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Up to $500,000 available in funding
Return to Work Innovations grants are an opportunity for organisations to develop new initiatives that improve the recovery and return to work experience of injured workers in Victoria.
We fund initiatives that:
- remove barriers to workers’ recovery
- develop education and capability uplift
- adopt new technologies, systems and processes to support recovery
- apply a holistic approach to workers’ needs and/or
- forge collaborations and partnerships to drive innovation and best-practice approaches.
Each grant round has a specific theme that aligns with a particular area of focus, and targets priority industries and worker cohorts.
Our work supports the five-year WorkSafe Victoria Strategy. The Strategy includes an aim to increase return-to-work rates through partnerships and highlights the importance of community collaborations in helping to achieve that goal.
Grant rounds
Round 3 – coming soon
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Earlier rounds
Round 1 – Early intervention for mental injuries
Closed: May 5, 2025
This grant focused on the theme ‘Early Intervention – mental injury’, recognising that the earlier workers receive the right support, the better their recovery outcomes are likely to be. Nine funded initiatives will test practical, evidence‑informed innovations across priority areas, including:
- Early access to treatment and support
- Recovery at work
- Training and education
- Support for high‑risk industries and communities
Funded initiatives
VR therapy to help bus drivers with mental injury get back behind the wheel.
RTWI partner: LC Dyson's Bus Services Pty Ltd
A pilot to help regional health and social assistance workers access timely mental health support by improving flexible recovery options and training leaders to better recognise and respond to mental injury.
RTWI partner: Lifely (interchange Loddon Mallee region)
An insurance broker and EAP provider team up to fast‑track mental health support, empower employers, and guide injured workers back to work with confidence.
RTWI partner: Marsh Risk
An app to fast-track referrals and get injured healthcare workers the support they need, quicker.
RTWI partner: Navigator Group
An AI‑powered, co‑designed tool that supports injured workers with personalised mental health recovery and gives employers real‑time guidance for a smarter, more connected return‑to‑work journey.
RTWI partner: Opposite
Rapid, personalised mental health support that guides injured hospital workers back to work with confidence, and strengthens workplace culture.
RTWI partner: Royal Melbourne Hospital
An intensive trauma treatment program for ambulance paramedics, integrating EMDR, somatic therapies, and AI‑enhanced virtual reality to facilitate recovery.
RTWI partner: Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health
An online tool to empower injured police officers and upskill their managers on best-practice return to work processes.
RTWI partner: Utility Creative
Round 2 - Recovery through work – physical injuries
Closed: November 14, 2025
The focus on ‘Recovery Through Work’ responds to strong evidence that injured workers recover better when they remain connected to their workplace and are supported to return to safe, modified duties as soon as safe to do so. It sees work itself as part of rehabilitation, rather than as something that happens once a complete recovery is made. Target industries - manufacturing, construction, transport, postal and warehousing - account for more than a third of all accepted physical injury WorkCover claims in Victoria, making them priority sectors for this grant round and innovation generally.
View round 2 guidelines
We look forward to shortly announcing the successful recipients of this round.
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