Planning

A pathway is required, and one exists

New South Wales, Australia, rewrote its rules for data centres in August 2026, and the new rules favour what this site is: regional, with land for generation and storage, and clear of dense housing. This page sets out that advantage and, just as plainly, the zoning step that still has to be taken, because a specialist planner will reach it within an hour.

RU1 Primary Production is not a prescribed zone for data centres. A planning proposal or rezoning is likely to be required, alongside the State Significant Development route that applies above 15 MW.

Policy

What the August 2026 rules change, and why this site benefits

The NSW Data Centre Policy Framework and its Guidelines do two things at once: they give a faster, staffed assessment track to proposals that meet them, and they describe the kind of site the State now wants. Most of that description is visible on the plan of this holding.

Threshold15 MWAbove this, a data centre is State Significant Development (SSD), assessed by the NSW Government rather than by the local council alone. A 50 MW first stage is well above it.

Assessment target75 daysIn State government hands, for proposals that meet the Guidelines, with a dedicated assessment team and dedicated post-consent staff.

Assessment requirements2 monthsFor the Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs), the document that fixes what an application must address.

Strategic fitScreenedAn initial screening against all seventeen performance measures, with its limits stated: a judgement, not a compliance rating. NSW Guidelines →

What the Guidelines favour, and what the site offers

What the NSW Data Centre Guidelines favour, set against the site’s key facts
The Guidelines favour	At Rock Flat	Key fact
Regional locations outside the Sydney Ring	Southern New South Wales, 126 km from Canberra and about 406 km from Sydney by road.	Location
Distance from dense residential areas	Open grazing country 10 km from Cooma, a town of about 6,700 people, with nothing of the town within 4 km. Scattered rural dwellings are sensitive receivers and must still be mapped.	Location
Available land and existing infrastructure	Up to 837.7 ha, with 132 kV and 66 kV lines and the Eastern Gas Pipeline crossing Lot 1, and about 642 ha clear of all three energy corridors.	Land, Electricity, Gas
New renewable generation and four-hour storage	Room to design solar and a battery in from the first stage rather than fit them in later. Electricity generating works are permissible with consent on this rural zone.	Scale
Low water cooling	A cool climate at about 900 m may support closed loop or hybrid cooling as the base case. No large scale water supply has been demonstrated, and none is assumed.	Water
Early engagement with optical fibre providers (measure 12)	Telstra’s optical fibre is marked at the boundary and an NBN asset is identified, so there are carriers to engage. Capacity and a second, diverse route remain to be confirmed.	Data and connectivity

A fit with the Guidelines is not an approval, and nothing here is a permission. The Guidelines state that applicants “will need to demonstrate whether they comply”, so each row above becomes something an application must evidence. The zoning step is set out next.

The central planning issue

In New South Wales, State Environmental Planning Policy (Transport and Infrastructure) 2021, the SEPP, permits a data centre with consent in B5 Business Development, B6 Enterprise Corridor, B7 Business Park, IN1 General Industrial, IN2 Light Industrial, IN3 Heavy Industrial, E3 Productivity Support, E4 General Industrial and E5 Heavy Industrial zones. RU1 Primary Production is not among the prescribed zones. A data centre use at this site therefore requires a planning pathway rather than a straightforward permissible-with-consent route.

Four factors that make the pathway navigable

State Significant Development (SSD). Data storage development above 15 MW total power consumption has been State Significant Development since 1 June 2023, assessed by the NSW Government rather than by council alone. Any campus of the scale contemplated here sits well above that threshold. NSW reported 19 data centre projects in the SSD pipeline worth $50.3 billion as at July 2026, so the assessment framework is established and actively used.
The energy component has its own pathway. Electricity generating works are permissible with consent on prescribed rural zones under the same SEPP, and this has been relied upon by the nearby Cooma Solar and Battery Project on RU1 land. It matters to the scale of the holding: the generation and storage the Guidelines ask for can be planned on this land. The solar, storage and firming elements may therefore progress on a clearer and faster planning track than the compute elements.
Policy momentum. The NSW Data Centre Policy Framework released in August 2026 offers proponents meeting the NSW Data Centre Guidelines a commitment to assessment within 75 days in state government hands, provision of the Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) within two months, a dedicated assessment team and dedicated post-consent staff. The Guidelines also state that applicants “will need to demonstrate whether they comply with the Guidelines in their assessments”, which turns their six principles and seventeen performance measures into an application requirement rather than an aspiration. The position against all seventeen is set out on the NSW Guidelines page, which records the initial screening against all seventeen measures and what feasibility must establish, and in Appendix C of the executive summary. Structuring the feasibility work around those seventeen measures, rather than as a generic property study, is what makes the 75 day target and the pre-lodgement service of the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) available. The pathway page sets out the eight phases from pre-lodgement to consent, what each took twelve exhibited NSW applications, and where this proposal compares.
The federal layer. The Australian Government’s National AI Plan commits to developing national data centre principles with the states and territories, and says that where investment aligns with them, government is “exploring opportunities to coordinate data centre approval processes with states and territories”. The NSW Guidelines are already declared consistent with the Commonwealth’s Expectations of Data Centre and AI Infrastructure Developers of March 2026. A proposal that can evidence alignment at both levels is positioned for whatever coordination emerges.

