Anthropic Signs First Australia Data Centre Deal Worth $31.9bn in Queensland

Anthropic Secures Major AI Infrastructure Foothold in Australia

AI company Anthropic has signed its first data centre lease agreement in Australia, marking a significant expansion of AI infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region1

1

. The deal covers the Western Downs Digital Park, a facility with planned capacity totalling 2.16 gigawatts—on par with some of the largest computing centres currently operating worldwide1

1

. Located on farmland approximately 250 km from Brisbane near Dalby, northwest of Toowoomba, the proposed facility is valued at $31.9bn and is planned to start coming online in 20272

2

.

Strategic AI Investment in Australia Accelerates

The data centre lease agreement positions Anthropic as the latest AI heavyweight to secure a foothold in Australia, following an offtake agreement OpenAI struck for a Sydney data centre last year1

1

. AI companies are racing to lock in power and land in Australia, which is being pitched as a low-cost, renewable energy-rich alternative to more congested markets in the U.S. and Asia1

1

. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli announced the decision in parliament, describing it as "a major win that will deliver more jobs and put more energy into Queensland's grid"2

2

. Crisafulli stated he met with Anthropic during a recent trade mission and outlined why Queensland offered energy security and a streamlined approval process2

2

.

Renewable Energy Resources and Infrastructure Details

The facility will be developed by Singapore-based Zerra DC, which will source renewable power purchase agreements and bear grid connection costs without incurring expenses to existing customers1

1

. The site will connect to the existing Braemar power station and utilize a closed-loop air-cooled system, which reduces the need for clean water when removing heat from servers1

1

. The facility will be used for AI inference—rapid, prediction-based processing—but not training, according to sources familiar with the deal1

1

. This distinction matters as Australia has indicated its new AI rules will set limits on the use of domestically produced content for training the Claude large language model and other AI systems1

1

.

Political Environment and Energy Policy Considerations

Queensland, along with the Northern Territory, rejected a Commonwealth push in July to make new AI centres use renewable energy resources exclusively2

2

. The state government claims to have secured a carve-out from a national deal allowing it to use the state's coal generators to power data centres2

2

. David Crisafulli said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a "commonsense decision" to allow Queensland to chart its own path for power supply2

2

. The Australian government has responded to community pushback over land, water and electricity use by promising to set restrictions from 2027 over data centre resource use, but continues to court an AI investment in Australia boom that economists project may total A$150 billion ($107 billion) by 20301

1

.

Regulatory Approvals and AI Model Advancements Debate

The deal remains subject to Foreign Investment Review Board approval1

1

. The announcement comes as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently called on AI companies to slow the rate at which they advance AI model capabilities amid mounting fears of misuse of artificial intelligence1

1

3

3

. This call was backed by Elon Musk, who runs rival xAI, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI3

3

. U.S. President Donald Trump described critics of AI as "very negative forces" who were raising scenarios that will not happen1

1

. The Albanese government is currently weighing a proposal to give AI companies access to Australian creatives' works by default—a deal independent senator David Pocock said would throw creatives "under the bus" in pursuit of datacentre funding2

2

. Watch for how the Foreign Investment Review Board evaluates this deal and whether other AI companies follow Anthropic's lead in securing Queensland-based infrastructure.