Community needs a voice in data centre developments

September 22, 2026 — 7:15pm

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Premier Ben Carroll has tried to create a circuit-breaker in the debate over the rapid development of data centres in this state.

Carroll on Tuesday announced a series of measures designed to put a stricter regulatory framework around the centres’ growth in an attempt to lessen the impact on the communities around them.

Data centres will be banned from residential areas, there will be a 150-metre buffer zone between a centre and homes, and they will need to supply their own electricity and use non-drinking water. Data centre operators must also invest in the community in which a centre is sited.

Carroll was bullish about the changes. “In Victoria, we set the rules – data centres must power themselves, protect homes and pay their way. If we get that right, we can all share in their economic benefits, especially the local community,” he said.

The announcement is a merging of Carroll’s declaration on becoming premier that he is neither Daniel Andrews nor........

© The Age