The number of first aiders your workplace needs depends on your state or territory, how risky the work is and how many people work at the same time. Safe Work Australia's model code recommends one first aider for every 50 workers in a low-risk workplace, one for every 25 in a high-risk workplace and one for every 10 in a remote high-risk workplace, while WorkSafe Victoria's code sets its own numbers.
How many first aiders does the model Code of Practice recommend?
Safe Work Australia's model Code of Practice First aid in the workplace (July 2019 edition) gives three ratios:
- Low-risk workplaces such as offices, shops and libraries: one first aider for every 50 workers.
- High-risk workplaces, where people use hazardous machinery or chemicals, risk serious falls, face violence or work in extreme heat or cold: one for every 25 workers.
- Remote high-risk workplaces, which are high risk and lack timely access to medical and ambulance services: one for every 10 workers.
When applying these ratios, you need to count the largest number of workers you will have on site at one time, including contractors, subcontractors and volunteers. Although the Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulations require an adequate number of first aiders without naming a figure, the code shows what adequate looks like.
Outside Victoria, every state and territory uses the model WHS laws. However, because a model code only has legal effect once your state or territory approves it, make sure to check your regulator's version.
How many first aid officers does a Victorian workplace need?
Under WorkSafe Victoria's compliance code, a low-risk workplace with 10 to 50 employees needs one first aid officer, while a higher-risk workplace needs one for up to 25 employees. These are the prescribed numbers, and the alternative to following them is a documented risk assessment.
Victoria has its own law, the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, under which employers must provide adequate welfare facilities, and WorkSafe says that this includes first aid kits and trained first aid officers. Although its compliance code First aid in the workplace (November 2021) is not mandatory, following it means that you are taken to have met that duty. The full prescribed numbers are:
- Low-risk workplaces such as offices, libraries and most retail shops: no first aid officer is needed below 10 employees, only a basic first aid kit. From there, the code prescribes one officer for 10 to 50 employees, two for 51 to 100 and one more for every additional 100.
- Higher-risk workplaces such as manufacturing plants, commercial kitchens, vehicle workshops and forestry operations: one officer for up to 25 employees, two for 26 to 50 and one more for every additional 50.
A workplace where medical or ambulance help is not readily available counts as higher risk, and a site that combines an office with a workshop uses the higher-risk numbers. The two codes also do not always agree. A 100-person office needs two first aiders under either code, whereas a higher-risk site with 100 workers needs four under the model code and three in Victoria.
WorkSafe says that large workplaces and those with complex hazards should use the risk assessment approach. If you do, WorkSafe will not judge you against the table, so make sure to keep your assessment on file. If you use the prescribed approach, you need to follow all of it, including the kits and procedures.
How do shifts, leave and rosters change the number?
You need to work the number out for each shift and then add cover for leave and days off, because both codes say that first aid cover needs to be available whenever people work, including night shifts and overtime.
Safe Work Australia's worked example is an office and factory with 80 workers per shift across three shifts, which needs nine first aiders, with one in the office and two in the factory on every shift. WorkSafe Victoria's sample assessment reaches the same number.
A first aider who is on leave, off sick or on a rostered day off does not count on that day. For this reason, WorkSafe asks employers to allow for rosters, leave, flexible work and staff turnover, while the model code lists absences and seasonal peaks as reasons to train more people. You should also check that your leanest day still has a trained person on every shift.
What about multiple sites, floors and remote workers?
Each site needs to be planned separately. A large site may also need first aid in more than one place if workers are spread out, parts of the site are hard to reach, emergency services are far away or there is more than one floor.
In a shared building, the model code allows you to arrange access to another business's first aiders so that you do not have to train your own, provided that you agree the arrangement and your workers can reach a first aider whenever they work. You should also put your first aiders' names, locations and phone numbers on your first aid signs.
Remote, mobile and lone workers need a plan of their own, because a ratio does not help where a first aider cannot practicably be with them. In those cases, the model code says that they need a reliable way to reach emergency services or a first aider, as well as training in what to do if someone is seriously hurt. This means a way to call Triple Zero (000) that works where they are, such as a satellite phone where there is no mobile coverage, and a first aid kit in the vehicle.
Higher-risk and remote sites may need more than standard first aid training. Both codes list cases for extra or advanced training, including remote work, hazardous substances such as cyanide, an on-site first aid room and staff with known medical conditions. Victoria's 2021 code dropped the old separate ratio for remote higher-risk sites and now focuses on training and kit contents.
What training do first aiders need, and how often?
The minimum is the same in both codes, which is a nationally recognised Statement of Attainment for Provide First Aid, currently HLTAID011, from a registered training organisation, or a course with equivalent skills. Both codes also say that CPR should be refreshed every year and first aid renewed every three years.
Although the Statement of Attainment does not expire and those cycles are recommendations, employers and industries often make them requirements. The guideline on CPR training from the Australian and New Zealand Committee on Resuscitation (ANZCOR) also notes that skills fade within weeks to months of a course.
It is a good idea to keep a register of certificate dates and to book refreshers before they fall due, so that a delayed session does not leave a shift uncovered. The annual CPR update is HLTAID009 Provide CPR. If your team trains with us, anyone who opts in to renewal reminders will hear from us before their renewal is due.
How do you get your team trained?
Once you have worked out the number, including cover for leave, those people need to be trained in HLTAID011 Provide First Aid, the unit both codes point to, by a registered training organisation.
If you are considering Scope Institute, our HLTAID011 Provide First Aid course consists of online theory followed by one practical session of about three hours, with the Statement of Attainment usually emailed within one business day. For groups, we run on-site training anywhere in metropolitan Melbourne. We bring the manikins, automated external defibrillator (AED) trainers and assessment materials, and we can schedule evenings and weekends to suit shift workers. Our post on how we run on-site group training explains how the day runs.
Every group quote also includes a free first aid risk assessment. To get started, please send your headcount per shift, sites and rosters through the workplace group training enquiry, and we will reply with availability and a quote.
Sources
- Model Code of Practice: First aid in the workplace (July 2019) – Safe Work Australia
- Compliance code: First aid in the workplace (November 2021) – WorkSafe Victoria
- Compliance code: First aid in the workplace – key changes – WorkSafe Victoria
- Guideline 10.1 – Basic Life Support (BLS) Training – ANZCOR
- HLTAID011 Provide First Aid – training.gov.au
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