First Aid Manual

Version 7.4 – June 2024
ISBN: 978-0-646-83001-8
© 2026 Australia Wide First Aid. All rights reserved.

Emergency Contact Numbers

In Australia, the national emergency number is 000.

112 can be used, on a mobile phone only, to call Emergency Services, anywhere in the world where there is mobile phone service coverage.

Ask for the service you require: Ambulance… Fire… Police…

Then, try to stay calm and answer the operator’s questions as best you can.

You will be asked the location/address of the incident, the number of casualties, and the nature of the emergency.

Other useful Numbers:

• Poisons Information Centre 13 11 26
• Diver Emergency Network 1800 088 200
• Asthma Australia 1800 645 130
• National Asthma Council Australia 03 9929 4333
• Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia 1300 728 000
• Diabetes Australia 1300 136 588
• Stroke Foundation 03 9670 1000
• Heart Foundation 1300 724 475
• Epilepsy Action Australia 1300 374 537
• Life Line 13 11 14
• Beyond Blue 1300 224 636

Australian Resuscitation Council (Arc)

The Australian Resuscitation Council, otherwise known as the ARC, is the coordinating body that provides guidelines on resuscitation techniques and terminology for all major groups involved in the teaching and practice of resuscitation and first aid. They are a member of the Australian and New Zealand Committee on Resuscitation (ANZCOR), which is a member of the worldwide International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR).

A first aider must always provide first aid in accordance with the current Australian Resuscitation Council guidelines. For more information on the ARC please visit: https://resus.org.au

The ARC recommends that individuals refresh their skills in CPR every 12 months and every 3 years for First Aid and Emergency First Aid.

Additional Training For First Aiders

As per the Model First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice the following excerpt notes the additional training requirement for qualified first aiders:

First aiders should attend training on a regular basis to refresh their first aid knowledge and skills and to confirm their competence to provide first aid. Refresher training in CPR should be undertaken annually and first aid qualifications should be renewed every three years.

Where workers or others at the workplace have known existing medical conditions, first aiders should be trained to respond to these conditions if the topic has not been covered in previous first aid training.

Principles Of First Aid

First aid is an important part of everyday life at home, work, or at play. Everyone should learn first aid and be willing to administer basic care until emergency assistance arrives. Not every incident requiring first aid is a life-and-death situation. First aid knowledge is commonly used to manage minor injuries at home or work.

First aid is the immediate care of an injured or suddenly sick person. It is the care that a person applies as soon as possible after an accident or sudden illness. This prompt care and attention prior to the arrival of the ambulance can sometimes mean the difference between life and death or between a full or partial recovery. The five principles of first aid are to:

• Preserve life – This includes the life of the casualty, bystander, and rescuer.
• Protect the casualty from further harm – Ensure the scene is safe.
• Provide pain relief – This could include the use of ice packs or simply applying a sling.
• Prevent the injury or illness from becoming worse – Ensure the treatment you provide does not make the condition worse.
• Provide reassurance – Stay with the casualty, providing emotional reassurance.

It is important to understand that first aid has its limitations and does not take the place of professional medical treatment.

Taking immediate action is the essential principle in first aid. Bystanders or relatives may not recognise the basic symptoms of an injury or illness and may wait hours before calling for help. Often people are worried about “doing the wrong thing” therefore don’t attempt first aid at all.

A casualty who is not breathing effectively or is bleeding heavily, requires immediate assistance. Prompt effective first aid provides the casualty with the best opportunity possible of recovery.

Each emergency is different, so it is impossible to provide you with a precise list of things you need to do for every emergency. It is important that prompt action does not lead to panic and the first aider should form a plan of action. Careful and deliberate action undertaken without too much delay is most beneficial to the casualty. If a casualty is stressed or panicking, try to remain calm and think your actions through. A calm and controlled first aider will give everyone confidence the event is being handled efficiently and effectively.

Legal Considerations Of First Aid

It is important to understand that providing first aid to a person can lead to potential legal consequences; therefore, an individual performing first aid needs to be aware of the following:

• Duty of care
• Negligence
• Consent
• Privacy & confidentiality
• Own skills and limitations

Duty Of Care

Duty of care is your obligation as an individual to ensure the safety or well-being of others and yourself. As a first aider, if you’ve commenced treatment for an individual then you have a duty of care to provide a standard of reasonable care for first aid treatment. A duty of care arises as you have the relevant skills and knowledge to provide first aid during an emergency situation. A breach in duty of care occurs when the individual providing treatment fails to act in accordance with their first aid training.

The common law does not impose an automatic duty on first aiders to go to the aid of every casualty they come across. However, first aiders do have a duty to provide first aid assistance if they have voluntarily taken on that role. For example, a nominated first aid officer in a workplace owes a duty of care to assist another person in that workplace.

Legislation can also impose a duty of care. For instance, legislation in some States advises staff working within a child care centre that they must provide medical aid to a child who becomes ill or is injured. In the Northern Territory, the Criminal Code makes it a criminal offence, for a person who has the ability to provide first aid to ‘callously fail’ in providing a person urgently in need and whose life may be endangered. The penalty is up to 7 years imprisonment.

