Australia's last grower-owned sugar mill is seeking government loan support as it works through a difficult crushing season and longer-term financial pressure.
Isis Central Sugar Mill, which has operated for 129 years and receives cane from the North Burnett to the Fraser Coast, is negotiating an in-principle Queensland government loan capped at $9 million. Final terms have not yet been announced, and the company is also seeking matching support from the federal government.
The mill has about 200 grower suppliers and employs roughly 250 people during the season, with many more jobs linked to harvesting, transport and other local services. Its target of just under 1.2 million tonnes of cane was about 51,000 tonnes behind schedule with two months of the crush remaining.
A boiler outage lasting five weeks contributed to the disruption. Management says the proposed finance would help operations through September 2027 while the co-operative examines diversification, including a possible bioenergy precinct.
Source: ABC Rural, 22 September 2026.
Image disclosure: The featured image is an AI-generated editorial illustration of fictional farmers, workers and a generic Queensland sugar mill. It does not depict Isis Central Sugar Mill, its employees or its growers.
