NEMICS grant programs
NEMICS Grant Programs
NEMICS periodically offers professional development grants and service improvement grant funding to support initiatives that strengthen cancer care across our member health services. Through these funding opportunities, NEMICS is proud to support the cancer workforce to build capability, drive improvement, and deliver high-quality, patient-centred cancer care.
NEMICS Professional Development Grants
NEMICS Professional Development Grants support the development of the cancer workforce in our member services. They can be used for conference registration, training courses (clinical skill development, leadership or project management), or participation in higher education that aligns with the cancer care priorities of each service and the Victorian Cancer Plan.
Previous NEMICS Professional Development Grant recipients have reported increased knowledge related to cancer treatment and supportive care. Almost all planned to share what they learned with other staff, most aim to implement what they learned directly into clinical care, and over half now plan to undertake service improvement activities as a result of their professional development.
In 2024-2025 NEMICS are delighted to have funded 43 applications, totaling $87,521, as an important investment in growing the capability of our local cancer workforce. Some of these applications were for multiple staff members to participate in professional development opportunities.
To hear about future grant rounds, subscribe to the NEMICS newsletter.
November 2025 PD Grant Applications
A round of PD Grants was released in November 2025. Applications have now closed.
Successful applicants will be notified in January 2026.
Service Improvement Grants
Service Improvement Grant Projects 2025
In 2025 NEMICS are currently supporting eight targeted service improvement grants (SIG) with our member health services (Austin Health, Eastern Health, Mercy Hospital for Women, Northern Health), in alignment with Department of Health and Victorian Integrated Cancer Service (VICS) priorities, to deliver on the Victorian Cancer Plan 2024-28. This includes:
- Implementation of new MDM software at Austin Health and Northern Health (already completed at Eastern Health and Mercy Health)
- Implementation of the new National Lung Cancer Screening Program (NLCSP) services at Austin Health, Northern Health and Eastern Health
- Development of a gynae-oncology survivorship model of care at Mercy Health
- Enhancement of the colonoscopy quality dashboard at Northern Health to meet National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) requirements
- Development of a new bone Marrow Transplant Survivorship Clinic at Austin Health
This is in addition to four previously funded SIG projects commenced in 2024 that are in progress:
- Austin Health (implementing early palliative care referral to clinical haematology;
- implementing nurse led treatment focussed genetic testing)
- Eastern Health (establishing palliative care clinics; developing electronic chemotherapy prescribing)
Therefore, the usual competitive NEMICS Service Improvement Grant Program is currently on hold.
Any announcements regarding future funding opportunities will occur via the bi-monthly NEMICS Newsletter.. In the meantime NEMICS are very happy to discuss and provide advice on your service improvement ideas. Please contact nemicsadmin@austin.org.au.
NEMICS Service Improvement Grants Program Evaluation 2022-2024
NEMICS provides Service Improvement Grants to member health services for initiatives that align with the Victorian Cancer Plan. An evaluation of the NEMICS Service Improvement Grants Program for the 3-year period 2022-2024 highlighted:
- A total of $1,588,302 was awarded for 22 grants across all four NEMICS member health services
- Projects spanned all tumour streams
- 82% of the projects are completed (18 projects from 2022 and 2023), with 18% (4 from 2024) in progress and due for completion in 2025-26.
- Project aims and outcomes include improvements to access to care, optimal care pathway implementation, survivorship, supportive care, geriatric oncology, and palliative care.
- The grant recipient experience was overall positive, with 100% of survey respondents indicating they relied on the NEMICS Grant to undertake their project.
Service Improvement Grant Recipients 2024
- Standardising early palliative care intervention for patients with aggressive haematological malignancies (EPIC-Haem)
- Developing a nurse led model of care for individuals with cancer to access treatment focused genetic testing
- Implementing electronic chemotherapy prescribing
- Embedding palliative care into outpatient cancer clinics
Service Improvement Grant Recipients 2023
- Implementation of novel volumetric arc modulated (VMAT) Total Body Irradiation at Austin Health to improve patient access to NEMICS patients undergoing bone marrow transplant
- Phenotyping palliative care patients most likely to benefit from physiotherapy
- State of the ART: Improving outcomes and experiences for patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer
- Development of an outpatient venetoclax ramp-up pathway for patients with blood cancers
- Mercy Health Supportive Care Screening Review and Expansion
- Oncology Symptom Management Reform for Chemotherapy Patients at Mercy Hospital for Women
- Building capacity and expanding access to Cancer Clinical Trials at Northern Health
Service Improvement Grant Recipients 2022
- Strong for Oesophago-gastric Cancer Surgery (SOCS) Project: A personalised multidisciplinary enhanced prehabilitation program for patients undergoing oesophagectomy and gastrectomy
- Outpatient monitoring of patients following consolidation chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML)
- Digitising the Caring Through Touch Program
- Persistent Fatigue Following Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplantation – Can We Break the Cycle?
- Optimisation of delivery of psycho-oncology services to enhance quality of life and other health outcomes for cancer patients
- Symptom and Urgent Review Clinic Evaluation (SURE) Framework
- Development of a comprehensive cancer rehabilitation (CaRe) training program
- Evaluation of a new Interdisciplinary Allied Health Program in the Hospital in the Home Cancer Services model of care
- Patient-centred approach to optimise cancer patients understanding of complex medication labels
- Development of a comprehensive Cancer Survivorship Program specific for the diverse community of Northern Health
- Design and Implementation of an Oral Systemic Anticancer Treatment Program in Day Oncology at Northern Health
