Queensland’s largest privately owned data centre, providing secure, scalable and flexible storage solutions for your business.
HCF Certified Strategic Provider
Polaris Data Centre, an HCF Certified Strategic Provider: Redefining Strategic Hosting for Tomorrow!
As Queensland continues to emerge as a powerhouse for digital infrastructure, the spotlight is increasingly turning to facilities that exemplify excellence in security, reliability, and strategic alignment. Among these, Polaris Data Centre stands out as a leader, proudly holding Certified Strategic status under the Australian Government Hosting Certification Framework (HCF). Polaris achieved its Strategic Certification on 16 October 2024, marking a significant milestone in its continued market leadership as one of Queensland’s most trusted hosting environments.
The Hosting Certification Framework (HCF) is a key part of Australia’s national cybersecurity and data sovereignty strategy. Developed by the Department of Home Affairs, the HCF provides a clear and structured approach to assessing and certifying data hosting providers that could support government workloads. It helps government departments and agencies identify hosting providers that meet strict security, privacy, and operational standards.
The framework categorises providers into three tiers, with the strategic certification standing for the highest level of assurance, ensuring that certified providers, such as Polaris, remain aligned with the government’s long-term data security objectives. This alignment is not just about meeting today’s standards but about anticipating tomorrow’s challenges and being ready to meet them head-on.
Why Strategic Certification Matters
This certification has secured Polaris a spot among a select group of providers nationwide capable of hosting mission-critical and sensitive government workloads, including those related to national security, law enforcement, and health data.
“Achieving Certified Strategic status is more than a badge; it’s a rigorous endorsement that Polaris meets or exceeds the government’s most demanding hosting standards,” said Peter Blunt, Chief Commercial Officer at Polaris Data Centre.
Being an HCF strategic certified provider shows to government agencies that the Data Centre is not only secure but also aligned with Australia’s long-term digital and security objectives. Polaris is one of the few facilities in Queensland to hold this level of certification, reinforcing its position as a trusted partner for government and enterprise clients.
A Proven Track Record of Excellence
Polaris Data Centre has established itself as one of Queensland’s most reliable digital hosting environments. Its success is built on a foundation of technical excellence, innovative solutions, strategic foresight, and an unwavering commitment to security and service quality.
Infrastructure Built for Resilience
At the heart of Polaris’s reliability is its state-of-the-art infrastructure, engineered to deliver:
- High availability through redundant power, cooling, and diverse network systems
- Built to the highest standard design principles, ensuring fault tolerance and minimal downtime.
- Carrier-neutral connectivity, enabling flexible and resilient interconnection options.
Driving Sovereign Capability
Polaris is contributing to the development of Australia’s sovereign data capability by ensuring sensitive data stays within national boundaries. This aligns with national security priorities and mitigates risks associated with offshore data storage.
Polaris supports:
- Mission-critical workloads
- Secure interconnectivity with government networks
- Scalable environments for future growth
This infrastructure supports a wide range of heavy workloads, from enterprise applications to sensitive government systems, ensuring data sovereignty, security, high performance, scalability, and continuity are 24/7 available.
Culture of Compliance and Continuous Improvement
Polaris’s operational philosophy is rooted in transparency, governance, and initiative-taking risk management. The facility undergoes regular audits and assessments to maintain alignment with:
- ISO 27001 standards
- Essential Eight
- Australian Government Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF)
- Industry best practices for data protection and business continuity
Recent security upgrades reflect Polaris’s commitment to staying ahead of the curve:
- Enhanced security systems, including biometric access, AI-driven surveillance, and zero-trust architecture.
- Refined governance protocols, with improved policy enforcement and reporting mechanisms
- Expanded compliance measures, ensuring readiness for evolving regulatory and client requirements.
Strategic Location with National Impact
Located in Springfield’s innovation corridor, Polaris benefits from proximity to:
- Government precincts
- Educational and research institutions
- Technology hubs and smart city initiatives
This location enhances accessibility for clients and partners while positioning Polaris as a key enabler of Queensland’s digital transformation.
Collaboration and Innovation at the Core
At Polaris Data Centre, collaboration is not just a guiding principle—it is a strategic driver of innovation. By working together with government agencies, cybersecurity specialists, and leading technology partners, Polaris fosters a dynamic ecosystem focused on delivering secure, scalable, and future-ready hosting solutions.
This collaborative approach enables Polaris to stay ahead of emerging threats and technologies through:
- Joint security assessments that strengthen resilience and validate best practices.
- Active participation in national cybersecurity forums, contributing to policy and industry development.
- Integration of cutting-edge technologies, including AI-powered threat detection and quantum-safe encryption
Together, these efforts ensure Polaris remains a trusted and agile partner in Australia’s digital infrastructure landscape.
