As a business owner, one of your primary duties is to make sure that employees and visitors are not exposed to health and safety risks. Here is a brief explanation of your responsibilities when it comes to first aid, as prescribed by the SafeWork NSW Code of Practice First Aid in the Workplace.
According to the Code of Practice, as the person responsible for a business, you must provide first aid equipment that all staff can access. This may mean providing multiple first aid kits, especially if your workers are spread out over a number of floors. You must also have an adequate number of trained first aid providers that employees can access.
As a business owner, you can provide first aid in the workplace in a couple of ways. Firstly by training one or more of your workers to provide first aid. Alternatively you can arrange for a person who does not work for you to administer first aid, provided they are qualified to do so. This person may be in the same premises as your building or someone else close by, so long as they are available when your workers are on shift.
When it comes to nominating first aiders, SafeWork NSW recommends the following ratio:
- Low risk workplaces – one first aider for every 50 workers
- High risk workplaces – two first aiders for every 25 workers
High risk workplaces that do not have timely access to medical and ambulance services should have at least one first aider for every 10 workers. When considering the size of your workforce, you should include contractors, subcontractors, and volunteers. For the purposes of deciding who requires access to first aid, you should consider the maximum number of workers that you may engage at any one time.
The people providing first aid at your business should hold nationally recognised Statement/s of Attainment issued by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) for the nationally endorsed first aid unit/s of competency and should attend training on a regular basis to refresh their knowledge and skills. First aiders may also need to undertake additional training to respond to specific situations at their workplace or if an employee has a known allergy that requires a specific response.
Reduce the impact of accidents and incidents at your workplace by complying with the national first aid code of practice and ensuring you have qualified first aiders on call when your business is in operation.
Edway offers first aid and CPR training on or off-site to businesses around Australia.
Our courses are approved by the Australian Skills and Quality Authority.
In NSW, first aid and CPR training courses are offered in Sydney, Parramatta and Liverpool. Check NSW training schedule.
In Victoria, first aid and CPR training courses are offered in Melbourne. Check VIC training schedule.
For onsite training, please submit online enquiry form or call 1300 663 350.
