Voiceless Grants Program inspires the next generation of changemakers for animals

In 2026, the Voiceless Grants Program continues to inspire and empower a new wave of changemakers dedicated to the protection of animals. Building on the impact of our annual grants giving program in recent years, we are committed to creating a just and equitable world where animals can flourish by supporting and investing in changemakers, visionary organisations and initiatives that reform our social, cultural and political systems. Below are the next generation of changemakers for animals who successfully applied to the Voiceless Grants Program and whom we will partner with in 2026.

ProVeg Australia to Transform Institutional Food Choices

New Voiceless grantee, ProVeg Australia has launched its Million Plates program, working with hospitals, aged care facilities and other food-service providers to bring more plant-rich meals onto Australian menus.

Through menu advice, recipe development and practical training, ProVeg is helping catering teams make nutritious, appealing plant-based meals more accessible and easier to choose, with the goal of serving one million plant-rich plates.

By focusing on the institutions that shape everyday food choices, the program offers an opportunity to influence meals at scale, help reduce reliance on animal-based food systems and spare the significant suffering and lives of farmed animals.

We’re proud to support this measurable, solutions-focused approach to creating lasting change for animals.

The Next Generation of Animal Lawyers Gets to Work

The Brian Sherman Animal Law Clinic at Bond University has begun its second semester, with five new law students now working alongside animal protection organisations. This semester’s partner organisations include the Animal Defenders Office, Kangaroos Alive, Action for Dolphins and Animals Australia, who are giving students exposure to real-world animal law and policy.

Their work includes supporting legal research for key High Court challenges, developing coexistence recommendations for kangaroos for state governments, and conducting scientific and regulatory research into cetacean welfare.

The Clinic is more than animal law, in theory. By placing emerging lawyers alongside experienced advocates, it builds practical skills, professional connections and a pipeline of young lawyers equipped to protect animals.

We are proud to see this multi-year partnership continue to grow in honour of our late Co-Founder, Brian Sherman AM, and we thank our partner organisations and generous donors for their support.

Australian Drug Testing Without Animals

Voiceless is proud to support Animal-Free Science Advocacy (AFSA) who is shifting Australian drug development away from animal testing and towards Non-Animal Models (NAMs). These include human cell and tissue-based tests, organ-on-a-chip technologies, and AI-driven predictive tools that can better reflect human biology.

More than 100 million animals are used in research and testing worldwide each year, many in tests mandated by government regulators. Shifting regulatory science towards robust non-animal methods therefore has the potential to reduce animal use at a significant scale.

AFSA will bring researchers and industry together at a satellite event alongside AusBiotech on the Gold Coast on 19 October, helping shape a national collaborative platform to advance the uptake of NAMs. This will be followed by federal advocacy to secure stronger guidance and resourcing for the Therapeutic Goods Administration, so non-animal data can increasingly be accepted in medicine approvals. With international momentum towards animal-free science growing, Australia has an important opportunity to keep pace and save animals from suffering.

Growing a stronger, locally led movement for animals across Africa

Voiceless is proud to support Thrive Africa, a department of Thrive Philanthropy, to strengthen locally led movement-building for animals and plant-based food systems across the African continent.

Our grant funds two key programs: the Thrive Africa Accelerator, which seeds, scales and strengthens campaigns and now has 1,100+ registered members across 42 African countries; and the Thrive Africa Vegan Women’s Initiative, with 120+ registered members across 30+ countries, helping women advocates build stronger leadership skills, networks and access to funding opportunities.

Together, these initiatives are building a stronger, professional movement, shaped and led by Africa-based advocates. Their locally relevant strategies are reducing reliance on industrial animal agriculture and expanding plant-rich food systems.

Hear directly from Virginia Rugaru, Co-Manager of Thrive Africa, about why investing in local advocates (and particularly women leaders) is helping strengthen the movement across the continent.

Creating Kinder Classrooms Without Animal Dissection

Voiceless is supporting the New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society (NZAVS) and its Kind Education project, helping schools and universities across Aotearoa New Zealand transition from animal dissection to animal-free, modern teaching methods.

Through its 2026 pilot, Kind Education is working directly with selected schools and universities, providing funding, resources and practical support to introduce alternatives such as virtual dissection technology, anatomical models and reusable teaching tools. The pilot aims to demonstrate an effective animal-free model and build the case for broader education reform.

