The Health and Fitness sector is vital to the Australian Government. This is why the Australian state and Federal governments have a lot of assistance programs in place for the fitness and well-being sector. These assistance programs are offered in the form of grants, co-funding, incentives, awards, interest free or loans with nominal interest rates and subsidies.
Assistance programs for the fitness and well-being sector are not necessarily restricted to health care organisations and well being related businesses. They are also available to healthcare providers such as doctors, surgeons, nurses and associated professionals in the industry who are able to promote knowledge, skills and experience within the sector are also in a position to utilise these assistance programs. In this section, we will discuss some of these assistance programs to which healthcare organisations and healthcare providers are eligible to apply.
One of the grants funded by the Australian Government provided GPs (General Practitioners) with appropriate funding to improve their practice and to provide quality health care and to promote the importance of fitness and well-being in their respective communities.
To be eligible for this grant GPs must:
- meet the guidelines of ‘open practice’
- be registered or have applied for accreditation from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Standards
- maintain full liability insurance
The grant is aimed at supporting GPs to provide quality care and improve the awareness of being physically fit to their patients.
Another Federal Government-funded grant aims to provide researchers in the medical field with a funding of up to $1 million to handle medical projects that have the potential to create a positive impact on healthcare and the well-being of Australians. The grant is designed to cover up to 100% of the costs involved within the project and can be extended up to 1 year for execution from the grant agreement date.
To be eligible for this grant a business must:
- have an ABN
- be incorporated in Australia
- be a medical institute/university/commonwealth entity/a corporation (both businesses and not-for-profit organizations are eligible)
The minimum funding that can be claimed under this grant is $250,000 and the maximum is $1 million.
One more grant provided by the Federal Government provides eligible health businesses with appropriate funding to nurture early health care and conduct research to create ready to implement plans capable of attracting further funds.
To be able to apply for this grant, businesses must:
- have an ABN
- be registered for GST
- be incorporated in Australia
- be a medical institute/university/commonwealth entity/a corporation (both businesses and not-for-profit organizations are eligible)
Apart from the Federal Government, many State Governments also provide eligible businesses with appropriate grants to improve the quality of their services and care for the well-being of workers in their organisations. One such State Government funded grant provides SMEs with $500 rebate to maintain workplace health and safety. To be eligible for this grant, businesses must be located in the state providing the grant and have no more than 20 employees.
Above mentioned are only some of the many assistance schemes targeted for the health, fitness and wellness sector. To know more about such assistance programs please speak to one of our advisors.
