What is a Certified Strategic data centre in Australia?

A Certified Strategic data centre is one that has been assessed and certified under the Australian Government's Hosting Certification Framework (HCF). It meets strict requirements on data sovereignty, corporate ownership, physical security and supply chain transparency, making it eligible to host PROTECTED and whole-of-government systems. There are currently 59 certified strategic sites on the public register.

How much data centre capacity does Australia have right now?

Australia's total deployed data centre capacity sits at around 2,180MW as of 2024/25, up 250% from 2020 levels. It is forecast to pass 5,000MW before 2030, backed by approximately AUD $26 billion in planned investment from major operators including NEXTDC, CDC, AirTrunk, AWS and Microsoft

Which data centre operators have the most certified strategic capacity in Australia?

CDC Data Centres is the largest Australian-owned operator with 372MW operational and 453MW under construction. NEXTDC holds certified strategic status across 13 facilities including sites in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and Darwin. Digital Realty and Equinix also hold certified strategic status across multiple Sydney and Melbourne sites.

Which data centre providers are government approved in Australia?

A: The Australian Government approves data centre providers through the Hosting Certification Framework (HCF), administered by the Department of Home Affairs. There are two tiers — Certified Strategic (highest assurance) and Certified Assured. The main providers holding Certified Strategic status include NEXTDC (13 facilities nationally), Canberra Data Centres (12 ACT facilities), Equinix, Digital Realty, Macquarie Technology, AirTrunk, and Telstra for physical facilities, plus cloud providers including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and several sovereign cloud operators such as AUCloud and Vault Cloud.

How Full Are Australia's Certified Strategic Data Centres? | Australia Data Centre Index

Australia's data centre capacity is forecast to pass 5,000MW before 2030, but in Sydney and Melbourne, certified strategic sites are already effectively sold out. This is what NEXTDC, CDC, AirTrunk, Equinix and Digital Realty's latest numbers say about how much sovereign-grade capacity remains.

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