Our program.
Funded by Health and Wellbeing Queensland and Preventive Health SA, the 10,000 Steps Program is facilitated by the team at CQUniversity’s Physical Activity Research Group who coordinate the dissemination of the program. The team supports individuals, workplaces and communities around Queensland, South Australia and beyond to incorporate more movement into their daily activity through the use of the programs website 10000steps.org.au, mobile app and resources.
The 10,000 Steps program provides a platform for individuals to track steps and activity, view step stats overtime, connect with friends, join monthly Challenges and participate in team Tournaments. The website (redeveloped in 2017) has integration with Fitbit, Garmin and Google Fit and the mobile application is available on iOS and Android devices (with Apple Health integration available on iOS).
While also supporting individuals in their personal behaviour change, the program has additional features and resources for Coordinators which support the promotion of physical activity in workplaces and within the community. Workplace Coordinators can run team tournaments, encourage staff to track their steps and join monthly Challenges as well as access resources to promote physical activity (including our Active Workplaces Guide). Community Coordinators can access walkway signage and dog walking strategy resources, run community team Tournaments and Health Challenges, as well as access free resources to promote physical activity. Queensland based Coordinators are able to access free printed resources to further encourage active choices.
Our mission.
We know that significant health and well-being benefits can be made simply by moving more every day. The 10,000 Steps program's purpose is to encourage Australians to move more throughout their daily lives by making active choices and tracking activity. The use of activity trackers are essential to the program as a tool to monitor movement and motivate each individual to find more ways to add to their daily step count. Every step and minute of activity counts!
Our team.
Our small and dedicated team are based out of CQUniversity Australia, living across Queensland in Rockhampton, Cairns, Sunshine Coast, and the Gold Coast.
The Program is led by Corneel Vandelanotte, Professorial Research Fellow and the esteemed leader of the Physical Activity Research Group at the Appleton Institute. Overseeing the day-to-day operations is Anetta Van Itallie, who has been with the project since 2004. Assisting in the daily operations is the 10,000 Steps Project Office team, composed of Research Workers, Project Officers, Member Support Officers, and a Technology Lead. Our team comprises of health promotion professionals, each holding a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree, and collectively boasting a wealth of experience in research, and health and wellbeing.
This team is essential to the success of 10,000 Steps and they cover a range of aspects of the program including: Research Management, Project Management, Program implementation, Stakeholder engagement, Customer relations support, Platform and resource delivery, Media, marketing and communications, Website and app development and maintenance.
Our team at 10,000 Steps is more than just a group of professionals: it’s a community of dedicated experts shaping the success of our program. This commitment translates into a cohesive team that consistently delivers outstanding results for 10,000 Steps.
Embedded within the fabric of 10,000 Steps is the invaluable guidance and expertise provided by physical activity researchers across Australia. This network of esteemed researchers ensures that 10,000 Steps remains at the forefront of evidence-based practices in health promotion and behaviour change techniques, solidifying our commitment to making a lasting impact on physical activity and wellbeing across Australia.
We take pride in the fact that a majority of our team members have contributed to 10,000 Steps for many years, a collective of 74 years as of 2023, contributing to our extensive knowledge base and fostering a collaborative and positive workplace culture.
Our beginning.
10,000 Steps was Australia’s first ‘whole of community’ health promotion physical activity project funded by Queensland Health. In 2001, the Rockhampton region was chosen for a two year trial of the project as the residents showed 'typical' levels of inactivity. During these two years, the 10,000 Steps Rockhampton Project was a collaboration between CQUniversity, the University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, Sports Medicine Australia, and the National Heart Foundation.
The initial 10,000 Steps Rockhampton Project was an exemplary model of an effective multi-strategy, multi-sector physical activity project. As a result of the success in Rockhampton, QLD Health has continued to fund the ongoing delivery of the program as a sustainable state wide and beyond initiative. 10,000 Steps is committed to ongoing research, development, distribution and support of new and existing support materials to 10,000 Steps Coordinators, all with web-based support.
Our Achievements.
The 10,000 Steps program began in 2001 and has now celebrated 22 years! As at February 2024 the 10,000 Steps program had:
- 641,000+ members registered
- 18,988 Organisations registered from all sizes and a range of industries
- 387+ billion steps logged on the 10,000 Steps applications
- 11 million* website sessions and 65.7 million* page views
- 726,658 downloads of the 10,000 Steps mobile app
- 11,518 Tournaments started
- 68,524 teams comprised of 432,000+ individuals
- 160+ million Tournament steps logged
For more information, take a look at our Program Achievements.
Source: *uptake (2011-2022)
Satisfaction with the 10,000 Steps Program
Recently 10,000 Steps asked our users their thoughts on the program.
- 93.5% of participants are satisfied with the 10,000 Steps Program
- 91.5% of participants would recommend 10,0000 Steps to friends, family and/or workmates
- 93% of Coordinators would recommend 10,000 Steps to other Organisations
- 88.5% of Coordinators are satisfied with the level of support from the 10,000 Steps Program Team