New environmental filings point to Darwin as an Australian landing point for Meta’s Project Waterworth global subsea cable system, with two additional Queensland landings identified at Townsville and Karumba – the clearest indication yet of how the hyperscaler’s 50,000km cable initiative will physically connect to the country.
The route is set out in a federal environmental referral lodged by Australian operator Vocus on 19 June 2026 for a geophysical survey it has codenamed “Project Werribee.” The filing describes a proposed alignment running from Darwin, through the Torres Strait, to a point close to international waters off the Queensland coast, with two spur lines extending to Townsville and Karumba. The full route within Australian waters covers approximately 5,360km, including a roughly 906km spur to Karumba and an 800km spur to Townsville.
A stakeholder engagement register accompanying the referral records a joint briefing by Meta and Vocus for Department of Home Affairs officials on 5 November 2025, describing the session as covering “Project Waterworth (inclusive of Werribee).” The briefing involved senior representatives from both companies, according to the register, and the two firms agreed to continue engaging with Home Affairs on Security of Critical Infrastructure Act and carrier security obligations.
Meta announced Project Waterworth in February 2025, describing it as its “most ambitious subsea cable endeavour yet” and a multi-billion dollar, multi-year investment intended to support AI and cloud infrastructure demand. The company’s public materials have described planned connections to the United States, Brazil, South Africa and India, alongside a 24-fibre-pair design intended to be the highest-capacity system of its kind. Northern Australia had been flagged as a likely landing region, but the Werribee filing is the first concrete documentation of a specific route and local delivery partner.
Townsville, the largest population centre in North Queensland with a significant defence and energy footprint, and Karumba, the main port servicing the Gulf of Carpentaria, would both be new international cable landing sites if the project proceeds. Neither location currently hosts a subsea cable system.
Extensive environmental groundwork already complete
The referral is accompanied by a 215-page Significant Impact Assessment prepared by Jacobs Group (Australia) and finalised for submission on 19 June 2026. It sets out route-planning decisions that go well beyond what would typically be expected ahead of a preliminary survey.
Vocus states it has avoided all National Park zones within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, the Gulf of Carpentaria Marine Park and the Wessel Marine Park, and minimised entry into the Oceanic Shoals Marine Park Habitat Protection Zone. For the Torres Strait Dugong Sanctuary – home to the world’s largest dugong population and Australia’s largest single continuous seagrass meadow – Vocus says it has already settled on a direct-lay cable installation method for any future construction, avoiding trenching, rather than treating the crossing as an open design question.
The assessment covers potential impacts on whales, marine turtles, sharks, sawfish and dugong, as well as the Great Barrier Reef’s World and National Heritage listings. It finds any impacts from the survey would be minor and temporary, and concludes the proposal is not likely to significantly affect Matters of National Environmental Significance. As a result, Vocus states it does not consider the action a “controlled action” under the EPBC Act, a determination that ultimately rests with the minister. Proposed safeguards include noise shutdown zones around marine fauna, dedicated wildlife observers during operations, and restrictions on night-time vessel movements near turtle nesting beaches.
The survey, covering bathymetry, seabed composition and sediment thickness along the proposed route, is scheduled to begin in September 2026 and run for around six months, using one of three nominated vessels. Results will be used to help confirm a final cable route ahead of any decision to proceed with construction, which would be subject to a separate referral.
Fits a wider expansion pattern for Vocus
The Werribee proposal follows a run of infrastructure investment by Vocus in northern and western Australia. The operator last month completed its 2,000km Horizon fibre network between Perth and Port Hedland, built in partnership with Fortescue and designed to support AI, cloud and industrial automation demand across the Pilbara resources region. Horizon connects into NEXTDC’s edge data centres in Newman and Port Hedland and links onward to Vocus’s existing Darwin-Jakarta-Singapore Cable system, giving the company an established international gateway through Darwin that a Waterworth landing would further strengthen.
The Home Affairs engagement over Werribee also comes as Australia’s critical infrastructure security settings are under active review. An independent review of the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act, delivered by Dr Jill Slay AM in early 2026, prompted government consultation from March to May 2026 on expanded ministerial directions powers and, separately, an exposure draft of enhanced risk-management rules for high-risk asset classes that gives particular regard to foreign ownership, control and influence (FOCI) risk.
Subsea cables and international gateway infrastructure sit within scope of the existing regime as designated communications sector assets. Vocus declined to comment.