Future-Proofing Through Innovation
Polaris is not just maintaining excellence; it is actively shaping the future of secure hosting in Queensland and has become a reference point across Australia. Investments in smart infrastructure and advanced analytics are paving the way for:
- Predictive maintenance and performance optimisation
- Reduced environmental footprint.
- Greater agility in responding to emerging threats and technologies.
These initiatives ensure Polaris remains a trusted partner for clients seeking long-term stability, strategic alignment, and innovative hosting solutions.
Partner with Polaris
Whether you are a government agency, enterprise, or technology partner, Polaris offers a certified, strategically aligned hosting solution tailored to your mission-critical needs.
Get in touch to learn more or schedule a visit to the facility. Discover how Polaris can support your digital transformation with confidence and security.
Sustainable
Polaris and Springfield City Group are committed to delivering sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions.
Commitment is reflected in our ISO 14001 accreditation, and our commitment to be net-zero by 2038.
Soverign &
Certified
Polaris is 100% Queensland owned and all data and support services are provided in Australia. All facility staff are vetted by the Australian Federal Police and the AGSVA.
The facility holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001, ISO 45001 certifications and is compliant with customer PCI DSS Certification.
We provide Data Centre as a Service “DCaaS” solutions to support both Federal and State governments, ensuring reliable, scalable, and secure infrastructure for their critical operations.
Scale
Polaris is Queensland’s largest, purpose-built facility and the only large privately owned facility in Brisbane. The facility provides 14,500m2 over 5 levels, with a total leasable technical area of 7,307 sqm.
Expansion capability means customers of Polaris will never have issues accessing additional racks as their storage requirements grow.
The building provides three rectangular shape data floor plates, each of approximately 2,331 sqm on Levels 2-4, which provides approximately 2,000 sqm of technical rack capable area on each floor.
The facility currently is designed to an IT capacity of 9MW.
Connected
Polaris is carrier and managed service provider neutral, with in-house presence of all major carriers, enabling customers the flexibility to choose the right service provider to meet their business needs.
Polaris can provide access to public-cloud onramps via its partner ecosystem.
In addition, Polaris is central to Springfield City Group’s 140km single mode fibre optic network from Polaris to Brisbane’s CBD in a diverse path, connecting into most major Brisbane and Eight Mile Plains data centres. The infrastructure delivers dark fibre network options for carriers with neutral partners. The network is ready for use with options in both termed leases and IRU formats and from a single pair through to high fibre count portions. For more information, please visit.
Secure
24/7/365 onsite manned security by AGSVA cleared staff.
Mandatory security clearance required for all Polaris staff.
The building provides three rectangular shape data floor plates, each of approximately 2,331 sqm on Levels 2-4, which provides approximately 2,000 sqm of technical rack capable area on each floor.
Separate security access control zones between Data Centre and Plant Levels, Biometric Access control measures employed throughout the facility, video surveillance to all entries, external, lift lobbies, and data centre floors with digital storage and 24/7 monitoring.
Proximity sensing key cards, which cannot be taken off site.
Separate secure foyer with access logging for entering the Data Centre security zone.
Building Plant and Critical Infrastructure Rooms can only be accessed by AGSVA NV1 Cleared individuals or under direct line of sight escort by NV1 cleared staff member.
Redundance, flexible & scalable
Polaris is carrier and managed service provider neutral, with in-house presence of all major carriers, enabling customers the flexibility to choose the right service provider to meet their business needs.
In addition, Polaris supports all types of co-located solutions, from 1 rack to an entire floor. Customers can procure storage via three billing models that include: per rack pricing, wholesale SQM based on consumption or full utility models for high performance compute.
The building is designed to the rightest standard with a modular fit-out, supporting the installation of additional UPS, chillers and cooling towers without tenant interruption as power and cooling loads increase.
Polaris can provide scalable, redundant power and cooling infrastructure to support high density deployments.
Polaris has physically separate, diverse building entry points for telecommunications, mains water and power.
Polaris connects carriers to other tenants, business partners or service providers through one of our two meet-me rooms connected via diverse paths to all data floors.
Dual redundant vertical distribution cabling to data centre floors, dual redundant horizontal power supply to each rack and final rack power distribution 2N.
Distributed fire alarm control equipment and multi-sensor activation avoids single points of failure and false alarms.
Redundant piping systems to all cooling infrastructure.
Location
Polaris is located in Greater Springfield, 22 minute drive West from Brisbane’s CBD. It is accessible by all forms of major transport. It is also in easy reach of Amberly Airbase.
The building site is very low risk for geopolitical events or natural disasters, situated well above the 100 year floor level for the region, not in a flight path and outside Brisbane’s concentrated CBD. It remained physically accessible and 100% operational throughout Brisbane’s 2011, 2013 and 2022 floods.
Polaris is a key pillar in the future development of Greater Springfield and will be subject to continuous investment and best practice adoption.
