At a glance
Australian data centre operators raised at least A$35 billion so far in 2026, up from A$24 billion in all of 2025, a Reserve Bank staff note estimates.
Debt made up 85% of the money, mostly large loans shared among groups of lenders, against 60% to 80% for data centre funding in the United States.
Even with data centres taking 17% of new large loans, lenders charge them close to what other companies pay, which the note links to tenants signing up before sites are built.
The note found no evidence that access to finance is holding back data centre investment, and little sign it is squeezing other borrowers.
No Australian operator has yet borrowed against its future rent, a method that raised US$25 billion in the US in 2025.
Australian data centre operators have raised at least A$35 billion so far in 2026, more than seven times their yearly average from 2020 to 2024, and most of it is borrowed. The count comes from Data Centre Financing in Australia, a Reserve Bank of Australia staff note by Bradley Speed published on 23 September. It adds up bank loans, bonds and share sales, and puts data centres at 16 per cent of the money raised by Australian companies outside the finance sector in those markets.
Lenders charge Australian data centre operators barely more than other companies that borrow the same way, and the note found no evidence that finance is limiting investment in the sector.
The count covers the six largest Australian data centre companies, AirTrunk, CDC, Firmus, developer Goodman, Macquarie Technology and NEXTDC, plus the local arms of Stack Infrastructure and Equinix.
Smaller operators are missing, possibly because they borrow from a single bank, and the note has limited sight of private deals, so it treats its figures as a floor. IREN, based in Sydney, is excluded because it builds mostly in North America.
Bank loans supply A$25 billion of the A$35 billion
Syndicated loans, where a group of lenders shares one large loan to a single borrower, supplied A$25 billion of the 2026 total. Since 2024 the median margin on those loans to data centre operators has been 1.85 percentage points over the benchmark rate, against 1.75 points for other companies.
The note says lenders appear to judge the sector's credit risk as broadly comparable to a typical borrower's, which may reflect tenants committing to capacity before it is built. Long leases also explain why the sector borrows so heavily. Data centres sign tenants for years, sometimes before construction starts, which gives lenders steady income, and the land and buildings can be pledged as security.
Data centres took 17 per cent of new syndicated lending in Australia so far in 2026, up from 6 per cent in 2025. A further A$13 billion of syndicated loans has been announced this year and is yet to complete. About 70 per cent of the loans are in Australian dollars and the rest mostly in US dollars.
Source of funds | Raised in 2026 to date | What the RBA reports |
|---|---|---|
Syndicated bank loans | A$25 billion | About three-quarters of funding across 2025 and 2026 |
Bonds | A$5 billion | 14% of 2026 funding, up from 4% in 2025 |
Private equity | A$4 billion | Mostly Firmus, across three raisings |
Listed share sales | A$1.5 billion | NEXTDC the only issuer in 2026 |
Source: Reserve Bank of Australia, Data Centre Financing in Australia, 23 September 2026. RBA estimates, treated by the RBA as a lower bound.
Unrated operators pay up to 3.5 points over the benchmark on bonds
Bonds raised A$5 billion in 2026. Four of the main operators have issued them, and the two that carry a credit rating account for most of the total. Those two have also sold bonds in the United States and Europe, where a rating is likely to matter more to investors who do not know the name.
Bonds from Australian data centre operators since 2024 have paid an average of 1.87 percentage points over the benchmark. Companies rated BBB, the lowest rung of investment grade, pay 0.6 to 1.1 points depending on the bond's length. Operators without a rating have paid 2.5 to 3.5 points. People working in debt markets told RBA staff they expect the remaining operators to sell bonds as well.
US operators raised US$25 billion against future rent in 2025
US data centre operators raised US$25 billion in 2025 by selling bonds backed by the rent their tenants will pay, a method known as securitisation. No Australian operator has used it, and the note cites industry commentary suggesting the first Australian deals may start within months.
The note says the heavier US use of bonds likely reflects the smaller size and higher risk of Australian operators next to the hyperscalers, the large cloud providers that dominate US data centre investment.
NEXTDC and Firmus lead the 2026 share sales
NEXTDC is the only ASX-listed data centre company to raise money by selling new shares to investors in 2026, with an A$1.5 billion raise in May. Goodman, which develops and owns data centres, accounted for all listed equity raised for data centres in 2025.
Most of the A$4 billion raised privately went to Australian AI infrastructure company Firmus, across three raisings, including a US$2 billion equity round in August that brought in Jane Street and Blackstone. Firmus builds AI data centres in Tasmania and Melbourne and across Asia, and is expected to list on the ASX later this year, the note says.
The note frames the equity as a way to keep borrowing at reasonable levels while debt does most of the funding. It concludes that funding raised by the operators behind data centres in Australia remains small relative to Australian capital markets, with little evidence it has materially affected financing conditions for other borrowers.
What to watch
The Firmus float. Firmus is due to lodge its prospectus on 8 October, ahead of a planned 22 October ASX listing. It would make Firmus the fourth ASX-listed company among the six in the RBA's sample.
A$13 billion of announced bank loans. The note records these as announced this year and yet to complete, on top of the A$25 billion of syndicated loans completed.
Australia's first rent-backed bond. Industry commentary cited in the note suggests the first Australian deals may start within months.
Bond debuts by unrated operators. Debt market participants expect the operators that have not yet sold bonds to follow, and those without a credit rating have paid the highest margins so far.