Thank you. Your name is on it.

Want to increase your impact? Write your own submission.

The same Senate inquiry we're submitting to is open for submissions from the public, and you can send your own. A handful of submissions from individual parents carries real weight. It shows the committee this isn't just one organisation's view. It's a whole community asking for better.

It doesn't need to be long or formal. A few honest paragraphs in your own words, as a parent, grandparent or carer, is plenty.

How to make your submission

1. Write it in your own words. Half a page is plenty. Use the talking points below as a guide, and lead with why this matters to your family.
2. Send it to the committee. Email your submission to [email protected], or upload it via the inquiry page (see the link at the bottom).
3. Include your name and contact details so the committee can verify it. If you'd rather your name was withheld, or your submission kept confidential, just say so in your email.
4. Send before Friday 26 June 2026. Submissions received after the closing date may not be accepted.

Key talking points

Pick the ones that matter most to you, and always put them in your own words.

• Hit pause. Australia doesn't have the laws to manage this safely. Projects are governed by a patchwork of building codes and voluntary "expectations". Call for a moratorium on new data centre approvals until enforceable safeguards are in place.
• Set mandatory efficiency standards. Require best-practice water and energy efficiency (such as NABERS 5 star or above) for every facility, and make them report their ratings publicly and regularly rather than leaving it to goodwill.
• Make them bring their own clean power. Data centres should fund and supply enough new renewable energy and firming capacity to meet all of their own demand. That means no new gas or coal, like the gas plants proposed at Moss Vale, and no relying on offsets.
• Protect our water. We're the driest inhabited continent. By 2035, data centres could use up to a quarter of Sydney's drinking water. They shouldn't be drawing on drinking water supplies at all.
• Households shouldn't pick up the bill. Make data centres pay for the energy and water infrastructure they need. Left unchecked, modelling shows wholesale electricity prices could rise by up to 26% in NSW and 23% in Victoria by 2035.
• Keep them away from homes and schools. We need siting and design rules so facilities don't add heat, noise or pollution near houses, schools and early learning centres, with compensation for neighbours who are affected. Studies have already found local temperatures rising around AI data centres.
• A fair return for Australians. The benefits of the AI boom should be shared with the community through fair tax and strong protections, not captured by global companies while families carry the costs.
• Make it personal. Tell the committee what kind of future you want for your kids, and why getting the rules right now matters to your family and your community.