AIDH members are invited to share their views on the future of data centres in Australia by completing our short survey. Your input will help shape our ongoing contribution to national policy discussions and ensure the digital health perspective is represented.

Australia’s health system is increasingly dependent on cloud computing, digital infrastructure and AI-enabled services. Data centres provide the physical infrastructure that supports critical applications and enables the storage, processing and exchange of health information.

As their number and scale grow, data centres are becoming an increasingly important public policy issue. Their development raises complex questions about energy and water use, environmental and community impacts, infrastructure costs, cyber security, health-system resilience, data sovereignty and the protection of sensitive health information.

AIDH has already made a submission to the Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications inquiry into artificial intelligence and data centres. We have also developed a discussion paper that considers the issues through a digital health lens.

We now want to hear from AIDH members.

Our short member survey seeks your views on the public-interest principles, regulatory safeguards and approval requirements that should guide the development and operation of data centres in Australia.

The survey covers issues including:

• transparency about water, energy, emissions and community impacts;
• protection and sovereignty of health information;
• resilience and cyber security requirements for data centres supporting health services;
• community consultation and cumulative-impact assessment;
• and the need to balance the benefits of digital infrastructure with environmental, social and economic costs.

Data centres are essential to Australia’s digital future and to the continued development of digital health. The central question is not whether this infrastructure is needed, but how it should be planned, governed and regulated in the public interest.

Member feedback will be collated and used to provide further information to the Senate inquiry, helping ensure that the perspectives of Australia’s digital health community are represented in this fast-moving policy discussion.

The survey is open until Sunday 23 August 2026.

Complete the short member survey now SURVEY LINK; for background information, we suggest you first read the AIDH Data Centres in Australia Discussion Paper