The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) has passed a resolution to demand the state government impose a moratorium on new data centres, with plans to go “pretty hard” on whichever party is elected to government this November.
What happened? The peak body represents all 79 councils across Victoria and, during its October state council meeting, MAV called for a suspension on new data centres until a planning and environmental framework is established.
Eight local councils raised the issue at the meeting, including the City of Ballarat and the City of Greater Geelong.
A secondary motion also called for improved social, economic and environmental regulation to address water and land use concerns.
Who is that? MAV is a membership-based organisation, representing local councils across the state. Founded in 1897, it is the peak body advocating for the local government sector.
At the local level: Earlier this month, Ballarat Councillor Jay Morisson first indicated he would argue for the suspension.
City of Ballarat Mayor Tracey Hargreaves told the Brolga the council recognised the important role data centres play in supporting VIctoria’s digital economy, however “the scale of these developments… necessitates careful planning” to ensure benefits are “balanced with environmental sustainability and community wellbeing”.
“The City of Ballarat believes that the increasing number of data centre proposals emerging across Victoria warrants a coordinated, transparent and sustainable approach to ensure future development is appropriately planned and delivers clear benefits to local communities”.
On September 22, the Victorian Government released the Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan.
It laid out expectations surrounding mandated distance from residential areas and schools, as well as water, land and energy use.
At other levels: AI and the data centres that power it have been a hot topic in 2026.
In March of this year, the Australian Government outlined initial Expectations of Data Centres and AI Infrastructure.
In July, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced plans to legislate these AI and data centre standards during a speech at the University of Sydney.
In August, the National Cabinet affirmed a commitment to build unified regulations.
The legislation is expected to be introduced to parliament in 2027.
The bigger picture: In Australia, the amount of data centres in development has doubled since 2025. There are currently 165 data centres, with 225 more proposed throughout the country.
Johanna Lim, from the United States Studies Centre, told the Gippsland Monitor data centres will become “the backbone of the digital economy”.
“They underpin our digital lives. They allow us to access the cloud, internet, banking apps, healthcare systems, transportation and use AI tools like Chat GPT and Gemini.”
What next? On November 3, the Victorian Government will enter caretaker mode in the run-up to the state election.
MAV president Jennifer Anderson told ABC News that “once the government of the day is decided… we will go pretty hard at getting all elected state officials… to know what these priority motions were”.