Australian workers lose approximately 200 lives to work-related injuries and over 5,000 to work-related diseases every year. Occupational diseases — particularly dust-related lung diseases (silicosis, mesothelioma), noise-induced hearing loss, and occupational cancers — add a substantial additional burden. Safe Work Australia estimates the total economic cost of work-related injury and illness at over $28 billion annually. Grant funding supports workplace health promotion, occupational disease research, dust disease support, agricultural safety, and the policy advocacy that makes Australian workplaces safer.
The burden
High-risk sectors
Emerging issues
Safe Work Australia
National policy body — research, statistics, model laws.
State and Territory WHS Regulators
Comcare
Commonwealth workers compensation and WHS.
Department of Agriculture
Agricultural safety programmes.
Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency
Asbestos-related disease research and safety.
Dust Disease Board NSW
Support for workers with dust diseases.
Silicosis Support Network
Peer support for people with silicosis.
Lung Foundation Australia
Lung health including occupational lung disease.
Various workers compensation insurers
Some fund injury prevention and early return to work.
Silicosis and engineered stone
Asbestos-related disease
Agricultural safety
Mining health
Workplace mental health
Occupational cancer
Construction safety
Healthcare worker safety
Research
Silicosis — scarring of the lung from crystalline silica dust — was thought largely eliminated in Australia. But the stonemason industry's shift to engineered stone (composite kitchen and bathroom benchtops with 90%+ silica content) created a new epidemic:
- Young stonemasons developing severe, accelerating silicosis
- Deaths of workers in their 20s and 30s
- 2024: engineered stone effectively banned from Australia's workplaces
The engineered stone silicosis crisis illustrates how new materials can create new occupational disease risks — and how advocacy and research can drive regulatory change.
Emerging occupational hazards
Occupational health grants that target emerging hazards — silica in new materials, psychosocial risks under new WHS regulations, heat stress from climate change — are addressing risks before they become widespread.
Research translation
Occupational health research is strong in Australia (universities, NHMRC) but translation to workplace practice is slow. Applications bridging research and practice — implementation, training, toolkits — are high-value.
Agricultural mental health
Farmer mental health is a significant occupational health issue (financial stress, isolation, drought). Applications linking agricultural safety with mental health are comprehensive.
Equity in coverage
Gig and informal workers are excluded from traditional workers compensation and OHS protections. Applications addressing safety for these workers fill a genuine policy gap.
Tahua's grants management platform supports occupational health funders and workplace safety organisations — with programme reach tracking, incident reduction data, worker health outcome measurement, and the reporting tools that help occupational health funders demonstrate their investment in safe and healthy Australian workplaces.