Workplace injury prevention grants
We’re investing $22 million to help create safer workplaces by partnering with businesses and industry groups.
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The purpose of our grants
Workplace injury prevention grants provide funding to solve workplace health and safety challenges. We want these grants to be a catalyst for major health and safety improvements across Aotearoa New Zealand by developing, sharing, investing in, and implementing solutions to problems.
This five-year programme of investment began in 2019 and details of our final round of grants has now been confirmed.
You can sign up for updates by emailing the grants team:
Email injurypreventiongrants@acc.co.nz
Grant round five
Our fifth round of workplace injury prevention grants focuses on improving health and safety in the manufacturing sector.
For this grant round, we're looking for initiatives that can eliminate or significantly reduce hazards and lower injuries through Good Work Design approaches or the adoption of effective technology and/or engineered solutions.
Why manufacturing?
Manufacturing is one of New Zealand's biggest sectors, employing around 200,000 people across 18,000 businesses and 15 sub-industries.
It also experiences one of the highest rates of harm and injury. In 2022, injury claims in manufacturing resulted in 240,400 lost workdays.
To date, large investment has already been made in other high-risk priority sectors, and we now want to do the same in manufacturing.
What we mean by Good Work Design, technology and engineered solutions?
Good Work Design (GWD) is a human-centred approach that is based on systems thinking, to create conditions for good work.
It provides the earliest opportunity to identify problems that can be addressed such as hazards, and ways to incorporate improvements or efficiencies in the workplace.
GWD addresses a range of workplace risk factors associated with the individual, the work being performed, and the physical work environment.
Technology and engineered solutions are growing faster than traditional Health, Safety and Wellbeing approaches as a way to reduce risk and/or harm.
Within the risk control hierarchy, engineered solutions rank higher than individual protection. That's because they address risk at the source, impact all workers and aren't solely dependent on workers wanting to use them.
What we're looking for
We're looking for applications that:
- have a clear hypothesis to test
- are based on previous research and prototyping
- can clearly evidence both the efficacy of their approach/solution and assumption of the reach and uptake of their initiative.
Applications should also be able to demonstrate health and safety outcomes for technology or innovation proposals within two years of the grant start date.
Grant applicants will need to demonstrate collaboration within the sector to achieve the scale of change required and to leverage the collective expertise.
Applications should demonstrate how they aim to improve access, experience, and outcomes for Māori and uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles. They should also demonstrate how they will aim to improve equitable outcomes for workers at higher risk for injury and increase worker participation and representation.
Your business or organisation doesn't need to work in manufacturing, but the initiative needs to show direct benefits for the sector.
Applicants can apply for between $50,000 and $500,000 (excluding GST) per year for a maximum of three years. Applicants will need to co-fund at least 20% of the requested grant amount.
How to apply for a grant
Find out what types of projects we fund, who can apply, and how to apply.
Each grant round focuses on different priorities. These are based on discussions with internal and external stakeholders. It is also informed by our data to identify areas which would benefit from innovation or capability development.
Round four successful recipients
Grants in this round focused on:
- managing psychosocial hazards and risk in the workplace through implementation of good work design
- strengthening sector leadership to improve workplace safety outcomes and reduce injuries to workers.
Agricultural Leaders' Health and Safety Action Group - $900,000
This project contributes to the implementation of the 'Farm Without Harm' strategy, specifically in two of the foundational system enablers crucial to reduce injuries long-term: Winning the Hearts and Minds of farmers, farm workers and in-farm influencers, and Building Strong, Visible and Aligned sector leadership.
It aims to deliver initiatives on these system enablers initially in the dry stock and arable subsectors to bring about change and demonstrate sector leadership.
Business Leaders’ Health & Safety Forum - $490,000
This project aims to implement proactive Good Work Design interventions in the manufacturing sector to improve worker psychosocial wellbeing and reduce injury.
The project's goal is to identify risks to mental health and wellbeing in manufacturing workplaces and implement changes to how work is designed and done.
