It comes after the governing body was awarded a development grant by the Rugby Club Foundation.

The cash will be used to deliver a national campaign which will target eligible athletes and encourage participation in state wheelchair rugby programmes at a grassroots level.

Neurological impairment organisations will be involved while "come and try" days will also be part of the initiative, which is set to run for a year from this month.

"The neurological impairment talent ID plan has so much potential to increase our participation numbers on a national level," said Wheelchair Rugby Australia's general manager Chris Nay.

"Most pleasingly, it is a fully aligned plan, having been created in collaboration with the Australian Steelers high performance programme, through to our grassroots programmes, from which the hope is to establish a successful legacy player funnel that feeds up our pathway system.

"The Rugby Club Foundation have demonstrated over the last few years that they are committed to helping drive the growth in wheelchair rugby, and their constant support in developing the grassroots of our game is something that will make a lasting impact to our sport."

Australia has won wheelchair rugby gold at the last two Paralympics Games – London 2012 and Rio 2016.

They ended as runners-up when they hosted the last World Championships in 2018, behind Japan.

"We are committed to increasing our financial support of grassroots rugby, and are hopeful that the Foundation's funding and long-standing history of support for wheelchair rugby will help to deliver the growth and capacity the sport deserves," said the Rugby Club Foundation's chairman Angus Bruxner.