IoT Solutions for Australia: Remote Monitoring, LoRaWAN & Managed Hosting
IoT project in Australia? We support you with architecture, platform and operations – remotely or on-site. IoT solutions for Australia · Discuss your project
Mining in the Pilbara, water treatment in the Outback, solar farms in South Australia – Australia's key industries operate across vast distances under extreme conditions. IoT is no longer innovation here, it is operational necessity: condition monitoring at sites without cellular coverage, remote supervision of distributed assets across thousands of kilometres, real-time data for equipment that no one can physically inspect every day.
We deliver IoT solutions for the Australian market – from network architecture through platform development to managed hosting. Depending on project size, remotely or directly on-site in Australia.
Table of Contents
- Why IoT in Australia? The Challenges
- ABCO Water: Our Reference Project in Australia
- IoT by Industry: 5 Key Sectors
- Flexible Delivery: Remote or On-Site
- The IoT Stack for Australia
- IoT Locations in Australia
- Next Steps
Why IoT in Australia? The Challenges
Australia is the sixth-largest country on earth – with a population density of three people per square kilometre. Industrial assets are distributed across distances that dwarf European scales: a mining cluster in the Pilbara covers an area larger than Germany's Bavaria. A water supply chain from Perth to Kalgoorlie spans 600 kilometres of desert.
The consequences for digitalisation:
- Vast distances: Sites are hundreds or thousands of kilometres apart. Manual inspections are expensive and time-consuming.
- Extreme environmental conditions: Temperatures exceeding 50°C in the desert, dust, salt spray on the coast, flooding in Queensland. Hardware must be IP67-rated and robust.
- No cellular coverage: Large parts of the Outback have no mobile reception. Satellite connectivity is expensive and high-latency. LoRaWAN bridges exactly this gap with 15+ km range.
- AU915 frequency plan: Australia uses the AU915 frequency band (915–928 MHz) instead of the European EU868. Gateways and sensors must be AU915-compliant and meet ACMA regulatory requirements.
ABCO Water: Our Reference Project in Australia
ABCO Water operates distributed water treatment plants at remote sites across the Australian Outback. The challenge: centrally monitor dozens of facilities, provide end customers with secure access to their data, and respond immediately to faults – across time zones.
The solution:
- Scalable multi-tenant architecture with isolated customer access via VPN
- HMI/PLC integration: Existing control systems at water treatment plants connected via MQTT and Modbus
- ThingsBoard as central platform with customer-specific dashboards and role-based access control
- Remote diagnostics: Remote access to every facility without on-site visits
- 24/7 monitoring with automatic alerts on threshold violations
The result: production IoT infrastructure for distributed water treatment in Australia. Not a pilot project – live operations.
Read the ABCO Water case study →
IoT by Industry: 5 Key Sectors
Mining & Resources
Australia is one of the world's largest exporters of iron ore, coal, lithium and gold. Mines are predominantly located in Western Australia and Queensland – in regions without cellular coverage, with extreme heat and dust.
IoT applications in mining:
- Condition monitoring for heavy machinery: vibration sensors, temperature probes and oil analysis on excavators, conveyor belts and crushers. Predictive maintenance reduces unplanned downtime.
- Environmental monitoring: dust, noise, gas concentration and temperature in underground mines. ATEX-compatible sensors for hazardous areas.
- Asset tracking: GPS and LoRaWAN-based tracking of vehicles, containers and equipment across the entire mine site.
Corporate headquarters are in Perth and Brisbane – the mines in the Pilbara, Bowen Basin and Goldfields. Central IoT dashboards bring the data together.
Water Management
Water is a strategic resource in Australia. From desalination plants on the west coast to groundwater levels in the Murray-Darling Basin to wastewater treatment in rural communities – water management requires remote monitoring across enormous distances.
IoT applications in water management:
- Desalination plant monitoring in Perth: flow rates, salinity, energy consumption and membrane status in real time
- Groundwater level tracking: LoRaWAN level sensors at boreholes and reservoirs – battery-powered, maintenance-free
- Smart water metering: consumption monitoring and leakage detection in supply networks
- ABCO Water: distributed water treatment plants centrally monitored – our reference project
Agriculture & Livestock
Australia's agricultural sector manages areas where individual farms are larger than European districts. The Darling Downs in Queensland are one of the most productive agricultural regions – precision farming with IoT sensors is becoming the standard here.
IoT applications in agriculture & livestock:
- Soil moisture monitoring: LoRaWAN sensors at multiple depths across thousands of hectares. Irrigation control based on real-time data instead of estimates.
- Livestock tracking and fence monitoring: GPS trackers for herds, magnetic contacts on fences, automatic alerts on breakouts
- Water tank levels: ultrasonic sensors on troughs and water tanks in the Outback – 15+ km range via LoRaWAN, years of battery life
- Frost warning for viticulture: temperature sensors with configurable thresholds in the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale
Energy & Renewables
Australia has some of the best solar and wind resources globally. Grid-scale solar farms, wind farms and battery storage systems like the Hornsdale Power Reserve (Tesla Big Battery) in South Australia require scalable monitoring across distributed sites.
IoT applications in energy & renewables:
- Solar panel performance monitoring: irradiance, panel temperature and output per string. Degradation tracking and soiling detection across hundreds of panels.