In New Zealand, between 25,000 and over 50,000 animals are used each year for teaching purposes, including over 10,000 animals in 2025 involved in teaching activities that resulted in their death. Animal-free teaching can save animals who might otherwise be bred and killed for dissection. It also encourages compassion and creates safer, more inclusive classrooms for students with ethical, cultural or religious objections to harming animals. These alternatives can be repeated without causing distress and may produce equal or better learning outcomes.

We envisage a future where animal-free learning is the norm, from classrooms to universities.

Growing the Plant Based Medical Community

Voiceless is proud to support Doctors For Nutrition and its 2026 Lifestyle Medicine Conference, taking place in Sydney on 28 November 2026.

Australasia’s only nutrition-led lifestyle medicine conference focused on whole-food, plant-based nutrition, the event brings together leading medical, nutrition and lifestyle medicine experts to share the latest evidence and practical tools for improving health through nutrition.

This work also presents an important opportunity for animals. By helping healthcare professionals and the wider community understand and embrace more plant-rich diets, Doctors For Nutrition is working to reduce reliance on animal products while creating positive outcomes for people, animals and the planet.

“Every time a clinician or community member shifts towards more plants and fewer animal products, they’re not only improving their own health, they’re reducing demand for systems that cause immense animal suffering and environmental harm.” – Rebecca Stonor | CEO, Doctors For Nutrition

Building the Case for Stronger National Animal Protection Leadership

For too long, Australia has failed to protect animals – due, in part, to inconsistent legislation, fragmented government departments and agencies, and a lack of independent national leadership. The result is a system that too often fails to provide the protection that millions of animals deserve.

With Voiceless’s support, the Australian Alliance for Animals commissioned Frontier Economics to prepare a new report, the National Animal Welfare Commission business case. It examines the costs, benefits and broader public value of establishing an independent national body dedicated to improving animal protection governance. The report represents a strong evidence base for much-needed, overdue reform and will play an important role in advocating for animals within the Federal Government.

As a core member of the Australian Alliance for Animals, Voiceless believes this report provides the government with an independent economic assessment of how a National Animal Welfare Commission could improve animal protection governance for generations to come.

Read the Full Report

Watch the Webinar to Explore the Report’s Key Findings and Recommendations

Plant-based Indonesian Documentary – Tumbu Di Khatulistiwa

Voiceless is proud to support Fauna Films’ creation of Indonesia’s first documentary exploring plant-based diets. The four-part series, Tumbu Di Khatulistiwa, follows Indonesian celebrity Andolfi de Lopez as he travels across the country uncovering Indonesia’s rich (and delicious) plant-based food traditions. The series brings culturally relevant, high-impact storytelling to a region where conversations around plant-based diets have been challenging. Indonesia is a major livestock producer with a high dependence on farmed animal production and poor animal protection legislation.
Now in final production and being pitched to major Indonesian networks, the series has the potential to reach mainstream audiences and shift perceptions about plant-based eating in a culturally relevant way. Stay tuned to find out where you can watch the docuseries!

Compassionate Learning in Hebron

Voiceless is proud to support a new, innovative, compassion-led education initiative.
Hebron University, in the Palestinian city of Hebron in the West Bank is embedding animal ethics into student co-curricular education — inviting students (aged 6-12) to critically examine the realities of animal exploitation and reflect on their role in shaping a more compassionate society.
The program introduces young students, in an age-appropriate manner, to the realities of animal agriculture and fosters empathy and kindness. The project will be used as a pilot program, shared amongst academic circles to become a replicable model. Outcomes will be presented at an educational conference, published in a peer-reviewed journal, and embedded within university research frameworks – evolving humane education toward more critical, reality-based learning.

Emergency Grant – Vets for Compassion – Victoria Bushfires

Bushfires and extreme heat have caused heartbreaking levels of animal suffering in Victoria. Voiceless is proud to support Vets for Compassion who are helping rescue survivors, provide emergency veterinary care, and support wildlife carers and animal sanctuaries. Our deepest thanks to the extraordinary vets, carers and volunteers responding with compassion and urgency.

Blood Lions

In South Africa, captive-bred lions are exploited in tourism activities, killed in ‘canned’ hunts, exported live, or slaughtered so their bones and other body parts can be used in traditional medicines across Southeast Asia.
Voiceless is proud to support a collaborative animal law reform project led by Blood Lions, Animal Law Reform South Africa, and the University of the Western Cape Global Environmental Law Centre. The project will train 24 postgraduate law students across 4–6 moot court teams with legal resources and mentoring. It will culminate in a moot court competition exploring critical legal challenges to government regulation and the future phase-out of the captive lion industry.

Watch the film: Blood Lions