Noizend Makes Submission to Senate Inquiry into AI and Data Centres

Noizend has lodged a submission to the Senate Inquiry into Artificial Intelligence and Data Centres, addressing systemic noise governance, planning integration and infrastructure solutions relevant to data centre development in Australia.

Australia is expanding data centre development rapidly as part of its digital and economic transition. That infrastructure is essential, but growth near industrial and residential boundaries is increasing environmental noise concerns. Continuous low-frequency and tonal noise from cooling systems, power electronics and backup generators presents challenges distinct from traditional industrial noise sources: low-frequency sound travels further, penetrates buildings more easily, and is less effectively mitigated by conventional barriers.

The submission argues that as facilities cluster in growth corridors, cumulative impacts are likely to intensify. Current planning frameworks mainly assess noise at the individual project level and at fixed points in time, which does not fully capture cumulative exposure, long-term viability or precinct-scale effects. That gap leads to post-approval conflict, operational constraints and costly retrofits, creating uncertainty for proponents and communities alike.

Public health literature increasingly recognises environmental noise as a chronic stressor linked to sleep disturbance, cardiovascular effects and reduced wellbeing. Despite that, noise is still commonly treated as a narrow compliance issue rather than a strategic planning variable integrated early into infrastructure and land use decisions.

This is Noizend's second submission on data centre noise this year, following its submission to the NSW Legislative Council's inquiry into data centres in February.

The full submission is available to download above.