Charters Towers, Queensland 19 September 2025 – Renewable Developments Australia (RDA) today welcomes the Albanese Government’s announcement of a $1.1 billion investment in low carbon liquid fuels (LCLF) and underlines its readiness to contribute through shovel-ready sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) projects in regional Queensland.
The Australian Government’s new Cleaner Fuels Program, unveiled by Infrastructure Minister the Hon Catherine King MP alongside Minister for Climate Change & Energy Chris Bowen MP and Treasurer Jim Chalmers MP, aims to drive domestic production of renewable diesel, SAF and other low carbon liquid fuels, helping reduce emissions in “hard-to-abate” sectors and secure Australia’s fuel sovereignty.
In March 2025, Qatar Airways and Virgin Australia announced plans to establish a facility in Charters Towers that would produce 96 million litres of SAF annually by 2029, using sugarcane feedstock and reducing lifecycle emissions by up to 70 per cent. RDA sees this as a vital benchmark and signal to Government and financiers that similar regional SAF projects can and should be funded.
RDA Managing Director Tony D’Alessandro said:
“The Government’s $1.1 billion commitment via the Cleaner Fuels Program is exactly the kind of policy catalyst that regional Queensland needs. We welcome the momentum from the Qatar Airways / Virgin Australia facility announcement in Charters Towers and stand ready with projects and partnerships that can deliver SAF capacity, regional jobs, and high-integrity emissions reduction. This is a game-changer for our net-zero aviation goals.”
Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said in the Government’s announcement: “We know that industries vital to our national prosperity, like the transportation of people and goods across our vast land, are carbon-intensive and hard to abate. That’s why we’re investing in cleaner liquid fuels right here in Australia. We have all the ingredients to be a global clean energy superpower.”
RDA looks forward to engaging with the Federal Government as the Cleaner Fuels Program finalises its guidelines, to ensure that Queensland-based SAF projects are able to access funding, partnerships, and support under this foundational policy.
https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/c-king/media-release/fuelling-future-11-billion-power-cleaner-aussie-fuel-production