• Asset: Western Downs Digital Park, 1933 Dalby-Kogan Road, Kogan, about 37 km north-west of Dalby
• Site: about 725 hectares in a Special Industry Area under the Western Downs Regional Council planning scheme
• Developer and operator: Zerra DC, a Singapore-based business set up by AGP Group
• Consortium: Zerra DC, Macquarie Capital (also financial adviser) and Australian Data Centres, which holds 25 per cent
• Australian Data Centres: 85 per cent owned by Dexus
• Stage one customer: an Australian subsidiary of Anthropic, under lease documentation
• Proposed capacity: four AI-ready buildings of about 360MW of IT capacity each, around 1.44GW in total, with reports of up to 2.16GW at peak
• Reported investment: about $32 billion at full build-out (an estimate, not a committed spend)
• Not disclosed: rent, lease term, stage one cost, builder or construction start

The lease itself was first announced to the ASX in mid-September. The 28 October update did not add a price or a start date. What it did was restate the conditions plainly. The lease is described as proposed. Funding for stage one and later stages depends on customary approvals, including the Dexus board. Australian Data Centres is running a capital raising to bring in more capital partners and Dexus says it may invest but has not made that call.

That is normal for a project of this size. Hyperscale campuses are usually funded in stages, with fresh equity coming in as each customer commitment firms up. Still, the wording matters. A signed lease with a global AI company is a powerful headline, but the deal is not unconditional until the approvals land and the money is in place.

The same update gave a snapshot of the rest of Dexus. Office occupancy by income was 94.2 per cent at 30 September, down from 95.7 per cent in June, against a market average of 85.1 per cent. Dexus exchanged contracts on its 50 per cent interest in 101 George Street, Parramatta, at a gross price of $143.9 million. That price is 7.1 per cent below the last book value and settles in November. It also reported around $230 million of third-party equity commitments since 30 June.

The location is the whole story. The Western Downs is not where you would expect Australia's biggest data centre, but it sits on top of the power that these campuses need. The site is close to the Braemar substation and existing gas-fired power stations. The region has around 5.4GW of generation and storage capacity.

According to the project material, the campus would connect through the existing Braemar substation, avoiding major new transmission lines. The state government has said no new transmission infrastructure is needed. Reports also say Anthropic would cover the full cost of its grid connection, including any network upgrades.

Water is the other big question for data centres. Here the campus plans air-cooled systems rather than evaporative cooling. Stage one operational water use is put at about 21 kilolitres a day, partly recycled on site, with rainwater harvesting as the preferred source and groundwater not planned as a regular supply. Construction water would mainly come from processed water from nearby gas operations, subject to agreements.

For Anthropic, this is its first data centre deal in Australia. The ABC reported that the capacity would be used to run its Claude AI product for users rather than to train models. The company has been reported as aiming to start using the centre in 2027, while full construction across all phases is expected to take four to six years.

Stage one is planned as an initial data centre, a battery-backed power conditioning system, a substation, supporting infrastructure and temporary worker accommodation. The planning application for the address covers workforce accommodation, research and technology plus high-impact industry uses.

The lease is also subject to Foreign Investment Review Board approval, which is one more step before the first building can go up.

The development application was lodged with Western Downs Regional Council in August and is still being assessed. There is no firm decision timeframe. Mayor Andrew Smith has said the project could bring real opportunities to the region but has stressed it is not a done deal.

The planning rules around it are moving at the same time. In early October the Queensland Government said it would take data centre assessment away from councils and set up a state framework. Proponents would need a social impact assessment and a community benefit agreement with the local council before they lodge, the same model already used for wind farms, solar farms and large batteries. Premier David Crisafulli has said data centres should not be built in people's backyards, should not take Queensland's power and should bring down power bills.

The mayor has said the state assured council it remains the assessment manager for the Kogan application. Zerra has separately asked the state to step in. Exactly who decides and when is still being worked out.

The economic case is large. An independent assessment for the project estimates about 1,500 direct construction jobs a year on average during build-out, around 1,400 direct operational roles at full capacity and roughly 2,100 indirect jobs in the wider community, if every stage goes ahead. Federal Maranoa MP David Littleproud has welcomed the project but warned that power reliability and costs for local homes, farms and businesses cannot be sacrificed.

Some residents want the process slowed down. Local group Save Our Darling Downs has raised concerns about the campus's energy use, its possible reliance on gas-fired generation and what more coal seam gas production could mean for aquifers. Others worry that a state-run assessment would leave locals with less say.

Western Downs is in a different league from most of the projects in the national pipeline. Recent examples show the range:

• AirTrunk Kurri Kurri, Hunter: a $3.7 billion, 550.5MW proposal on public exhibition
• CDC Beard 2, Canberra: an 84MW, $203.5 million facility approved at 23 Tantalum Street
• Firmus, South Australia: plans for AI factories at Tailem Bend and Stirling North totalling about 2.7GW
• NextDC M3, West Footscray: a reminder of the risk, after a pause on a power connection hit the company's guidance and share price
• South East Queensland: NextDC's SC2 in Maroochydore is under construction and projects are being explored around Swanbank in Ipswich

The lesson from that list is simple. Power is the scarce input. Campuses close to existing generation and substations can move faster than city sites waiting on new connections. That is why a farming district north-west of Dalby is now competing with Sydney and Melbourne for AI infrastructure.

Even before a shovel goes in, a campus this size shifts demand across the region. Construction on this scale needs worker accommodation, laydown yards, transport and logistics space, trade suppliers and service businesses. Dalby, Chinchilla and Toowoomba industrial and commercial land could all feel that pull. Over time an operating campus needs maintenance contractors, offices and housing for a permanent workforce.

For investors, the Dexus wording is a useful reality check. Data centres are one of the strongest themes in Australian property right now, but the biggest projects come with long approval paths, staged funding and conditions attached. Headline values can run years ahead of committed capital.

A few practical lessons apply to anyone selling or leasing land and buildings that could benefit:

• Lead with power and access. Distance to substations, transmission and major roads is now a headline feature for industrial land, not a footnote.
• Show the location in context. Buyers from outside the region need to see where a site sits relative to the campus, the gas plants and the towns. Maps and aerial renders do this far better than a paragraph of text.
• Be clear about approvals. Investors are reading the fine print. Stating exactly what is approved and what is pending builds trust.
• Tell the regional growth story. Accommodation, logistics and service sites near a major project need a campaign that explains why demand is coming, not just what the land is.

Watch for three things. First, Western Downs Regional Council's decision on the application, or a move by the state to take it over. Second, FIRB approval and the Dexus board's sign-off on stage one. Third, the outcome of the Australian Data Centres capital raising, including whether Dexus takes up more equity or lets new partners carry more of the load.

Financial close for the Anthropic stage is when the real numbers should come out: the cost of stage one, the builder and a start date. Until then the Western Downs Digital Park is the biggest data centre story in Australia and also one of its most conditional.