Submission to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Data Centres

Abstract

The University of Sydney, through the Net Zero Institute (NZI) and the Centre for AI, Trust and Governance (CAITG), welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the NSW Legislative Council Public Accountability and Works Committee inquiry into data centres in New South Wales. The University’s contribution focuses on how data centre development intersects with energy systems, water and land use, governance, urban planning, and Australia’s emerging AI and digital infrastructure landscape.

Data centres, particularly those supporting AI workloads are rapidly becoming a defining infrastructure class. Their scale, intensity of electricity and water demand, locational impacts, and governance implications mean they now sit at the intersection of energy transition policy, planning systems, community outcomes, and national capability. The University of Sydney brings interdisciplinary expertise across engineering, energy systems, urban planning, environmental science, law, governance, and AI to inform evidence based policy responses.

This submission outlines priority areas where research capability at the University of Sydney can support government to better understand cumulative impacts, manage risks, and design policy and regulatory frameworks that align data centre growth with emissions reduction, resource stewardship, social license, and long-term public value.