Business Leaders’ Health & Safety Forum
Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand - $1.35 million
The project aims to improve the wellbeing of workers in the New Zealand construction sector by applying the knowledge and learning from the successful Farmstrong programme (agriculture sector) to the unique demands and challenges of the construction industry.
The project will implement a Good Work Design approach in the residential construction sub-sector of the industry, with a focus on thoughts and behaviours that lead to a safer and healthier environment, and reduced injury.
Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand
New Zealand Trucking Association - $850,000
The New Zealand Trucking Association, together with the National Road Carriers Association Inc, AutoSense Ltd, Fatigue Management Fit For Duty Ltd, have partnered to create HARMfree Transport and Logistics – an online platform that provides tools, information, resources, and training material tailored to the transport industry focused on improving workplace safety and worker wellbeing.
The project includes the implementation of a Good Work Design approach to address psychosocial risks of workers in the transport sector to reduce injury.
New Zealand Trucking Association
HARMfree Transport and Logistics
OneScope - $450,000
The project will implement a Good Work Design approach in the construction labour hire sub-sector to improve worker psychosocial wellbeing and reduce injury. The project aims to identify psychosocial hazards specific to on-hire employees and develop tools to mitigate the increased psychosocial risk associated with this type of employment by applying a Good Work Design approach.
Round three successful recipients
Grants in this round focused on:
- building and delivering solutions to reduce the risk of work-related sprains and strains in high-risk sectors of construction, manufacturing, agriculture, transport
- strengthening the role of sector groups in leading initiatives to lift outcomes across workplaces, particularly where there is a high risk of injury.
Canterbury Safety Charter Incorporated - $900,000
This project uses Building Information Modelling (BIM) to improve health and safety outcomes, targeting the whole-of-life infrastructure creation and management sectors. Accidents and injuries will be reduced through collaborative design interventions and greater practitioner understanding of their sites at all stages of construction and use.
SaferMe Ltd - $450,000
This project in collaboration with Civil Contractors New Zealand is targeted at reducing sprains and strains in the civil construction industry through development and implementation of an algorithm and risk mitigation solution. It aimed to enable risks to be identified at the individual level and supports targeted mitigation actions for high-risk workers.
Massey University - $850,000
This project aimed to monitor work-related sprains and strains in the Hawke's Bay region and assess workplaces to identify opportunities for designing out the causes of these injuries. Data collection has been completed and proposed solutions for the focus industries are being developed with industry partners. Prototypes will be tested with partners for further refinement.
Horticulture NZ Inc - $721,000
This project aimed to build system capability and establish health and safety leadership through four key project steps: understand, intervene, support, lead. The systems thinking basis of the project recognises that multiple physical and psychosocial factors interact to create harm. The ‘Understand’ phase of the project has been completed and specific harm hotspots within the system identified. Interventions to address these hotspots are underway and being delivered within the horticulture sector.
Dairy NZ - $900,000
This project aimed to use systems thinking to understand the causes of sprains and strains on dairy farms in the peak spring period and co-develop and implement practical solutions that work for farmers to avoid these injuries. The co-development process with farmers and stakeholders has been completed to strengthen sector leadership and integration within dairy and across agriculture. Several prototypes are currently being trialled on farms.
Round two successful recipients
Grants in this round focused on:
- industries with high rates of injury, and innovative solutions targeted at the workforce overrepresented in injury statistics
- focusing on factors impacting groups exposed to a higher risk for injury including Māori, Pasifika, and migrant workers.
The Cause Collective – $1.5 million
This project, Work360, aimed to develop a framework to create meaningful workplace connectivity and behaviour change in the workplace health and safety system by using:
- indigenous knowledge and belief systems
- codesign techniques
- dynamic systems approach with workers and management.
Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi – $1.4 million
'Haumaru Tāngata' explored and developed a culturally responsive workplace injury prevention framework to reduce and prevent workplace injuries and fatalities. It's positioned within a kaupapa Māori framework which centres and prioritises Mātauranga Maori.
