ETU urges lower data centre thresholds and apprentice quotas in AI infrastructure submission

The Electrical Trades Union has lodged a submission on the Federal Government's consultation paper "Getting it right: Building AI infrastructure that works for Australia", setting out standards it says are needed so data centre growth benefits workers and communities. The union said it has been pushing for more apprenticeships and greater investment in Australia's energy infrastructure as AI and data centres expand. The consultation followed the Prime Minister's announcement in July that the government will introduce AI laws. The ETU said its submission drew on earlier work with community and environmental organisations on public interest principles for responsible data centre development.

On scope, the ETU recommends lowering the proposed 30MW and 100MW thresholds, in line with the NSW large load threshold of 15MW, and adding anti-avoidance rules such as aggregating facilities on a single site and staged expansions. It also wants the standards applied to all new and existing data centres, with proportional transitional arrangements for existing facilities and those already in the approvals pipeline.

On workforce, the union proposes mandating one apprentice for every five workers in the construction phase, with subtargets for first and second year apprentices and for women, plus ongoing apprentice opportunities during operations. It also recommends that data centres pay a training levy to fund the extra training capacity their workforce demand requires. Governments, it says, should use levy funds for new training centres, VET teachers and industry group training organisations to create more apprenticeship places.

On energy, the ETU recommends that data centres be required to contract new renewable energy to cover at least their stated demand. It says REGOs should be used only as a compliance mechanism or in transitional arrangements, alongside requirements such as PPAs with new renewable projects and ramp-up management to secure the greatest renewables coverage from the earliest date. It further recommends that data centres meet global best practice PUE and WUE, with non-potable or recycled water as the default. On network costs, the union wants data centres to pay for network augmentation, with cost recovery based on the capacity reserved on the network rather than the capacity actually used.

The submission also calls for robust regulation of frontier AI development, including mandatory disclosure of breaches. The ETU said it recognises the opportunities from rapid data centre expansion but argued the projects must contribute to the energy system and workforce they depend on.