Australia is in the middle of one of the largest infrastructure buildouts in its history. Microsoft, Google and Amazon have each announced multi-billion dollar Australian data centre programs. The siting decisions and design choices being locked in right now will define Australia's digital infrastructure for decades. The jurisdictions getting this right, such as Denmark, Norway and Singapore, did not get there by accident. They got there because they had the evidence-based case for what good looked like. Australia needs the same.

The Responsible Data Centre Benchmark builds that case for Australia. Grounded in international examples of what responsible data centre development looks like across energy, water, noise, siting and community consultation, it will give Australian policy makers and the Australian public the evidence and ideas on how data centres can be built and operated. It will be built from real-world exemplars, detailing what the best operators and jurisdictions are already doing. It will be freely available to anyone.

At $45,000 the Responsible Data Centre Benchmark is fully funded and published within six months of campaign close.

The window to set standards is narrow and the infrastructure is being built. Australia can have a world-best data centre industry, but only if we learn from others and decide to act.

Help us publish it.

In early 2026 I spent 31 days producing a 37,000-word independent research submission on behalf of 2,603 residents of West Footscray in Melbourne's inner west.

The NextDC M3 data centre operates 40 diesel generators (expanding to 100 at full build out) with no exhaust filters producing the equivalent air pollution load of approximately 100 B-double trucks running year-round at fixed points in a residential neighbourhood. It sits 400 metres from a local kindergarten in an area with childhood asthma emergency department visitation rates 26 to 53 percent above the Victorian average, the highest in the state. The community's power grid was augmented to serve the facility, with residents losing power for hours at a time. In three years, there have been 26 unplanned power outages in our area. 

And this is legal under current regulations. Australia can do much better.

That submission is now before the federal Senate Environment and Communications References Committee. It was covered nationally by Guardian Australia, ABC News Melbourne and Yahoo News Australia. West Footscray is not an isolated case.
The same pattern is playing out in Lane Cove, NSW, Hazelmere, WA and in communities across the country.

That evidence base does not exist. This campaign funds it.

At $45,000 — The Responsible Data Centre Benchmark is fully funded.

The majority of this funds 80 days of dedicated research time over six months — approximately three days per week. As the research is the product, and researcher time is the primary cost. The remainder covers graphic design and professional layout, a print run of 300 physical copies for reward tier backers, professional indemnity insurance, website and digital costs and the Pozible platform fee.

A full itemised budget is available on request.