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The reported A$31.9 billion figure refers to the proposed Western Downs Digital Park, while Queensland says new AI centres could use its coal generators under a national carve-out.
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Anthropic’s first Australian datacentre lease would anchor Zerra DC’s proposed Western Downs Digital Park near Dalby, Queensland, with a targeted 2027 opening. The agreement gives the state a marquee AI customer, but it is not evidence of an operating facility or a A$31.9bn Anthropic commitment: that figure is the project’s reported value. Delivery will depend on approvals, grid connection and an unresolved power mix, including potential coal supply under Queensland’s carve-out from federal renewable-energy rules.
The A$31.9bn figure describes the proposed Western Downs project, not Anthropic’s lease value.
Zerra DC plans to connect the site to Braemar power station and open it in 2027.
Queensland retained a carve-out allowing coal generation to supply AI centres after rejecting a Commonwealth renewable-energy push.
Anthropic has agreed to lease its first Australian datacentre at Western Downs Digital Park, a proposed western Queensland development reported to be worth A$31.9 billion. The agreement places a major AI customer at the center of Queensland’s approach to powering new data centres.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli announced the agreement in parliament after meeting Anthropic on a recent trade mission. He called it a major investment and jobs opportunity, saying he had made Queensland’s case on energy security and a streamlined approval process. The lease makes Anthropic the planned tenant; it does not make the proposed facility operational today.
Western Downs Digital Park is planned near Dalby, northwest of Toowoomba, and Singapore-based Zerra DC is set to build it. The facility is planned to connect to the existing Braemar power station and open in 2027. Crucially, the reported A$31.9 billion figure is the value attached to the proposed project, rather than a stated price for Anthropic’s lease.
“[Datacentre development] must add energy generation to the grid and drive down power prices for Queenslanders.”
David Crisafulli, Queensland premier
The agreement follows Queensland’s rejection, alongside the Northern Territory, of a Commonwealth push in July to require new AI centres to use renewable energy. Queensland says it secured a carve-out from a national arrangement that allows the state’s coal generators to power such facilities. The Western Downs project could use coal-generated power through that route, although its final power mix has not been confirmed.
Crisafulli has set out conditions he says should govern data-centre development: projects must add generation to the grid, lower power prices, protect local water supplies and respect nearby communities. He also said communities would have a say over where facilities are located. Those promises now sit alongside a specific proposed project with Anthropic as its first Australian datacentre lessee, rather than only a broad appeal for technology investment.
Editorial analysis
Anthropic’s lease gives Queensland a tangible example for its investment pitch: energy security and streamlined approvals alongside promises about jobs, grid supply, water and community input. But the project also makes the state’s claimed coal-power carve-out more consequential than a general policy position. The key next evidence is project-level: how the proposed facility will ultimately be powered, and whether it meets the conditions Crisafulli says should apply to data-centre development. The reported project value signals scale; it does not settle those operating questions.
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