The company said the investment is needed to meet growing customer demand for its services in Australia.

To put the sum into perspective, AWS spent more than $9.1 billion in its Asia Pacific (Sydney) Region between 2012 and 2022.

In addition, AWS launched its Asia Pacific (Melbourne) Region in January 2023.

"For over a decade, AWS has invested billions of dollars into Australia through infrastructure and jobs, and worked closely with the public sector, and local customers and partners, to be a force multiplier across the nation," said AWS managing director for Australia and New Zealand Rianne Van Veldhuizen.

"We are committed to positive social and economic impact, investing in local community engagement programs, workforce development initiatives, cloud infrastructure, and renewable energy project investments. Our plan to invest more than $13 billion into the country over the next five years will help create more positive ripple effects, further solidifying Australia's position in the global economy."

Amazon has pledged to power its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2030, and is on track to achieve this goal by 2025.

In Australia, it is committed to take at total of 262MW from utility-scale renewable projects located in Suntop and Gunnedah in New South Wales, and one that is under development in Hawkesdale, Victoria.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said "Economic and infrastructure investment from cloud providers like Amazon Web Services helps create jobs, advances digital skills, boosts innovation, and uplifts local communities and businesses. The Australian Government acknowledges AWS's investment into the nation over the past decade, and welcomes its planned investment over the next five years, the full-time jobs supported annually, and contribution to the nation's GDP."

Tech Council of Australia CEO Kate Pounder said "Investments from tech companies like AWS in Australia have an outsized positive impact on the wider economy. Not only do they bring the direct financing and jobs, but their cloud infrastructure has also enabled the growth of a globally competitive Australian software sector, which has become one of the most successful new industries created in Australia in decades. The support for digital skilling also enables our workforce to learn from leading tech companies, with spillover benefits across the Australian economy. The tech sector will be a key driver of future prosperity in Australia, and AWS's contribution will help propel us forward."

AWS's Australian customers include Atlassian, Australian Bureau of Statistics, National Australia Bank, NSW Health Pathology, Qantas, Swoop Aero, and WA Department of Education.