Constraints

Recorded planning controls

None of these is presently a demonstrated fatal flaw. Collectively they will reduce the developable footprint below the headline of up to 837.7 hectares, and quantifying that reduction is one of the more valuable early pieces of work available, because the developable area is what a counterparty is actually buying.

Control or constraint	Implication for a campus development
Height of building 9 m	Modern data halls typically exceed this. A height variation or a planning proposal amending the control will be required. A direct constraint on built form, and one to test early.
Scenic Protection Area	Visual impact assessment for an industrial scale campus on elevated open land. A material design driver for building form, colour, screening and layout.
Terrestrial Biodiversity and Biodiversity Values Map	Clearing native vegetation may require a Biodiversity Development Assessment Report. Constrains the developable footprint.
Riparian Lands and Watercourses	Controlled activity approvals and setbacks from watercourses. The two mapped watercourses are non-perennial and both lie in Lot 1; they are a constraint, not a water supply, which is why the base case is low water cooling. See Water.
Wetlands	Additional environmental constraint layer on the developable area.
Groundwater Vulnerable	Constrains fuel storage, discharge and earthworks design. Relevant to any groundwater based water strategy.
Bushfire Prone Land, vegetation category	Asset protection zones, access, water supply for firefighting and construction standards. Standard for the region and manageable by design.
Minimum lot size 400 ha and 80 ha	Constrains subdivision or lot reconfiguration across the holding.
Land near electrical infrastructure	Transport and Infrastructure SEPP clause 2.48 requirements; Essential Energy consultation. Applies to the 132 kV and 66 kV lines, both within Lot 1. See Power.
Land near high pressure pipelines	Transport and Infrastructure SEPP section 2.77 requirements and Jemena easement constraints, on the Eastern Gas Pipeline within Lot 1. The pipeline that creates the opportunity also constrains the layout. See Energy.
Classified road with 1.5 m buffer	Transport for NSW (TfNSW) controls access geometry to the Monaro Highway, which runs 3.9 km through the holding. Heavy vehicle and construction access requires early TfNSW engagement.
Two applicable Local Environmental Plans (LEPs)	Cooma-Monaro LEP 2013 and Snowy River LEP 2013 both apply across the holding. Zoning and controls must be confirmed lot by lot, not at holding level.
Merrimans Local Aboriginal Land Council	Aboriginal cultural heritage due diligence and consultation counterparty.

Source: NSW Planning Portal property report for 7845 Monaro Highway, Rock Flat, generated 26 August 2026. This is general information and does not replace a section 10.7 planning certificate, nor does it constitute planning or legal advice.

On the planThe constrained lotAll three energy corridors, their easements and both watercourses land on Lot 1. About 642 ha is clear of them. See it on the interactive plan. RelatedThe siteThe full lot schedule, zoning and site specification. Step by stepPathway and benchmarkThe eight phases from pre-lodgement to consent, measured against twelve NSW applications. In depthExecutive summary, section 08The planning pathway in full, with sources. All attributesThe attributes tableAll seventeen attributes, each with its evidence position, the investor benefit and the next verification step. Filtered here to development.

The key facts

What rarely sits on one holding, and what each fact does not yet establish

Land: up to 837.7 haAbout 2,070 acres across 11 lots as supplied. Room to investigate data halls, solar, storage and setbacks; the developable footprint is still to be established. The site →
Scale: 50 to 300 MWThe scale of data centre development being investigated, in stages. Not confirmed grid capacity. The opportunity →
Electricity: 132 + 66 kVBoth lines cross the holding on Lot 1, and regional wind already exports on the 132 kV. Available capacity is untested. Power →
Gas: Eastern Gas PipelineHigh pressure transmission main crosses Lot 1, confirmed present by Jemena. Pressure, offtake and terms are for Jemena to answer. Energy →
Data and connectivity: Optical fibre at the boundaryTelstra’s own fibre markers on the fence line, and an NBN asset identified. Capacity, diversity and carrier options to establish. Connectivity →
Water: Designed for low waterA cool climate at about 900 m may support closed loop or hybrid cooling. No supply has been demonstrated. Water →
Location: 10 km to CoomaA town of about 6,700 people, none of it within 4 km: potential access to workforce and services with separation from residential areas. Canberra 126 km, Sydney 406 km, Melbourne 630 km by road. Distance from Cooma →
Renewables: Wind on the line, solar to investigateBoco Rock wind exports on feeder 97R today. On-site solar and storage are opportunities to investigate; no supply is committed to this site. Energy →

Presence and position only. No electrical capacity, gas capacity, telecommunications service, water supply or planning approval is claimed, secured or offered.

Next step

Move from opportunity to feasibility

Rock Flat is seeking engagement with experienced digital infrastructure, energy and investment partners to undertake the next stage of technical and commercial feasibility. Detailed title, infrastructure, utility and commercial information is available to qualified parties.

Discuss feasibility The data room