Australia's expanding network of AI data centers, essential for systems like Google search AI and Microsoft Copilot, demands immense public resources while creating few lasting jobs. A single 1-megawatt data center consumes 25.5 million liters of water annually for cooling, a volume exceeding ten Olympic swimming pools. Sydney Water projects these facilities could consume roughly 87.5 billion liters of the city's drinking water by the close of the 2020s, representing a quarter of its yearly supply.
Last year, data centers accounted for 2 percent of Australia's total electricity usage. This figure is projected to surge to 6 percent by the end of the decade, according to the Climate Council. Australia stands as one of the world's largest investors in data centers, with 251 already operational and more in development, as noted in the Global Data Centres Report 2025 by Knight Frank.
The Illusion of Jobs
Advocates for data centers often overstate their employment benefits, a claim challenged by the Brookings Institution. While construction phases can temporarily employ thousands, supporting between 1,000 and 10,000 workers for 12 to 18 months, the long-term job creation is minimal. Once built, these facilities are highly automated.
A UK government report found that operational data centers directly create only a few tens to a few hundreds of jobs. Specific figures from two UK operators cited in the report estimated between 20 and 88 full-time employees on site. A similar study for the Virginia state government in the US found a 23,226 square meter data center, equivalent to three NRL fields, might employ approximately 50 full-time workers, with half of these being contract positions.
University of Melbourne senior lecturer M. Reza Hosseini warned that a data center construction boom could divert specialized labor from the housing sector. Data center projects demand high-voltage electricians, industrial cooling technicians, and advanced mechanical engineers. These roles, while only partly overlapping with residential building trades, are critical in a stretched market. Hosseini noted that "When a hyper-scale project offers premium wages to secure electricians for 18 months, those workers are unavailable for housing."
Despite the scarcity of permanent roles, the few specialized positions offer substantial compensation. A data center technician listing in Melbourne offered a $149,000 salary plus a $14,900 annual bonus. An HVAC service technician role for cooling towers in Sydney and NSW offered up to $55 per hour. A senior facilities technician position in Melbourne advertised $145,000 to operate a hyper-scale facility, and a day shift electrical technician in Sydney listed $137,000.
State Manages Capital's Demands
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has outlined new expectations for the AI industry, focusing on minimizing energy demand and emissions. He expects operators to secure "new and additional clean energy generation or storage to offset demand." Albanese also called for transparent reporting on water usage and efficiency, alongside building drought and climate change resilience into operations. These measures aim to manage the environmental costs of capital accumulation without challenging the fundamental expansion of resource-intensive AI infrastructure for private profit.