93 of the 143 tranches in the register's pipeline, holding 24.5 GW of its 29.3 GW of IT load where a figure is published, lie within 5 km of a transmission line of 220 kV or more (inashanu register and Geoscience Australia, as at 21 October 2026).
Of the register's 29.3 GW pipeline, where a figure is published, 24.5 GW lies within 5 km of a transmission line of 220 kV or more; distance shows where a connection is plausible and says nothing about spare network capacity (inashanu register and Geoscience Australia, as at 21 October 2026). Of the same pipeline, NSW's state significant development process holds 7.0 GW and Victoria's ministerial permits 3.2 GW, while 13.1 GW has no application on record, as at 21 October 2026.
93 of the 143 tranches in the register's pipeline, holding 24.5 GW of its 29.3 GW of IT load where a figure is published, lie within 5 km of a transmission line of 220 kV or more
The pipeline by distance to a line of 220 kV or more
| Distance | Tranches | IT load (MW) | Share of IT load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 km | 47 | 12,840 | 44% |
| 1 to 2 km | 23 | 6,586 | 22% |
| 2 to 5 km | 23 | 5,042 | 17% |
| 5 to 10 km | 31 | 2,201 | 8% |
| 10 to 25 km | 12 | 650 | 2% |
| 25 km or more | 7 | 2,022 | 7% |
A screen of proximity
Distance to a line shows where a connection is plausible; spare capacity and terms are separate questions, and the register records a connection agreement only where one is public. Median distance across the pipeline: 2.3 km.
Greater Sydney holds 6.0 GW of the pipeline's IT load, beside 0.80 GW operating; 64% of it lies in three statistical areas: Horsley Park–Kemps Creek, Prospect Reservoir and Macquarie Park–Marsfield
Pipeline by statistical area (SA2)
| SA2 | Tranches | IT load (MW) |
|---|---|---|
| Horsley Park–Kemps Creek | 6 | 1,932 |
| Prospect Reservoir | 7 | 1,355 |
| Macquarie Park–Marsfield | 9 | 554 |
| Marsden Park–Shanes Park | 1 | 499 |
| Erskine Park | 1 | 315 |
| Glendenning–Dean Park | 1 | 194 |
| Lane Cove | 3 | 181 |
| St Leonards–Naremburn | 3 | 130 |
Greater Melbourne holds 7.1 GW of the pipeline's IT load, beside 0.45 GW operating; 56% of it lies in three statistical areas: Fraser Rise–Plumpton, Mickleham–Yuroke and Laverton
Pipeline by statistical area (SA2)
| SA2 | Tranches | IT load (MW) |
|---|---|---|
| Fraser Rise–Plumpton | 1 | 2,400 |
| Mickleham–Yuroke | 1 | 1,000 |
| Laverton | 2 | 572 |
| Cranbourne East–North | 1 | 504 |
| Keilor | 4 | 478 |
| Truganina–North | 3 | 440 |
| Sunshine West | 2 | 308 |
| Newport | 1 | 240 |
Where a figure is published, NSW's state significant development process holds 7.0 GW of the register's pipeline and Victoria's ministerial permits 3.2 GW, 35% between them, while 13.1 GW (45%) has no application on record
The pipeline by consent pathway (IT load, MW)
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| NSW state significant development | 7008 |
| NSW council or planning panel | 102 |
| Victoria, Minister's permit (Development Facilitation Program) Victoria, Ministerial Permits Register | 3206 |
| Victoria, council Victoria, Ministerial Permits Register | 1384 |
| Queensland, council or Economic Development Queensland | 1645 |
| WA, SA, Tasmania, the ACT and the NT | 2880 |
| No application found | 13116 |
Tranches: NSW SSD 42; NSW council 5; Victoria minister 21; Victoria council 10; Queensland 6; other states and territories 14; no application 45.
Campuses referred under the EPBC Act
| Campus | Referral | Referred | Latest step |
|---|---|---|---|
| AirTrunk Mickleham campus | 2023/09568 | 1 Jun 2023 | Varied proposal accepted, 31 Aug 2026 |
| Microsoft Honeman Close Data Centre | 2025/10391 | 16 Dec 2025 | Considering final decision, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Project Ares | 2026/10560 | 19 Jun 2026 | Controlled action, 4 Sep 2026 |
| IREN Bundey Data Centre Campus | 2026/10605 | 31 Jul 2026 | Not a controlled action, 18 Sep 2026 |
| Western Downs Digital Park | 2026/10667 | 28 Sep 2026 | Referred, open for comment, 7 Oct 2026 |
| Dover SM1B South Morang | 2026/10668 | 29 Sep 2026 | Referred, 15 Oct 2026 |
Reading the referrals
A referral asks whether a project needs federal approval for its effect on matters of national environmental significance; a controlled action needs it. Each referral is read from the EPBC Act Public Portal; stage and pathway come from the planning record behind each tranche.
Stage within the two state pathways (tranches, IT load MW)
| Stage | NSW tranches | NSW MW | Victoria tranches | Victoria MW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under construction | 11 | 1,490 | 5 | 365 |
| Approved | 14 | 838 | 5 | 200 |
| Lodged | 6 | 2,116 | 8 | 2,418 |
| Planned | 8 | 1,820 | 1 | 80 |
| Paused | 3 | 745 | 2 | 143 |
Sources
- Geoscience Australia, Electricity Infrastructure (2026), and ABS, ASGS 2021 and LGA 2025, both CC BY 4.0
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)
- inashanu register, as at 21 Oct 2026
- EPBC Act Public Portal, as at read 19 and 20 Oct 2026
- NSW Major Projects
- Victoria, Ministerial Permits Register
Related
- What are Australia's new data centre energy rules?
- How much electricity do Australian data centres use?
- What is in Australia's data centre development pipeline?
- Which Australian cities have the most data centre capacity?
The full primer is published as a 103-page PDF (download). The market model and the register behind it are licensed to firms on request; the study page lists what is published and what is licensed.
This page is one of 34 in Australian data centres: the research, indexed by the question each one answers, with the four pages where the published sources disagree set first.
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