Jun 22, 2026 – 11.39amData centres operating in Australia say the introduction of tougher penalties and tighter supply chain checks by the government aimed at beefing up national security obligations could deter artificial intelligence investment, even as experts say they must do more to help protect critical national assets.The peak body representing data centres has raised the alarm about the cost and compliance burden of upcoming government reforms designed to protect high-risk critical infrastructure against cybersecurity or physical attacks.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles
National security for data centres a ‘risk to investment’
Operators say tighter controls may deter investors, but their protests have been rebuffed amid rising geopolitical and cybersecurity tensions.
TL;DRAI
Australia introduces stricter national security rules for data centres—higher penalties, tighter supply chain audits. Regulatory friction threatens to redirect AI capex to less-restricted markets; signals similar tightening ahead in EU critical-infrastructure frameworks.
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