# Servers in Australia
> Sydney covers Oceania on IX Australia at 94 ms to Singapore and 205 ms to New York. Legally it is near the bottom of our range: two-year mandatory metadata retention, Five Eyes founding membership, and powers under the 2018 Assistance and Access Act to compel provider assistance with encrypted communications. A latency choice only.
**Source:** https://incognitovps.com/servers/australia
**Updated:** 2026-08-13

## Legal dossier — Australia

| Claim | Instrument | Year |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Two-year mandatory retention of telecommunications metadata | Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979, Part 5-1A | 2015 |
| Providers may be compelled to assist with access to encrypted communications | Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act | 2018 |
| Founding Five Eyes participant under the UKUSA arrangement | UKUSA Agreement, declassified 2010 | 1956 |
| Privacy Act imposes handling duties on organisations above a turnover threshold | Privacy Act 1988, Australian Privacy Principles | 1988 |

## The trade-off

Oceania coverage with the second-weakest legal posture on the network. Australia mandates two years of telecommunications metadata retention and, under the 2018 Assistance and Access Act, can compel providers to help access encrypted communications — a power with no equivalent in any of our privacy jurisdictions. It is a Five Eyes founding participant. Sydney exists because 94 ms to Singapore and local latency for Australian users cannot be bought anywhere else on this map.

## Facility

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Facility | SYD-1 · Alexandria |
| City | Sydney |
| Coordinates | -33.8688, 151.2093 |
| Uplink | 20 Gbps per node |
| EU member state | No |
| Eyes alliance | five Eyes |
| Live since | 2025 |
| Looking glass | lg-syd.incognitovps.com |
| Test address | 185.132.44.192 |
| Network | IX Australia NSW peering; transit via Telstra, Vocus and Arelion. |

## Measured latency

| Destination | Round trip |
| --- | --- |
| Frankfurt | 258 ms |
| Amsterdam | 261 ms |
| London | 264 ms |
| New York | 205 ms |
| Singapore | 94 ms |

## Pricing here

| Product | From |
| --- | --- |
| Linux VPS | $5.50/mo |
| Dedicated servers | $65.00/mo |
| Windows RDP | $13.50/mo |
| Storage servers | $22.50/mo |

## Best for

- Australian and New Zealand latency
- Oceania game servers
- Regional backup targets

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Australia a good place to host a server?

Sydney is our latency play for Oceania, reaching Singapore in 94 ms and New York in 205 ms over IX Australia. The legal side is the weakest we offer: Australia mandates two years of metadata retention, is a founding Five Eyes member, and the 2018 Assistance and Access Act lets authorities compel providers to help with encrypted communications. Full trade-off disclosed here.

### Does Australia have mandatory data retention?

Australia requires telecommunications providers to retain metadata for two years, under Part 5-1A of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979, as amended in 2015.

### Is Australia in Five Eyes or the EU?

Australia is a Five Eyes founding member and not an EU member state, so EU judicial-cooperation instruments do not apply to it.

### What latency should I expect from Sydney?

Measured round-trip times from Sydney: 258 ms to Frankfurt, 264 ms to London, 261 ms to Amsterdam, 205 ms to New York, and 94 ms to Singapore. A live looking glass is at lg-syd.incognitovps.com.


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