Wyndham City Council is looking to review the rapid expansion of data centres across the municipality, as Melbourne’s western suburbs emerge as one of Australia’s fastest-growing digital infrastructure regions.
Councillors unanimously backed a proposal to examine the economic opportunities and potential impacts of the growing number of data centre developments planned across Wyndham, including their effects on electricity demand, water use, transport, infrastructure, land use and the environment.
The six-month review will assess how other councils have managed similar developments before recommending a formal Wyndham City Council policy on future data centre projects.
The move comes as billions of dollars flow into Melbourne’s west, with the region emerging as a critical hub for cloud computing, artificial intelligence and digital services.
Council seeks greater say as data centre investment accelerates
The council review won’t not change the current planning approval process, which remains controlled by the Victorian Government under the state planning system.
Instead, Wyndham councillors want to establish a clearer policy position, improve transparency and strengthen community consultation around major developments.
The motion also calls for significant council decisions involving major data centre projects to be considered at public council meetings wherever legally possible, rather than being determined through delegated authority.
Council officers will investigate any governance or legislative changes required to support greater oversight.
Melbourne’s west positioned for major data centre jobs boom
The review comes as Melbourne’s western suburbs experience a surge in data centre investment, creating new opportunities for construction, engineering, technology and facilities management jobs.
Leading Australian data centre operator CDC has officially opened its first Victorian campus in Brooklyn, with two advanced facilities now operational and plans underway for a third facility at the site.
The company is also developing a second major campus in Laverton North, further strengthening Melbourne’s west as a growing digital infrastructure corridor.
Across both locations, the expansion is expected to generate thousands of construction and ongoing operational jobs while delivering more than $4 billion in economic value to Victoria.
The Victorian Government said CDC’s investment highlights the state’s ability to attract large-scale digital infrastructure projects and expand its computing capacity.
Victoria now has more than 40 data centres operating across the state, with further growth expected as demand increases for artificial intelligence, cloud computing and secure data storage.
AI growth drives demand for new infrastructure
Australia’s data centre market is undergoing rapid expansion as businesses and governments invest heavily in AI technologies and cloud-based services.
The global push to develop artificial intelligence systems has increased demand for high-performance computing infrastructure, requiring larger facilities with greater power and connectivity capacity.
Melbourne has become one of the Asia-Pacific region’s key data centre markets, supported by existing fibre networks, available industrial land and strong business demand.
Major technology companies including Microsoft and Amazon Web Services already operate data centre infrastructure in Victoria, helping position the state as a major digital hub.
Data centres are also one of six key pillars under the Victorian Government’s AI Mission Statement, reflecting their role in supporting future artificial intelligence capability.
Economic benefits weighed against energy and environmental concerns
Supporters of the data centre expansion argue the industry provides important economic diversification for Melbourne’s west, where traditional manufacturing employment has declined over recent decades.
Beyond construction jobs, data centres create long-term roles in cybersecurity, network engineering, electrical systems, maintenance and technical operations.
However, the rapid growth has also increased scrutiny over energy consumption, environmental impacts and community involvement in planning decisions.
Data centres operate around the clock and require significant electricity supplies to power servers and cooling systems. As AI workloads increase, demand for energy-intensive computing infrastructure is expected to rise further.
Water usage, renewable energy access and pressure on existing infrastructure are likely to become key issues as governments approve more large-scale facilities.
Concerns about the rapid spread of data centres across Melbourne’s west
Residents across Melbourne’s west have created a new online tracker to monitor the rapid growth of data centres, arguing communities need clearer access to information about major developments planned in their suburbs.
The community-led Data Centre Wiki brings together details of existing, approved and proposed facilities, giving residents a central place to understand how the industry is expanding across the region.
The collaborative website, modelled on Wikipedia, includes information on operating facilities in West Footscray, Brooklyn, Derrimut and Tullamarine, along with planned or developing sites in Laverton North, Spotswood, Plumpton, Truganina, Cobblebank, Mickleham and Campbellfield.
Residents are also being encouraged to contribute information to the platform, allowing the resource to be updated as new data centre projects progress and additional developments are announced.
The launch comes as Melbourne’s western suburbs become a major focus for digital infrastructure investment, with large-scale facilities requiring significant amounts of land, electricity, water and supporting infrastructure.
Western Metropolitan MP David Ettershank says the Data Centre Wiki was created in response to a lack of publicly available information about an industry expanding rapidly across the west.
“Communities shouldn’t have to build their own information resource just to understand what’s being proposed in their neighbourhood. But when people can’t easily find the information they’re looking for, they’ll work together to fill the gap,” said Ettershank
“The Wiki gives residents a place to share information and better understand the scale of data centre development in their communities.” he said.
Mr Ettershank also raised concerns from residents who were worried about the speed of development and the limited transparency surrounding the industry.
“Most of the proposed data centres in Victoria are planned for Melbourne’s west,”
“These are major industrial developments that can consume significant amounts of land, electricity and water, yet many local communities have had little opportunity to understand what is being planned or what the long-term impacts could be.”
“For more than a year I’ve been asking the government how it intends to regulate this rapidly growing industry to protect communities and the environment,” he said.
Victoria pushes sustainable data centre growth
The Victorian Government has backed the expansion of the sector through its $5.5 million Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan, aimed at positioning Victoria as a national leader in sustainable digital infrastructure investment.
The plan focuses on improving efficiency, reducing environmental impacts and supporting responsible growth as demand for data storage and computing power increases.
For Wyndham, the challenge will be balancing the economic benefits of becoming a major digital infrastructure hub with the need to protect local communities and ensure future developments are planned responsibly.
As artificial intelligence reshapes the global technology landscape, Melbourne’s west is increasingly becoming a strategic location in Australia’s digital economy — bringing investment, jobs and new infrastructure, but also raising questions about how fast that growth should occur.
