At a glance
Victoria created an artificial intelligence portfolio on 4 August, and new Premier Ben Carroll said data centre developments form part of it.
Anthony Carbines, the member for Ivanhoe and police minister until this week, takes AI alongside economic development, major events and medical research.
Sonya Kilkenny keeps planning, the portfolio that decides large data centre applications on Victoria's accelerated state pathway.
Jaclyn Symes moves from treasurer to energy, climate and environment, filling the vacancy left by Lily D'Ambrosio, who quit cabinet on 30 July.
Caretaker convention starts limiting major decisions, appointments and contracts from 3 November, 91 days after the ministry was named.
Carbines takes AI and gives up police
Ben Carroll became Victoria's 50th premier on 28 July 2026, after Jacinta Allan resigned the Labor leadership. He named his first ministry eight days later, on Tuesday 4 August, and told reporters that data centre developments would form part of the new artificial intelligence minister's remit, according to the ABC.
"Everything needs to be considered on its merits, it needs to be considered wisely, its economic impact, its environment impact, its amenity impact and what is best for that Victorian community," Carroll said. He described the portfolio as "focusing on driving innovation and investment, while keeping AI development ethical and responsible", and said the appointment was about giving AI "a voice at the cabinet table" on guard rails and regulatory reform.
That minister is Anthony Carbines, the member for Ivanhoe since 2010. He trained as a journalist at RMIT, reported for the Geelong Advertiser and sat on Banyule council before entering parliament. He has held racing since June 2022 and was police minister over the same period. Carbines keeps racing and Leader of the House, adds economic development, major events and medical research, and gives up police, community safety and victims. Paul Edbrooke takes police. No technology, industry or innovation portfolio appears in his record.
When the government set out its AI ambitions on 30 January 2026, the figures it led with were A$30 billion of gross state product over a decade and projects valued at up to A$25 billion under the Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan.
Approval power stays with the planning minister
Minister | Relevant portfolios | Role in data centre decisions |
|---|---|---|
Anthony Carbines | Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy, Economic Development | Data centre developments form part of the remit, per the Premier |
Sonya Kilkenny | Planning, Attorney-General | Decides applications made under the Development Facilitation Program |
Jaclyn Symes | Energy and Resources, Climate Action, Environment, State Electricity Commission | Energy and environment settings, and the state-owned energy body |
Portfolios: Statement From The Premier, 4 August 2026. Roles: Certified Strategic.
Sonya Kilkenny, the member for Carrum, keeps planning. Large Victorian data centres are eligible for the Development Facilitation Program, an accelerated state pathway under which the Minister for Planning decides the application and the decision cannot be appealed to VCAT. Of the four campuses lodged between April and July, the Mickleham application received on 1 July runs through that program, while Clyde North sits with the City of Casey under a standard permit assessment. It is also the pathway open to any future application on NEXTDC's 169 hectares at Lovely Banks near Geelong, where nothing has been lodged.
Melissa Horne takes jobs, industry and advanced manufacturing, the area of the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions that published the Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan.
Jaclyn Symes, Victoria's treasurer until this week, fills the energy vacancy left by Lily D'Ambrosio, who quit cabinet on 30 July, is retiring at the election, and had held the portfolio since 2014. Industry body Data Centres Australia has told The Age that connection requests in Victoria alone exceed 18GW. AEMO's formal connection queue is a narrower measure and a national one: it reached 9GW across 17 projects at 30 June 2026, of which Victoria accounts for about 31 per cent.
Big decisions get harder after 3 November
Victoria votes on 28 November. The Legislative Assembly expires on 3 November, and from that date the government enters the caretaker period, a long-standing convention under which it holds off on major policy decisions, significant appointments and major contracts until the result is known. That leaves 91 days from the ministry's appointment in which decisions across government, planning approvals included, are made in the ordinary way.
Melbourne hosts Data Center World Australia and The AI Summit at the Convention and Exhibition Centre from 7 to 9 September, supported by the Victorian government, Melbourne Convention Bureau and Business Events Australia, with organisers expecting more than 1,000 attendees. Craig Scroggie, chief executive of NEXTDC, is a confirmed speaker. Whether Carbines takes the government speaking slot has not been announced.
What the portfolio inherits
Fitch's June analysis, reported by the AFR, has Melbourne ahead of Sydney on planned capacity at 799MW to 384MW. Victoria rates leading on pipeline, policy and people, and contending on power, in the state-by-state scorecard. It has a published data centre policy, a state-owned apprenticeship academy taking its first electrical intake in January 2027, and Keppel's proposed 720MW campus at Morwell in the Latrobe Valley.
The constraints sit outside the new portfolio. Grid connection settings belong to Symes, and the westward run of the pipeline has moved ahead of the dedicated high-count fibre being built into new precincts west of Melbourne. In New South Wales, the Coalition opposition has pledged to create an AI portfolio if it wins the March 2027 election.
What to watch
Whether Carbines gets any formal power. Carroll has not said whether the remit comes with a coordinating role, a formal referral step, or an administrative order moving functions between portfolios. The statutory approval power for large data centres remains with the Minister for Planning.
The September speaking slot. Data Center World Australia is the first industry set-piece since the appointment, and the government speaker has not been named.
Live applications. Mickleham was received by the Department of Transport and Planning on 1 July and runs through the Development Facilitation Program. Clyde North had 13 objections lodged with the City of Casey by 24 July. Both may be decided before the election.
The Action Plan's next step. The Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan commits to choosing sites using transport, energy and water data. The government has not said which minister now carries that commitment.