Australian farmers offered up to four‑times market value for data‑centre land

Across Australia, landholders are being approached by third‑party investors offering substantial up‑front fees—typically $100,000 to $200,000—to secure farmland for potential data‑centre or energy‑infrastructure sites. The proposals, often worth up to four times the land's market value, are structured as call‑option contracts that lock the property for a minimum of three years while planning approval is pursued, preventing the owner from selling or leasing the land to anyone else.

These activities follow Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s recent announcement of a national framework that will require operators of large data centres to cover grid‑connection costs, improve water efficiency, and meet other regional obligations, prompting speculators to target sites along major transmission lines with reliable water access.