Every entry below was checked against the instrument itself rather than against somebody's summary of it. Where an instrument does not mention first aid, that is stated plainly instead of being softened into an implied requirement.
Education and care services
Required, by regulation
Regulation 136 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations requires the approved provider of a centre based service to ensure that at least one staff member or one nominated supervisor holds a current approved first aid qualification, that at least one has undertaken current approved anaphylaxis management training, and that at least one has undertaken current approved emergency asthma management training.
The anaphylaxis and asthma training is taken to be current if it was completed within the previous three years.
Two details matter here and are frequently misread.
First, the word approved is doing real work. ACECQA is required to publish the lists of approved first aid qualifications and approved anaphylaxis and asthma training, and a qualification that is not on the relevant list does not satisfy the regulation, however good the course was. Check the current list rather than assuming a unit code qualifies.
Second, the requirement is expressed as at least one person in each of the three categories. One person can hold all three. That is the regulatory minimum, not a staffing plan, and it does not by itself answer whether your service has adequate coverage across a roster, across an excursion, or when that person is away.
Education and Care Services National Regulations, regulation 136, First aid qualifications, on AustLII. The approved lists are published by ACECQA at acecqa.gov.au. Checked 9 September 2026. The national law and regulations are applied by each state and territory, so confirm the version in force where you operate.
NDIS registered providers
Not specifically required, but not optional in practice
The NDIS Practice Standards do not contain a provision requiring workers to hold a first aid qualification. The obligation runs the other way around: a provider must satisfy itself that each worker is competent and appropriately trained for the work they actually do, which is a risk based judgement the provider has to make and be able to justify.
For providers delivering supported independent living, high intensity supports, or supports to participants with complex health needs, current first aid is treated in practice as an expected quality indicator rather than a nice extra. The distinction still matters, because it tells you what an auditor is actually looking for. They are not looking for a certificate on file as an end in itself. They are looking for a defensible link between the risks in a participant's plan and the competencies of the people rostered to them.
Screening and competency requirements attach to the role and its risk rather than to whether a person is paid, so volunteers in an NDIS setting sit in the same category as employees and contractors.
NDIS Practice Standards, published by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. The reading above is consistent with independent sector analysis published by Disability Services Consulting. Checked 9 September 2026. Marked as an interpretation of a standard rather than a quoted provision, because there is no first aid provision to quote.
Aged care
Not named in the Standards
The Aged Care Quality Standards require that the workforce is competent and that members of the workforce have the qualifications and knowledge to perform their roles effectively. First aid training is not mentioned in the Standards.
Guidance published by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission does note that specific training should be provided for people who hold a formal role in an emergency, such as fire wardens and first aiders, which is a different proposition from requiring every worker to be trained.
This surprises people, including some providers who have been told otherwise by training suppliers. The practical position is close to the NDIS one. Nothing names first aid, and a provider still has to be able to explain why its workforce is competent for the risks it manages, which for many services will lead to first aid training. The difference is that the reason is your own risk assessment, not a clause you can point at.
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, Aged Care Quality Standards and the Commission's guidance material for the human resources standard. Checked 9 September 2026.
Workplaces generally
Required, but not as a named certificate
If your organisation is a PCBU, work health and safety law requires you to provide first aid that is adequate for your workplace. It does not name a unit code and it does not name a course. The ratios and the training intervals that get quoted alongside it come from a Code of Practice, which is guidance.
This is covered in full on how many first aiders do we need, and whether it reaches you at all is settled on does WHS law apply.
Sporting clubs and affiliated organisations
Set by your association, not by legislation
There is no general Australian law requiring a sporting club to have a qualified first aider. Where a requirement exists, it almost always comes from the club's own affiliation with a state or national sporting organisation, from an insurer, or from a venue or competition condition.
These conditions are real and enforceable against you, they differ between sports and between states, and they change. This reference does not list them, because listing them accurately would mean checking every national and state sporting organisation in the country and keeping that list current, and a stale list would be worse than none. The reliable step is to ask your state association directly for the current requirement in writing, and to read your insurance policy conditions rather than the brochure.
What this edition does not cover
The following were considered and are deliberately absent, because the instruments were not opened and read for this edition. They are listed so that their absence is not read as a finding that no requirement exists.
- School staff requirements set by state and territory education departments, which differ by jurisdiction and by school sector
- Occupational licensing conditions, including security, aquatic and outdoor recreation licensing
- Mining, resources and maritime requirements, which are set by their own regulators
- Requirements attaching to specific Commonwealth or state funding programs
If you need one of these, go to the body that administers it. An entry will be added here only when the instrument itself has been read.
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Disclosure
Published by SKLD Training, which sells first aid and CPR training, on behalf of Allens Training Pty Ltd, RTO 90909. Two of the entries on this page tell aged care and NDIS providers that no standard requires the training we sell. Full disclosure.
Instruments on this page checked 9 September 2026. This is a description of public instruments, not legal advice.