At a glance

  • Zerra DC has agreed to give AirTrunk the design files for its A$1.1 billion data centre campus at Campbellfield, north of Melbourne, under Federal Court orders.
  • AirTrunk suspects Zerra used information obtained from former AirTrunk staff, and its intellectual property, in the design of the Campbellfield campus.
  • The orders reach the full design package Zerra gave its consultants, builders and equipment suppliers for the Victorian project.
  • No intellectual property claim has been filed, and AirTrunk can launch legal action after reviewing the documents if it believes it has a case.
  • Campbellfield is one of eight Victorian projects under assessment that the state's data centre rules announced on 22 September 2026 would not affect, the Financial Review reported.

Singapore-based Zerra DC has consented to Federal Court orders that give AirTrunk access to the design documents behind its proposed campus at Campbellfield, about 17km north of the Melbourne CBD. The two companies agreed an exchange of documents in place of a hearing listed for 25 September 2026, the Australian Financial Review reported that day. AirTrunk had filed on 10 June 2026 as a prospective applicant against Zerra's Australian operations, suspecting its rival of using information obtained from AirTrunk's former staff.

The application is for preliminary discovery, a court order that lets a party see documents before deciding whether to sue, and no intellectual property claim has yet been filed. AirTrunk now gets the engineering requirements and design package behind Zerra's A$1.1 billion Campbellfield campus, and can launch legal action if it believes it has a case against Zerra and that any of its former staff were involved, the Financial Review reported.

The orders cover Zerra's Building Engineering Requirements

The central document is Zerra's Building Engineering Requirements, the baseline technical standard that the engineering design of its data centres must meet, the Financial Review reported. The orders also reach beyond Zerra's own files, to the complete set of design documents it provided to design consultants, general contractors and equipment vendors on its Victorian project.

Two further categories go to AirTrunk's suspicion directly. The orders cover any documents Zerra used for its requirements "that apparently originate from AirTrunk", and any documents relating to former AirTrunk employees who worked on developing them, the Financial Review reported.

Under rule 7.23 of the Federal Court Rules, an applicant for preliminary discovery must reasonably believe it may be entitled to relief, lack enough information after reasonable inquiries to decide whether to sue, and reasonably believe the other side has, or is likely to have, documents directly relevant to that decision. The matter did not go to a contested hearing, because Zerra consented.

The two operators behind the dispute

AirTrunk has built hyperscale campuses since Robin Khuda, a co-founder and former chief financial officer of NEXTDC, founded it in 2015. A consortium led by Blackstone and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired it in 2024 for A$24 billion, and it now has a footprint across Australia, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and India. Its hyperscale campuses in Sydney and Melbourne sit in the fleet of data centres in Australia, and the Financial Review calls it one of Australia's most successful start-ups.

Zerra rebranded in 2026 as a standalone business out of asset manager AGP Sustainable Real Assets, and Campbellfield was its first announced Australian project when it lodged in April. It filed the 1.44GW Western Downs Digital Park near Dalby in Queensland on 17 August 2026, where Anthropic has signed a lease, the Financial Review reported on 16 September 2026.

Campbellfield sits outside Victoria's new data centre rules

Victoria received Zerra's application on 24 April 2026 for six data centre buildings at 300-340 Barry Road, Ford's former Broadmeadows assembly plant, Victoria's ministerial permit register shows. Zerra puts the campus at 336MW, air-cooled, with service from the first stage targeted for 2028.

The application runs through the Development Facilitation Program (DFP), an accelerated state pathway for significant economic projects in which Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny decides the application in place of the local council. Residents have opposed the campus and cannot appeal a decision made under the program, the Financial Review reported. Victoria's Environment Protection Authority (EPA) formally objected in August over potential noise risks and the cumulative impact of the site layout, Real Estate Source reported, and Zerra said it was working through the EPA's feedback with specialist acoustic consultants.

Premier Ben Carroll's data centre plan of 22 September 2026 would keep new data centres at least 150 metres from homes and have them bring their own renewable energy and cool with non-drinking water. Victoria has 50 data centres operating, 10 approved for construction and eight under planning assessment, and the new rules would not affect any of them, the Financial Review reported. Campbellfield is among the eight.

What to watch

The planning decision. Campbellfield goes to the planning minister under the DFP, with the EPA objection and Zerra's acoustic work before her.

Western Downs. Zerra's Queensland application is with Western Downs Regional Council and could take years to approve, the ABC reported on 14 September 2026.