One of the students from Mitchell State School on the Great Australian Charity Cattle Drive in 2025.

Aussies and visitors worldwide are doing their bit for the bush and saddling up for the 2026 Outback Queensland Cattle Drive (OQCD).

Queensland Governor Dr Jeannette Young officially launched the event in Longreach last weekend.

The OQCD couldn’t come at a better time for struggling regional communities facing recent tourism challenges in the wake of fuel price hikes and cost of living struggles.

Chair and Beefbank Director, Anthony Struss said the aim of the OQCD is to promote more awareness about food insecurity.

“This event is tackling the alarming challenge currently facing one in five Australians who every week aren’t sure where their next meal is coming from,” Mr Struss said.

“Following on from last year blockbuster cattle drive, we are well on the way to delivering 300,000 meals and ensuring more protein is put on the plates of those who need it most. We’re determined to dish up even more in the future with an eventual target of one million meals per year, equivalent to 500 cattle.”

The cattle drive will manage more than 1,200 cattle along historic stock routes, known as “the long paddock” from Longreach through to Muttaburra, Aramac, Ilfracombe and Barcaldine, before finishing in Blackall.

The drive is expected to run for approximately 45 days and deliver benefits to hundreds of thousands of Queenslanders doing it tough.

It’s also providing a much needed boost to regional economies, and supporting tourism, with international visitors signing up – and saddling up – for all, or part, of what is being described as the “ride of a lifetime”.

Mayor of Barcaldine Regional Council, Councillor Rob Chandler, said the drive could not have come at a better time for the region after a succession of drought and floods.

“The events planned for our small towns will be a real boost to those communities.” Mayor Chandler said.

“With the dust and the distance, the campfire singalongs and breathtaking, vast night skies, this event captures the spirit of the outback. Knowing it’s also helping so many people in need makes it all the more meaningful.”

Source: Outback Queensland Cattle Drive