Australian Country Choice Archives

Cannon Hill Beef Producer Launches Year-Round Community Grants Program

Australian Country Choice, the country’s largest family-owned beef producer based in Cannon Hill, will open applications for its expanded “Community Steakholder Grants Program” on 1 January 2026, marking a shift from a single annual funding round to monthly grants throughout the year.

Read: Morningside’s Ava Costa Launches The Sharing Shed to Help People Access Disability Equipment

The program will run from February through November 2026, offering up to $1000 in funding each month to community groups operating in postcodes 4170–4174 and 4178–4179. These postcodes cover Morningside, Cannon Hill, and surrounding suburbs in Brisbane’s east.

According to the company’s program documentation, the expansion follows the success of an inaugural round in 2025. The year-round model will provide monthly funding opportunities for projects that improve local areas.

Eligibility and Application Process

Community groups based in the eligible postcodes can apply online for projects that demonstrate community benefit, impact, and ability to deliver. Applications must be submitted by the 20th of each month, with the first deadline falling on 20 January 2026 for the February funding round.

The Australian Country Choice Community Team and Senior Leadership Team will review applications based on three criteria: community benefit, potential impact, and the applicant’s ability to deliver the proposed project. Successful applicants will receive notification in the first week of the month following their application.

Funded projects must be completed within 12 months of receiving the grant. Groups are required to provide receipts and photographs documenting the completed work.

Program Design and Objectives

Photo credit: Facebook/Australian Country Choice

The Community Steakholder Grants Program is designed for community groups and volunteers working on local improvement projects. The company has been operating in Cannon Hill for more than 25 years.

The monthly application cycle differs from the single-round format used in 2025. The program will offer 10 funding opportunities from February through November 2026.

Australian Country Choice has indicated the Community Steakholder Grants Program is the first in a series of community support initiatives planned for 2026.

What’s Next

The program will open for applications on 1 January 2026, giving community groups three weeks to prepare submissions for the first February funding round. Further information about the application process and eligibility requirements is available through Australian Country Choice’s official program documentation.

Read: Bravery Amid Chaos: How a Policeman Saved Lives in Cannon Hill

Groups interested in applying should note the monthly deadline structure and plan their applications accordingly. The expansion of the Community Steakholder Grants Program to year-round operation provides local community groups with monthly access to funding for projects that improve the local area.

Published 22-December-2025

Australian Country Choice in Cannon Hill Enters Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame

Australian Country Choice (ACC), the country’s premier supplier of high-quality meat products, with its factory in Cannon Hill, has been inducted into the illustrious Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame.

The privately-owned business has been recognised for its visionary leadership in establishing a vertically integrated beef and cattle industry that also supplies the rest of the world.

Australian Country Choice was one of six inductees into the Hall of Fame in 2021, along with Katie Page-Harvey (CEO of Harvey Norman), Sir John Beal Chandler (founder of Chandlers Electrical and radio station 4BC), T.C. Beirne (Queensland retail tycoon), The Coffee Club and Finlayson’s Timber and Hardware.

Company founder and Principal Director Trever Lee was at the induction ceremony in late 2021 to proudly accept the honor from Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

“To be included on the list alongside some of the founders of modern Queensland as well as some giants of the industry is truly humbling for Trevor and our business,” CEO Anthony Lee said.

“What started as my father’s dream has turned into a state-of-the-art operation that supports thousands of local jobs and puts food on the table for millions of Australians every year.

“While we are honoured to receive this award for our contribution to Queensland, we are certainly still striving to make our business better each and every single day.

“Whether that be our ongoing commitment to ethical trading, achieving industry best practice in environmental sustainability and animal welfare, or being a caring and respected employer of more than 1,500 workers.”

The ACC leaders thanked all staff for their contribution to ACC’s inclusion in the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame.

ACC made it to the Hall of Fame for demonstrating sustained leadership to enhance the economy of Queensland and for becoming a pioneer in establishing an economy or industry with a product or service with wide acclaim. ACC has las made an outstanding contribution to the economic, social, and financial growth of Queensland, inspiring other firms to invest and do business.

Learn more about the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame.

Australian Country Choice in Legal Disputes with New Morningside Businesses

Beef supplier Australian Country Choice is wrapped up in legal disputes against two new businesses, TotalFusion and Revel Brewing Co, over their plans to open outlets on Colmsie Road in Morningside.

Gym in Limbo

TotalFusion Morningside was set to open the biggest gym facility in Queensland on 32 Colmsie Road in December 2020 but a court dispute with Australian Country Choice has caused a major delay, leaving hundreds of staff jobless. About 2,000 gym members anticipating the opening could not yet take advantage of their membership whilst the legal battle is ongoing.

Photo Credit: TotalFusion Morningside/Facebook

Following a failed arbitration, a trial is expected to go ahead in July 2021. Lawyers for Australian Country Choice are contesting the gym’s location in an industrial zone. Until the court dispute is settled, TotalFusion cannot open its Morningside outlet.

Not in This Neighbourhood

In December 2020, Australian Country Choice had also lodged a legal dispute with Bulimba-based Revel Brewing Co, which submitted a development application (DA A005586380) to open another restaurant, bar and brewery along a three-building complex on 82 Colmsie Road.

The beef supplier said that patrons of the brewery won’t likely enjoy dining in an area with a meat processing facility.

In an appeal filed with the Planning & Environment Court, ACC’s lawyers stated that the construction of Revel “will result in, or has the potential to result in, adverse and unreasonable constraints being placed upon the lawful operation of the present and future industrial uses as intended/approved on the land and adjoining industry zoned/designated properties.”

The Council is not commenting on the disputes, citing that it’s up to the courts to decide.