Supervised exercise physiology
Graded, individually prescribed, and built around the demands of the person's actual job. Loading is progressed deliberately and scaled back quickly when symptoms flare, so the program keeps moving instead of stopping.
Launching soon
Groundwork
Physical and mental recovery, one program. A twelve week program for people whose recovery has stalled because the psychological side was never treated.
Launching soon. Groundwork opens to referrals in October 2026. Register your interest below and we will contact you before the first intake.
The claims that run long are rarely the worst injuries
They are the ones where pain has not settled, confidence has gone, sleep is broken, and nobody has treated any of that as part of the physical rehabilitation.
$23.6k
Average cost of a mental injury claim in Queensland, against $13k for a physical claim
115 days
Average paid days for a mental injury claim, against 49.5 for a physical one
47%
Increase in WorkCover early intervention funding for mental injury over two years
By the time a psychological component is formally recognised, the claim is usually already in the expensive version of itself. The same pattern shows up in income protection and total and permanent disability claims.
Groundwork exists to treat both sides from the start, inside one program, with one provider and one set of reports.
Two parts, working on the same problem
The Groundwork app
Between sessions, the client gets a short daily plan of four to six actions drawn from movement, sleep, connection, task completion and reflection. It is built to be achievable on a bad day, which is the point.
Twelve weeks, in three phases
- Weeks 1 to 4, Foundation. Baseline testing, goals set in the client's own words, and the daily routine established. Low load, high consistency. Most of the work here is confidence and adherence.
- Weeks 5 to 8, Build. Progressive loading and graded exposure to the movements and situations the person has been avoiding. Capacity starts becoming measurable, and the mid-program report goes out.
- Weeks 9 to 12, Transfer. Moving capacity from the gym into the job and into daily life. Discharge planning, maintenance program, and a written summary of what changed.
Psychological safety, client choice and client control are built into how the program is prescribed, rather than added as a label. Trauma-informed practice is a defined professional standard for exercise physiologists, not a marketing phrase.
Who it suits
A good fit
- Physical injury with a psychological component, recognised or not
- Claims that have plateaued despite treatment
- Fear avoidance, deconditioning, or loss of confidence in the body
- Persistent pain where passive treatment has run its course
- Income protection and TPD claimants where recovery has stalled
- Veterans with chronic pain, PTSD, anxiety or depression
Not the right fit
- Acute psychiatric instability requiring stabilisation first
- Anyone medically not cleared for exercise
- A client who has not agreed to participate
Groundwork works alongside psychology, psychiatry and GP care. It does not replace any of them, and we coordinate rather than duplicate.
Program pricing
One fee. Nothing billed on top.
Groundwork
$2,750 ex GST, twelve weeks
Initial assessment and baseline testing, twelve supervised sessions, app access for the full program, initial, mid-program and discharge reports, outcome measures at three points, and a maintenance plan on discharge.
Groundwork Plus
$3,400 ex GST, twelve weeks
Everything in the standard program, plus written updates every week rather than every fortnight, case conference attendance, a workplace or job task assessment, and a direct line to the treating clinician for the duration.
Under WorkCover Queensland, CTP and DVA, Groundwork is delivered at scheme rates and billed per item against the approved Provider Management Plan. We prepare the plan and submit it for you.
Built on research
Groundwork was developed by Rehab Insight in partnership with the University of the Sunshine Coast, and is being evaluated as the program runs. The clinical approach also draws on hospital-based mental health programming delivered by our director at Pine Rivers Private Hospital.
Participants are assessed at baseline, week six and discharge across psychological distress, self-efficacy and functional capacity, with adherence tracked through the app. That data is reported to the referrer at each point.
Register your interest
We will contact you before the first intake. No obligation, and we will not add you to a mailing list.
Have a client who needs exercise physiology?
Send the referral, or call and talk it through first. Both work.