Science academy urges 2.5% levy on data centre and AI revenues to fund national computing

The Australian Academy of Science has proposed a 2.5% levy on the revenues of AI providers, hyperscalers and data centre operators to pay for national computing infrastructure and AI research. The proposal is in the Academy's submission to the Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence, which is examining the opportunities and risks of the technology in Australia.

The Academy warns that without investment Australia could host the world's AI infrastructure while research, intellectual property and commercial revenues flow offshore. It says the levy would be modelled on Australia's rural research and development levies. Academy Fellow Sally-Ann Williams told the inquiry that Australia "will either be a creator of AI or merely a consumer who hosts infrastructure for others".

The Academy also backs mandatory AI safety requirements, as recommended in early advice from the committee. It says companies training high-risk AI agents in Australia, or using Australian infrastructure, should have to prove the systems are safe and report serious problems. Dr Hayley Teasdale, the Academy's Head of Science Policy and Advice, said strong controls must stay in place even when developers deliberately lower a model's safeguards to test it.

The Academy welcomed the committee's early advice recommending a coordinated national policy to encourage investment in domestic supercomputers. It has previously proposed investing $200 million per year over 10 years in high-performance computing and data. Teasdale said that "Not investing now will not only stall productivity but lead to the Australian Government paying significantly more to access this infrastructure over the decades to come," she said.

The Academy noted that data centres draw heavily on the country's energy, water and land, and said facilities should be built to best-practice standards and deliver lasting community benefits. The power question is quantified in separate analysis published on 26 October by the Smart Energy Council. It estimates data centres could add $40 billion to wholesale electricity costs in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria if 5GW of load connects before new supply is built, according to PV Tech. The Council estimates $37 billion of that would fall on other electricity users, with households paying $9.2 billion.

As of 30 June, AEMO had 17 data centre projects totalling 9GW in its transmission queue, 1.4GW of them under implementation. TechReviewAustralia reported that NextDC deferred $140 million in contracted Melbourne revenue after residents blocked transmission lines, and has paused all new developments.