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Anthropic has signed its first Australian data centre deal, a proposed $32 billion development in Queensland's Western Downs that will be the largest data centre in Australia.
Anthropic has signed its first Australian data centre deal, a proposed $32 billion development in Queensland's Western Downs. The facility will be the largest data centre in Australia, built by Singapore-owned developer Zerra DC near Dalby.
It is expected to start operating in 2027 and will connect to the existing Braemar power station. The project is currently before the Western Downs Regional Council for approval, with the development application filed only last month. It has yet to be approved. Western Downs mayor Andrew Smith said the council would undertake a thorough and comprehensive assessment process.
He said the length of the process will depend on factors including referral requirements, requests for further information and community participation during public notification. The proposed Western Downs Digital Park will sit on about 725.5 hectares of land, now occupied in part by a feedlot. It will be built in four stages, according to documents filed with the council. The first stage is planned to open next year, and the full build is expected to take four to six years.
Anthropic will take the entire capacity of the site through a long-term lease. The site will be used for inference, powering Anthropic's Claude model to answer customer requests, rather than training AI models, according to a source familiar with the deal. The lease is subject to Foreign Investment Review Board approval. Anthropic will go to market to secure a long-term power agreement.
The source stressed renewable energy capacity, likely wind or solar, will be added to the grid. However, planning documents say the first stage could be powered by gas, with three major gas power plants within two kilometres of the proposed site. The Western Downs Digital Park will draw as much power as about 1.5 million average Australian households, comparable to a quarter of the state's power.
The government said it will not require new transmission infrastructure and will use minimal water, roughly the same as a conventional office building of the same size. It is understood Anthropic would cover the full cost of connecting to the grid, including any network updates required. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli announced the deal in parliament on Wednesday, describing it as a major win for the state.
He said to have secured Anthropic's first major investment in Australia is a massive show of confidence in Queensland. He said the investment was a direct result of his recent trade mission to the United States, where he met with Anthropic to outline Queensland's advantages, including energy security, locations to invest and a streamlined approvals process. He said the deal will deliver more jobs and put more energy into Queensland's grid.
Crisafulli also acknowledged the commonsense decision endorsed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to allow Queensland to chart its own path for power supply. Queensland, along with the Northern Territory, rejected a Commonwealth push in July to make new AI centres use renewable energy. The state government claims to have won a carve-out from a national deal allowing it to use the state's coal generators to power them.
Crisafulli said data centre development must add energy generation to the grid and drive down power prices for Queenslanders. It must protect local water supplies and respect the communities where these centres go. He said the government will take hold of the economic benefits of data centres with both hands, but will do it in the right locations and in the right way. Communities will have a say, just as they now do for projects like wind, solar and batteries.
Anthropic will be required to invest in local communities and hire an engagement manager to ensure residents' and councils' concerns are heard. The multi-billion-dollar investment is almost five times greater than the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games infrastructure budget. The Albanese government is currently weighing up a proposal to give AI companies a deal independent senator David Pocock said would throw creatives under the bus in pursuit of data centre funding, including access to Australian creatives' works by default.
Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei spoke on Tuesday amid rising concern over AI. In other business, the Queensland parliament dealt with bail law concerns during its sitting. More than 250 submissions were made to the Justice, Integrity and Community Safety Committee, sparking serious criticism. One issue raised is detention capacity.
Officials from the Queensland Police Service, Department of Justice, and Department of Youth Justice and Victim Support appeared before the committee on Wednesday morning. The bill seeks to create a new offence that could apply to anyone, adult or child, who commits a range of offences while already on bail. Yesterday, parliament debated and passed laws on governance changes to the state's container refund scheme and introduced two government bills.
brisbanetimes 
GuardianAus:Anthropic lands deal in $31bn datacentre in western Queensland 
abcnews:Major AI company Anthropic signs deal to use $32b Queensland data centre 
smh:Anthropic to build $32 billion mega data centre in QueenslandThis story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Anthropic Queensland AI Data Centre Western Downs Digital Park Bail Law Anthropic Data Centre Queensland Western Downs David Crisafulli Bail Law Concerns Zerra DC AI Investment Energy Policy Data Centre Western Downs AI Queensland Data Centre
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