Return to work fund

WorkCoverSA has established a $15 million Return to Work Fund to implement initiatives that contribute to the improved return of injured workers to work.

Expressions of interest for the first round of funding are now closed.

Information about the fund can be obtained from:
phone: (08) 8233 2933
email: rtwfund@workcover.com

The 6 objectives of the Fund are:

  1. to foster innovation to find solutions to known barriers to return to work or enhance the effect of factors that support return to work
  2. to expand the retraining options for injured workers
  3. to develop greater workforce participation options
  4. to improve the skills of persons operating in the South Australian workers compensation scheme
  5. to establish workplace initiatives which develop and implement sustainable programs to help those sectors with known difficulties in achieving successful and timely return to work outcomes
  6. to raise awareness and promote the rehabilitation and return to work message

Expected outputs from the Fund include the delivery of:
  1. initiatives/projects
  2. pilot or experimental initiatives and projects
  3. new partnerships/alliances.

These should result in:
  • an increased focus on return to work by all SA workers, employers and worker groups
  • increased skills and capability of all SA workers, employers and worker groups to assist in returning injured workers to the workplace
  • closer alignment of WorkCover to proactive solutions that improve rehabilitation and return to work rates
  • the development of employer, worker and rehabilitation networks to share resources, skills, opportunities, experience and knowledge in addressing return to work issues
  • enhanced community awareness of and increased engagement in the benefits of return to work
  • enhanced corporate knowledge in return to work strategies, the barriers to successful return to work outcomes and options for overcoming them.

Project outputs

Outputs from projects will be located here as they become available.

The report from the first completed RTW Fund project is now available. WorkCoverSA was interested to learn the lessons from relevant labour market programs conducted for the long term unemployed and the possible applicability to the workers' compensation environment. Click here to view the report from the South Australian Centre for Economic Studies.