With increasing competition for suitable sites and pressure to meet commercial and ESG targets, data centre developers and investors are looking to streamline delivery, manage risk and unlock value.
We are a trusted adviser on data centre projects across Australia, offering deep sector expertise and integrated legal support throughout the full lifecycle of digital infrastructure.
We help clients deliver data centres at speed and scale from identifying and securing sites through to construction, operations and exit. Our team provides agile, whole-of-project legal support across land acquisition, planning, FIRB, ESG, tax structuring, land development support, utility contracting, regulatory compliance and operational contracting.
As new energy regulations reshape the data centre sector, we also advise on renewable energy procurement and offset obligations, firming and contract coverage requirements, market registration, grid connection and co-location strategies, and transmission cost allocation under evolving energy regulatory frameworks.
Our advice is grounded in deep sector knowledge and a practical understanding of the technical, regulatory and commercial drivers of data centre projects.
We support developers, hyperscale operators, global investors, financiers and utilities with integrated legal strategies that respond to evolving regulatory frameworks and market expectations.
Whether delivering complex transactions, navigating regulatory approvals or helping clients meet new energy obligations, our national team brings proven expertise across Australia’s digital infrastructure landscape.
Work highlights
FIRB
Supported multiple global hyperscale cloud providers on FIRB strategy and major project approvals, including securing one of the largest FIRB exemption certificates by value for a national colocation data centre program.
Utilities
Provided various data centre operators with advice on electricity purchase agreements, grid connection contracts with major utilities, and negotiation of Use of System Agreements with AEMO to support east coast operations.
Renewable energy procurement and the Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin (REGO) Scheme
Advising on renewable energy procurement contracts, including Power Purchaser Agreements (PPAs) and various aspects of the REGO scheme.
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)
Advising on the construction and procurement of one of the largest battery storage installations in the National Electricity Market (NEM).
Data centre development lifecycle
Assisted hyperscalers' development of data centres across NSW, WA and Victoria, including planning approvals, federal environmental compliance, biodiversity offsets, political donations, and developer agreements with government agencies.
Customer contracts
Advising customers on overall data centre strategy and leasing of data centre capacity through co-location arrangements, covering resilience and diversity considerations and structuring the contractual framework to ensure that data centre performance obligations (including tiering, availability, redundancy, disaster recovery alignment, environmental controls and security) are properly addressed and the commercial pricing model (including costs for power consumption, cooling and reserved capacity, and the allocation of risk in respect of variable energy costs) is appropriate for the planned consumption.
Work highlights (continued)
Site acquisition
Managed acquisition and development of fulfilment and data centre sites, including freehold land transactions and strategic site selection for first-time market entrants.
Mergers and acquisitions
Acting on the sale of a significant shareholding stake in a leading data centre owner and operator.
Foreign surcharge land tax exemption
Supported data centre owners on absentee owner surcharge land tax exemption application in Victoria and land tax objections in other Australian states.
Financing arrangements
Acting on the equity and debt financing for a leading data centre owner and operator.