Once you start first aid treatment of a casualty, you do take on a duty of care to provide first aid with a reasonable standard and ensure your actions do not cause further harm or injury to the casualty. You should continue to provide first aid once this treatment has begun, until:

• The scene becomes unsafe
• Another trained first aider arrives and takes over
• Qualified help arrives and takes over
• The casualty shows signs of recovery
• You become physically unable to continue

Various Australian States and Territories (excluding Queensland and Tasmania) exclude from liability a person where, in an emergency, they help a person who is or risks being, injured. Such protection from civil liability for an act or omission exists as long as:

• The person rendering assistance does so in good faith (that is, acting honestly, without fraud, collusion, or participation in any wrongdoing)
• The person’s action was without expectation of reward or payment
• The person was not responsible for the injury in relation to which the assistance was provided
• The person’s capacity to exercise reasonable care and skill was not significantly impaired by being under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• The person exercises reasonable care and skill
• The person does not impersonate a healthcare or emergency services worker or a police officer or otherwise falsely represents that he or she has skills or expertise in connection with the rendering of emergency assistance

Negligence

In the unlikely event legal action is taken against a first aider in relation to providing first aid treatment, the courts would identify the circumstances surrounding the incident to determine whether the first aider acted negligently in the treatment of first aid. The following factors must all be present for a first aider to be found negligent:

• A duty of care existed between the first aider and the casualty.
• The first aider did not provide a standard of reasonable care and skill in providing first aid.
• The first aider breached the relevant standard of care.
• The casualty suffered harm or injury as a result of an act or omission of the first aider.

A first aider is not considered a medical professional; as a result, a court would need to identify their level of first aid training and assess the standard of care a reasonable person would provide under the same emergency situation. It is in the public’s interest to encourage people to provide assistance to others, therefore the Australian courts would view a first aider as liable; if the evidence provided demonstrated that the behaviour of the first aider was excessively negligent during the emergency situation.

For example: A first aider gives cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to a casualty in cardiac arrest. During this CPR a rib is broken. The resuscitation is successful and after the event, the casualty decides to sue for the rib injury.

The court would look at the facts and may decide that:

• It is reasonable to expect a first aider might break a casualty’s rib while delivering CPR to save the casualty’s life
• The first aider acted with reasonable care and skill
• The first aider was not negligent in providing CPR in this way
• The outcome for the casualty of not performing CPR could have been far worse than suffering a broken rib

Consent

Prior to commencing first aid on an individual, you will need to obtain permission or agreement to provide treatment, wherever possible. This safeguards the rights of the individual of any unwanted personal contact or treatment. If a competent adult does not consent to you providing them first aid treatment, you must respect their decision and not proceed with any treatment. However, if the individual is unconscious or not breathing, the legal requirement to obtain consent before assistance or treatment is waived under Common Law and Statute law in several circumstances.

Adults are assumed to be competent unless they have impaired decision-making capacity. Children are regarded as having impaired-decision making capacity until the age of 18. However, most states permit younger persons to make decisions if they are able to understand the issues involved.

In the case of infants and other children who are not capable of understanding the issues, refusal to receive treatment can be difficult to interpret. In general, it is the parent/guardian who should decide whether the advantages outweigh the burden of any distress caused by treatment.

In the absence of a parent/guardian rescuers should regard children as having impaired-decision making capacity.

Parents who have children attending education or care, have usually signed consent as part of their child’s enrolment for first aid to be provided by the facility in the event of an emergency while they are responsible for the child.

Although treatment normally requires consent, an injured or ill person should not be deprived of treatment merely because they lack decision-making capacity. The key legal factors which determine whether treatment can be given without consent are: whether the victim has or has not decision-making capacity; whether an advance care directive exists; the degree of urgency of the situation and whether a substitute decision-maker is present, willing, and able to consent.

If the victim is unable to give consent and no substitute decision maker is present, the legal requirement to obtain consent before assistance or treatment is waived under Common Law and Statute law in several circumstances.

ANZCOR recommends that rescuers seek the consent of a victim before giving treatment. If the victim is incapable of consenting, a rescuer may give urgent treatment to preserve life and health without consent unless an advance care directive prohibits such treatment. If the victim is incapable of consenting and the treatment proposed is not urgent, the consent of a person responsible, if present and willing to give consent, should be sought.

Privacy & Confidentiality

Privacy and confidentiality in providing first aid refers to ensuring information about the casualty is protected from others third parties. The First Aider has a legal responsibility in safeguarding information about the condition of the casualty and incident details to protect the privacy of the casualty.

Examples in breaches of privacy and confidentiality include:

• Using your mobile phone to take pictures
• Disclosing the casualty’s personal details to others
• Discussing with others the incident details

Information about the incident or the condition of the casualty must only be provided to Emergency Services personnel and/or the workplace supervisor, if appropriate.

Own Skills And Limitations

It is vital that a first aider knows and understands the level of first aid training undertaken and to keep their skills up-to-date. At no time can a first aider go beyond their level of training. Be aware of your own skill level and its limitations. DO NOT attempt any process or procedure for which you are not trained in.