Australia's data centre pipeline hits 26.8GW as Melbourne overtakes Sydney
Data Centres Australia and DC Byte put the national pipeline at 26.8GW, up 5.2GW since April, but operating capacity rose by only 0.1GW to 1.6GW. Sydney's pipeline shrank by 3.6GW while Melbourne's grew by 1.7GW.
Australia's data centre pipeline has grown by 5.2GW in six months to 26.8GW, according to the second Australian Data Centre Forecast Report from Data Centres Australia (DCA) and DC Byte, published on 30 October 2026. The April figure was 21.6GW, and the data is current to 30 September 2026. Operating capacity rose by just 0.1GW over the period, to 1.6GW across 163 facilities.
The report says Melbourne's pipeline rose by 1.7GW to 10.7GW, which puts it ahead of Sydney's 7.8GW. Sydney's pipeline fell by 3.6GW from 11.4GW, with early-stage capacity down 4.4GW to 4.2GW. DCA said the Sydney fall was likely a combined result of announced energy constraints, less certain approval timelines and recent policy announcements.
Melbourne saw 1.2GW move from early stage to committed, against 0.7GW in Sydney. The report suggests this may reflect faster approvals under Victoria's Development Facilitation Program than under the NSW State Significant Development process. Melbourne's early-stage capacity rose only 0.3GW, so most of its growth came from projects progressing rather than newly announced sites, according to DataCenterNews.
Nationally, 19.6GW of the pipeline is early stage, up from 16.8GW, while committed capacity rose to 5.2GW from 3.1GW. Capacity under construction doubled from 200MW to 400MW, split evenly between Sydney and Melbourne. DC Byte defines committed projects as those it has high confidence will be delivered, generally because land, power and permits are secured or a reliable operator is building them.
The report forecasts operating capacity of about 1.8GW at the end of 2026, 2.3GW in 2027, 2.7GW in 2028, 3.4GW in 2029 and 3.9GW by 2030. The 2030 figure compares with 3.2GW in April's edition and implies 97 more facilities. Fifty-two pipeline projects have announced capacity above 100MW, against four operating data centres of that size.
The share of the pipeline outside Sydney and Melbourne rose from 19 per cent to 31 per cent over two years. Early-stage projects in Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia are part of that shift. DCA expects the pattern to continue, with energy constraints, policy decisions and AI and neocloud demand influencing where operators build.
The report notes Victoria has announced new data centre policies and appears to have paused approvals ahead of its November 2026 state election. DCA chief executive Belinda Dennett said the analysis showed "pronounced growth in the data centre pipeline in Victoria over the last six months, likely attributable to the state government’s efforts to attract investment". She added: "We expect recent changes in policy may have an impact on whether this continues." The report lists energy and capital availability and the federal government's proposed AI infrastructure standards as factors to watch over the next six months.