Promotional flier for the Community Summit: Can People Power Halt the AI Data Centre Rollout?

How to Stop a Data Centre in Australia

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A guide for local communities in Australia resisting AI data centres, including suggested resources and training.

Introduction

Resources gathered by The Commons librarians to support local communities organising and campaigning against AI Data Centres. It was initially put together to inform participants at the Community Summit in Naarm/Melbourne on 5 September 2026.

It can be daunting to go up against entrenched government and corporate power – but people power can prevail!

Here in Australia we can learn from the history of community activism in this country, as well as struggles and innovations overseas. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We can learn together and share lessons as campaigns evolve.

This guide is a work in progress. It builds on our international resource, How to Stop a Data Centre: Tools for Community Resistance. We welcome feedback and suggestions for inclusion: Contact us.

What do people need to know to stop Data Centres?

From past experience and the expressed needs of people involved in these fights, we believe the following areas of knowledge and skills are crucial.

  1. Know about Data Centres
  2. Know about the specific Data Centre project you want to stop 
  3. Engage the Community 
  4. Organise Locally 
  5. Plan a Strategic Campaign
  6. Tell the Story
  7. Take Action 
  8. Reflect and Adapt 
  9. Collaborate Across the Movement

We have gathered resources under each of these headings, as well as some upcoming training opportunities. Help fill the gaps with your own guides and events!

1 Know About Data Centres

  • What they are 
  • Harms they cause
  • Clear talking points

Resources

2 Know about the specific Data Centre project you want to stop

  • Location and size
  • Who owns the land
  • Who’s doing the development
  • Who is investing and who will profit
  • Relevant laws and policies 
  • Potential harms 
  • Potential alternative landuses

Resources

Training

  • Target Research – Commons Library & Australian Progress, 9 March 2027

3 Engage the Community 

  • Sound the alarm through posters, fliers, social media, stalls and meetings
  • Awareness raising forums 
  • One-to-one conversations 
  • Outreach to different groups 
  • Use elections as opportunities to get attention on the issue

Resources

4 Organise Locally 

  • Build an action group 
  • Recruit, orient and activate people 
  • Have systems and roles for tracking new members and inviting them to take action 
  • Train people in the skills needed 
  • Run actions and debrief 
  • Step people up

Resources

Training

  • How to Build a Team – Marshall Ganz, free online self-paced course you can take at any time

5 Plan a Strategic Campaign

  • Develop campaign strategy 
  • Identify targets, allies and opponents 
  • Define goals and objectives 
  • Choose tactics 
  • Identify political opportunity 
  • Prepare for surveillance, policing, media attacks, and other anti-protest tactics by government and corporations

Resources

Training

6 Tell the Story

  • Get clear on values and messages 
  • Develop spokespeople 
  • Decide on communications channels 
  • Set up social media accounts 
  • Develop and share content

Resources

Training

7 Take Action 

Run tactics to: 

  • Engage people and build the group
  • Persuade people to support your position and take action
  • Pressure powerholders 
  • Spread your narrative 

Resources

Training

8 Reflect and Adapt

  • Build in times for review, especially after actions 
  • Adjust strategy based on new information and shifting landscape 
  • Share lessons from your group with other data centre fights

Resources

9 Collaborate Across the Movement 

  • Identify state and federal policies to reform 
  • Build a coalition 
  • Agree on priorities 
  • Develop shared brand and messaging 
  • Share innovation and lessons in real time

Resources

Demand a Moratorium

Campaign Tactics During Elections

There are a range of tactics that can help to raise awareness, persuade voters, and build your group in the lead up to elections.

Bird-dogging

Turning up everywhere MPs and candidates are can be a great way to put your issue on the agenda. Think about the message you want to send and the best way to get it across. Eye catching costumes or props can draw attention, and you can amplify your message with printed t-shirts and signs.

Outreach to Voters

Doorknocking and phone calls can be effective ways to connect with people, help them to understand the issues related to data centres, and potentially persuade them to support the campaign and/or change their voting intention. Holding a stall and leafleting in a busy place, such as outside shopping centres or train stations, can help raise the profile of your group and its message.

Visibility

Consider house signs, billboards, highway signs and banners.

Candidate Forums

Invite the sitting MP and other candidates to attend a forum about AI data centres and related issues. Be prepared with clear questions to ask them, so that you can communicate their position to voters after the event.

Score-Card

Compare where the parties and candidates stand with a score card listing issues or demands. Resources coming soon!

Pre-Poll and Polling Day

Talk to people before they cast their vote, and give them your score card or other information. An increasing proportion of people vote early. For the Victorian state election on 28 November early voting starts on 18 November. Set up a roster for volunteers at pre-polling and on the day of the election.

For more ideas and links to guides see Elections & Activism: Campaign Skills.

Download PDF

2609 Data Centre – Vic Summit HandoutDownload

Feel free to print this flyer and share in your networks. It includes a QR code that links to this page.

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