Grants of up to $500K available for 'recovery through work' initiatives

Grant applications of up to $500,000 are available for new initiatives and programs for Victorians with a work-related physical injury. The grants are for new initiatives and programs taking a collaborative and holistic approach to ‘recovery through work’.

“We thought a lot about our theme for this grant round, and for me, the key word is ‘through’ — emphasising the potential for work as a means to recovery for injured workers, not just an end point,” said Jason Lardelli, Return to Work Victoria Executive Director.

For pilots, grants and one-off projects to trial new approaches to improving outcomes for injured workers, Return to Work Victoria Innovations is investing $50 million over three years.

Interventions in manufacturing, construction, transport, postal and warehousing are the latest funding targets — industries that, statistically, struggle to get injured people back to work at the right time and in the right way. Of all claims for physical injuries in the workplace accepted by WorkSafe Victoria in the past financial year, more than a third came from those sectors.

“Whether it’s adopting new technologies, uplifting education and capability, removing return-to-work barriers or forging partnerships to drive innovation, we are excited to see how diverse organisations across Victoria rise to this opportunity,” Lardelli said.

Grant applications can be submitted online until 2 pm on 14 November 2025 (eligibility criteria and funding exclusions apply).

Image credit: iStock.com/kali9. Stock image used is for illustrative purposes only.