Australia could position itself as a regional hub for AI-related digital infrastructure, adding an estimated $134 billion to the economy by 2050 and supporting an average of 14,300 additional jobs a year, according to a new Deloitte Access Economics report commissioned by Google.
The report, Digital infrastructure for the AI age: Australia’s opportunity to lead the Asia Pacific, argues that the country has a narrow window—around the next two years—to move on policy, investment and energy planning if it wants to capture growing demand for data centre capacity and compute across the Asia-Pacific region.
Pradeep Philip, head of Deloitte Access Economics, said global investment is accelerating as AI becomes a major driver of productivity and economic activity. He pointed to forecasts that AI investment in the Asia-Pacific region will exceed $165 billion by 2028.
The report’s central investment case hinges on a rapid expansion of compute and data centre capacity. Deloitte Access Economics partner and lead author John O’Mahony said Australia is on track to reach around 3.3GW of data centre capacity by 2030, but would need to add a further 3.1GW of “high-quality compute power”, which would amount to roughly quadrupling current national capacity.
O’Mahony estimated that about $52 billion in infrastructure investment would be required between 2026 and 2030 to scale capacity and support advanced AI applications. Deloitte’s modelling suggests this higher-investment scenario would add a cumulative $134 billion to the economy by 2050 compared with an “organic growth” scenario.
The report also frames the build-out as a competition across the region, citing projected Asia-Pacific compute demand of 55GW to 92GW by 2030 and arguing that much of the enabling infrastructure has yet to be built. It identifies India, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia among the countries likely to compete for investment and capacity.
Deloitte’s analysis highlights Australia’s existing position—ranking in the top ten globally for data centre capacity—as well as constraints facing some regional competitors, including limits on land, water and clean energy in Singapore and less stable regulatory environments elsewhere.
Energy availability and the emissions profile of new capacity are presented as key constraints. O’Mahony said data centres require significant energy, and warned that reliance on non-renewable power could trigger “social licence” concerns. Philip said Australia would need to accelerate its clean energy transition to provide cheaper, more reliable and lower-emissions electricity to support AI-driven growth.
The report calls for coordinated action from industry, investors and government. Philip said global “digital infrastructure hubs” are increasingly forming in regions with strong connectivity and access to skilled workers, noting the United States and Europe currently lead. O’Mahony said the federal government, working with the private sector, could influence whether Australia captures the opportunity as regional demand rises.
