A new industry body, Data Centres Australia (DCA), has appointed its inaugural board as it seeks to position Australia as a regional hub for AI infrastructure and large-scale digital investment. Craig Scroggie, chief executive and managing director of NEXTDC, has been named chair. He will lead a board that includes senior representatives from AirTrunk, Amazon Web Services, CDC Data Centres and Microsoft, alongside the body’s founders.
The formation of the board follows a two-year informal pilot backed by the same five companies to promote Australia’s data centre opportunity. The initiative concluded that the sector required a dedicated peak body to represent its interests amid accelerating global investment in AI-ready infrastructure.
DCA chief executive Belinda Dennett said the appointments come at a “pivotal time” as AI infrastructure investment gathers pace globally. She said the board would provide governance and industry depth to ensure the body represents members’ interests across what she described as a complex and rapidly evolving ecosystem.
Scroggie said cloud and AI have made digital infrastructure foundational to modern economies, arguing that data centres now underpin productivity, security and essential services. He added that the sector carries increasing responsibility in how it engages with governments, policymakers and other critical infrastructure stakeholders.
“Data Centres Australia has been established to provide disciplined leadership across the ecosystem,” Scroggie said, adding that the body will work with members and government to support secure and resilient digital infrastructure development.
The broader board includes Paul Slaven, chief development officer at AirTrunk; Cameron Evans, Director of data centre planning and delivery, APAC, at AWS; Jack Dan, chief strategy officer at CDC Data Centres; and Karie Bradfield, APAC regional director for land development at Microsoft. Dennett and Tim Marshall, head of operations and strategy at Data Centres Australia, also serve as directors.
Board members framed the body as a vehicle for industry coordination as AI-driven demand reshapes infrastructure requirements. Slaven described it as an opportunity to unlock digital growth, while Evans pointed to collaboration as key to positioning Australia to capitalise on AI and other transformational technologies.
Dan said the sector sits at the centre of national digital infrastructure and would benefit from clearer frameworks to support investment and innovation. Bradfield emphasised collaboration across industry and broader stakeholders to support customers and communities as AI infrastructure scales.
The creation of a formal peak body reflects the growing policy and economic weight of the data centre sector in Australia. As hyperscale, sovereign and AI-focused facilities expand, questions around energy access, planning approvals, workforce capability and national competitiveness are increasingly shaping the agenda. With representation from major domestic operators and global cloud providers, the new board signals a coordinated effort by the sector to engage more directly with government.