{
  "id": 8983391,
  "title": "Datacentres in Victoria to be banned in residential areas",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/datacentres-in-victoria-to-be-banned-in-residential-areas",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-21T19:00:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Guardian",
    "slug": "the-guardian",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/22/datacentres-in-victoria-to-be-banned-in-residential-areas"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Victoria's premier, Ben Carroll, will unveil a comprehensive sustainable datacentre action plan on Tuesday, instituting stringent regulations for datacentres in the state. The new rules ban datacentres within residential areas, near schools, childcare centres, and rural regions insufficient to support them, while mandating the installation of a 150-metre buffer zone between new developments and homes.\n\nDatacentres must generate their own renewable energy and cover connection costs and network upgrades. They are also required to utilize recycled or non-drinking water for cooling processes or offset their usage. Additionally, new datacentres must contribute to the community through a \"local investment guarantee,\" which could encompass job creation, Tafe institutions, and parks. The plan also mandates \"fair community consultation,\" alongside existing noise limits, fire, and safety rules.\n\nThe government asserts that these rules are the \"strongest\" and \"clearest\" governing datacentres in the country, emphasizing that if implemented correctly, they can benefit the local community economically. Premier Carroll stated, \"In Victoria, we set the rules – datacentres must power themselves, protect homes and pay their way.\"\n\nThe proposed rules come after the federal government initially aimed to mandate all new datacentres to be powered by renewable energy instead of coal and gas. However, this mandate was dropped due to opposition from Queensland and Northern Territory leaders.\n\nThe initiative follows growing community opposition, particularly in Labor-held seats such as Footscray in Melbourne's north-west, where NextDC has applied for a significant expansion. NextDC's Footscray datacentre, M3, would cover 10 hectares, consume 225 megawatts of power, and operate round the clock, with some residential homes within 15 meters of its boundary.\n\nLabor MP for Lara, Ella George, expressed concerns about NextDC's land acquisition outside Geelong, which was previously designated for residential development. The proposed 350-hectare, 2.4GW datacentre in Plumpton has also faced opposition from federal Labor MPs Alice Jordan-Baird and Sam Rae.",
  "summary": "New rules also include a ban near schools and childcare centres and require them to source their own renewable energy Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Datacentres in Victoria will be banned in residential areas and required to use renewable energy and contribute to the community, under new state government rules. On Tuesday, the premier, Ben Carroll, will release the…",
  "key_points": [
    "Premier Ben Carroll to unveil sustainable datacentre plan on Tuesday",
    "Ban datacentres within residential areas, near schools and childcare centres",
    "Mandate 150-metre buffer zone between new developments and homes"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Guardian Australia",
        "title": "Datacentres in Victoria to be banned in residential areas",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/datacentres-in-victoria-to-be-banned-in-residential-areas-8988883",
        "published": "2026-09-21T19:00:23.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}