- Wind turbine monitoring: vibration sensors, nacelle temperature and power output monitoring. Predictive maintenance for bearings, gearboxes and blades.
- Battery storage monitoring: state of charge, charge/discharge cycles, cell temperature and capacity degradation
- Grid feed-in analytics: feed-in/feed-out analysis for grid compliance and billing transparency
Defence & Shipbuilding
Adelaide is Australia's defence capital. The Osborne Naval Shipyard, BAE Systems and ASC build submarines and frigates here. The Edinburgh Defence Precinct houses research and testing facilities. IoT in this sector demands the highest security standards.
IoT applications in defence & shipbuilding:
- Condition monitoring in shipbuilding: vibration, temperature and environmental conditions in shipyards and dry docks
- Asset tracking in defence zones: LoRaWAN-based tracking of equipment and containers with geofencing and audit logging
- Compliance-grade data management: encrypted transmission, VPN-secured dashboards, role-based access control and isolated hosting environments
Flexible Delivery: Remote or On-Site
IoT projects in Australia are not a logistical obstacle – when the architecture and processes are right.
Our delivery model:
- Remote development: Architecture, platform development and initial configuration run remotely. Time zone overlap between CET and AEST enables daily coordination.
- On-site deployments: For larger projects, network rollouts or complex hardware installations, we are directly on-site in Australia.
- Pre-configured hardware: Gateways and sensors are configured AU915-compliant and shipped ready to deploy. Alternatively, we work with local distributors in Australia.
- 24/7 operations: Proactive monitoring around the clock, automatic alerts and SLA-based response times. The time difference enables quasi-continuous support.
- Flexible infrastructure: Hosting on European servers (GDPR-compliant) or Australian infrastructure – depending on latency and compliance requirements. Hybrid setups are also available.
The IoT Stack for Australia
We rely on a proven open-source stack, configured for Australian requirements:
| Component | Function | Details |
|---|---|---|
| ChirpStack | LoRaWAN Network Server | AU915 frequency plan, ACMA-compliant |
| ThingsBoard | Device Management & Dashboards | Multi-tenant, role-based, customer-specific views |
| Grafana | Real-time Visualisation | Long-term analytics, reports, custom dashboards |
| Node-RED | Data Routing & Automation | Alerting, transformations, API integrations |
| Milesight Hardware | Gateways & Sensors | IP67, AU915-certified, pre-configured |
All components are operated as a managed service via merkaio – including automatic backups, security updates and availability guarantees.
IoT Locations in Australia
We support IoT projects across Australia's five most important economic centres:
Sydney
Australia's largest city and financial hub. IoT focus areas: Smart Port (Port Botany, Port Jackson), construction IoT for the booming building sector and smart building solutions for the CBD.
Melbourne
Research and manufacturing hub. IoT focus areas: advanced manufacturing in the western suburbs, smart city initiatives, pharmaceutical logistics and port monitoring at the Port of Melbourne.
Brisbane
Gateway to Queensland's mining and agricultural sector. IoT focus areas: mining operations control (Bowen Basin), Olympics 2032 smart infrastructure and agriculture gateway for the Darling Downs.
Perth
Capital of Australia's mining industry. IoT focus areas: remote operations centres for Pilbara mines, desalination plant monitoring and LNG facility monitoring in the North West Shelf region.
Adelaide
Australia's defence hub and renewable energy pioneer. IoT focus areas: Osborne Naval Shipyard, viticulture in the Barossa Valley, grid-scale solar and the Hornsdale Power Reserve.
Next Steps
Planning an IoT project in Australia? Whether mining, water management, agriculture, energy or defence – we support you with architecture, platform and operations.
- IoT solutions for Australia – Country overview
- ABCO Water case study – Our reference project
- All IoT solutions – Location overview
- Discuss your project – No-obligation consultation
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to important questions about this topic
Depending on project size, remotely or on-site. Architecture, platform development and hosting run remotely. For larger projects, we are also directly on-site in Australia. CET and AEST overlap several hours daily for coordination.
Australia uses the AU915 frequency plan (915–928 MHz). Gateways and sensors must be AU915-compliant – we ship hardware pre-configured.
The IoT platform (ChirpStack, ThingsBoard, Grafana) runs on European or Australian infrastructure – depending on latency and compliance requirements. Sensor data is transmitted via MQTT/HTTPS.
Mining & Resources, Water Management, Agriculture & Livestock, Energy & Renewables and Defence & Shipbuilding. Our platforms are industry-agnostic and configurable.
A proof of concept with a few sensors and hosted platform goes live within days. Costs depend on platform and device count – we provide transparent quotes with no hidden fees.
Written by
Timo Wevelsiep
Co-Founder & CEO
Co-Founder of WZ-IT. Specialized in cloud infrastructure, open-source platforms and managed services for SMEs and enterprise clients worldwide.
LinkedInLet's Talk About Your Idea
Whether a specific IT challenge or just an idea – we look forward to the exchange. In a brief conversation, we'll evaluate together if and how your project fits with WZ-IT.
Trusted by leading companies
Timo Wevelsiep & Robin Zins
CEOs of WZ-IT