The Haumaru Tāngata framework was launched in April 2023 at Te Rōpū Marutau o Aotearoa, the Māori Health and Safety Association, conference in Kirikiriroa-Hamilton and plans are underway to embed and implement the framework.
Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi
MarineSAFE – $248,000
MarineSAFE used technology to develop and deliver health and safety training and practices to a mobile and widespread workforce. The seafood sector now has a purpose-built learning management system with tailored courses for the inshore sector. It recognises the unique challenges of delivering training in the maritime industry with five online modules and their associated videos and assessments with three stand-alone safety videos.
In July 2021, the ‘Staying Ship Shape’ online wellbeing learning module and other resources were released as part of FirstMate New Zealand which is hosted on the MarineSAFE platform. These resources were funded by the Ministry of Primary Industries.
IMPAC Services Limited – $683,200
The project has delivered an auditing and accreditation programme for fabricators working with engineered stone containing Respirable Crystalline Silica. Its goal is to make sure the processing of benchtops containing silica are safe and in line with best practice. The project addresses accelerated silicosis - an emerging problem associated mostly with the fabrication of engineered stone.
E Tū – $125,000
The project established a worker leadership framework for improved health and safety decision-making. It aimed to reduce serious injury and harm for all workers with a special focus on Māori, Pacifika and migrant workers, especially in the manufacturing sector.
AW Trinder Limited – $200,000
This project aimed to make the forestry transport sector a safer and more accessible workplace. It automated high risk and challenging log truck load securing procedures. The project produced an automated throwing, tensioning, retrieval and stowage system for load binding tie-down chains on hauling trucks. It was officially launched in Christchurch in November 2022.
As an extension to the initial ACC-funded project, two other products were developed to reduce or mitigate injuries: the load monitoring and auto tensioner systems. The load monitoring system is a chain link shackle that constantly monitors the lashing chain tension, while the auto tensioner maintains a tension in the lashing chain during transportation.
Round one successful recipients
Grants in this round focused on strengthening sector leadership within health and safety systems of the high-risk sectors they’re in – construction, manufacturing, forestry, and healthcare and social assistance.
Food and Grocery Council (FGC) - $1.5 million
The New Zealand Food and Grocery Council (FGC) represents food, beverage and grocery suppliers in this sector and proposed to set up a Retail and Supply Chain Health and Safety Sector Group. The group developed a knowledge-sharing database, gained input from workers in the industry, and created common standards for things such as forklift training, yard management, and other initiatives across the sector.
Food and Grocery Council (FCG)
Forestry Industry Safety Council (FISC) - $1 million
The Forestry Industry Safety Council (FISC) represents health and safety across the forestry sector. It has an overall target of eliminating life-changing injuries and deaths in the sector with its ‘Together towards Zero’ programme.
Forestry Industry Safety Council (FISC)
Construction Health and Safety New Zealand (CHASNZ) - $1.5 million
CHASNZ proposed to introduce ‘Project Whakatipu’, which used predictive analytics to look at traditional health and safety data combined with people and operational data. The goal was to create a Construction Safety Index (CSI), or data lake, which will be used to predict and generate better health and safety performance by understanding the true drivers of health and safety. This initiative was integrated into the CHASNZ partnership and is no longer considered to be part of the grant programme.
Construction Health and Safety New Zealand (CHASNZ)
Beca - $258,560
Beca developed a virtual reality-based induction programme that is generic to the sector, rather than specific to a company or site. This unlocked the benefits to the wider industry, without the need for costly bespoke programmes.
Auckland, Hutt Valley, and Hawke’s Bay DHBs - $1.5 million
The project proposed by these three DHBs aimed to look at their supply chains to make the health sector safe and give 600 suppliers a tool to help them benchmark the current state of health and safety. The suite of tools included a smartphone app, where suppliers can record incidents, observations, risks, and hazards.
The targeted interventions were developed to reduce harm and injuries throughout the contractor management supply chain in the three pilot sites.
Contact us
To receive updates about upcoming funding rounds, register your interest by sending us an email with your name, the name of your organisation and contact details.