads – by staying away from residential areas;
- Pay their way – by giving back to the community.
The Premier said data centres mean more jobs and investment for Victoria, and promised the economic benefits of the centres would “stay local”.
“Last year, the data sector delivered $5.8 billion in capital expenditure into Victoria. That investment benefits everyone – but communities that host data centres should benefit most,” he said.
“Under our rules, new data centre developments will deliver a Local Investment Guarantee. These local benefits, which will be subject to consultation, could include jobs, TAFEs, parks and more.”
The Premier said new data centres will be prohibited in residential zones, with a 150 metre buffer to be enforced between a data centre building and homes.
“They won’t be built near schools and childcare centres, and in rural areas that can’t support them,” he said.
“People living next to industrial zones deserve certainty that appropriate separation distances will be maintained.”
MAV says councils and communities remain concerned about a lack of transparency and oversight of data centre developments and approval processes.
“Local communities understand the local environmental and infrastructure impacts of new data centre approvals and have rightly demanded meaningful community engagement and benefits sharing for these kinds of developments. We want to see the Victorian Government continue to step up on behalf of all Victorian communities,” said MAV President, Jennifer Anderson.
“Councils have been working side-by-side with communities hosting the energy transition to advocate for coordinated regional approaches to community benefit sharing and industry engagement.
“It is imperative that we establish robust assessment frameworks for data centres from the outset that learn from this experience. This is how we will secure social license now and deliver long-term benefit for Victorian communities.”
She said the Government’s announcement on benefit sharing for communities that host data centre developments was a welcome step, but more detail is needed on how this will work, including how communities will benefit in the long-term.
“Local government sits at the frontline of the social, environmental and built form impacts associated with the rapid expansion of AI and AI-enabling infrastructure,” said President Anderson.
“Data centres and AI-related infrastructure are critical digital enablers that represent a national-scale opportunity, while significantly impacting the future amenity and liveability of Victorian communities.”
MAV and CASBE are calling on Premier Carroll to apply robust guardrails to data centre developments already in place.
Premier Carroll said the new rules won’t be retrospective for applications under assessment, but said he expects data centres to continue to work with locals and respond to their concerns.
“In Victoria, we set the rules – data centres must power themselves, protect homes and pay their way,” said the Premier.
“If we get that right, we can all share in their economic benefits, especially the local community.”
“Companies like Amazon and Microsoft choose to invest in Victoria – that will continue within sensible guardrails,” said Minister for Artificial Intelligence and the Digital Economy, Anthony Carbines.
MAV says it will continue to advocate for mandatory and more comprehensive local benefits sharing frameworks, designed with Local Government to be responsive to the needs and benefit of local communities.
For more information: djsir.vic.gov.au/sustainable-data-centre-action-plan.
