17 August 2026
CDC Data Centres welcomes the certainty provided by NSW Government's clear set of parameters for data centres.
The Guidelines are a considered response to the pace at which digital infrastructure is being built in Australia, and to the legitimate questions communities are asking about energy, water, air quality, and the scale and speed of development in their communities. In this respect, the Guidelines set a very high bar for the sector to plan and develop infrastructure in a way that addresses communities’ legitimate concerns.
As an Australian owned and operated data centre company and one of the sector's leading operators, CDC acknowledges the leadership in bringing forward a framework of this kind, and the engagement it has undertaken with industry, communities and other stakeholders through its development.
The Guidelines set a demanding standard, which in several areas are the most demanding standards in the country. They also do something the sector has been asking government for, which is to state clearly and in one place what is expected of a new development. Certainty of that kind has real value. It allows serious operators to design, contract and price with confidence, and to get on with meeting the standard rather than guessing at where it will land.
Communities in Australia have watched what has happened overseas, particularly in parts of the United States, where large-scale data centre development has at times moved faster than public confidence in it. The anxiety that follows is difficult to unwind. NSW has acted deliberately to avoid that outcome and CDC believes the framework announced today gives the state a credible basis on which to provide the confidence that the sector is being held to the highest standards.
A clear and demanding bar should also help separate genuine projects from speculative applications. A significant share of the data centre pipeline announced in New South Wales is unlikely ever to be built, and those proposals place real pressure on planning authorities and utilities that are already stretched. Applying a high standard at the front end should shorten assessment timeframes for genuine, deliverable projects and improve the quality of projects progressing through the development process and the conversation between government, industry and communities.
CDC supports the core principles that sit behind the criteria, covering design efficiency and water use, air quality standards for backup generation, demand flexibility, and the way data centres contract the energy they consume.
As one of the sector's leading operators, with an established NSW portfolio and a long record of operating alongside communities in Sydney and regional Australia, CDC is confident it can meet these standards and, in a number of areas, exceed them.
Implementation of the Guidelines in practice will matter as much as their articulation today by the NSW Government.
CDC looks forward to continuing to work with the NSW Government, its agencies and the wider industry on implementation to hold the standards while supporting the investment, construction activity and skilled jobs that data centres bring across New South Wales.
Quotes attributable to Greg Boorer, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, CDC Data Centres
“NSW has set a high bar, and it has set it for everyone. Just as importantly, it has told the sector clearly what is expected. Certainty is what allows serious operators to plan and invest, and we would rather work to a demanding standard we understand than an uncertain one we don't.
“One benefit of a bar like this is that it sorts the serious from the speculative. A great deal of what sits in the NSW pipeline today will never be built, and it is tying up planning authorities and utilities that are already stretched. Clearing that out is good for communities, good for government and good for genuine projects.”
“Australians have seen what unmanaged, large-scale data centre development has looked like elsewhere. Communities across New South Wales should take assurance from the fact that their government has set a hard standard and expects this industry to meet it.”
“The detail of implementation is where this will be won or lost, and we will keep working constructively with the Government on it. Our position is straightforward. We know what is expected, and we will now work to meet these requirements.”