Workplace First Aid Requirements in Victoria: What Dandenong Employers Need to Know

Victoria is one of the two states that never joined the national WHS harmonisation, so if you've read about "WHS Regulation" first aid duties, be aware the Victorian rules live somewhere else: the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, backed by WorkSafe Victoria's Compliance Code: First aid in the workplace. The destination is the same — workers must be able to get first aid quickly — but the paperwork and the terminology are Victorian.

What the OHS Act asks of you

Section 21 puts a broad duty on employers to provide adequate facilities for employee welfare, and WorkSafe treats first aid as part of that duty. Follow the Compliance Code and you're deemed to comply; ignore it and you'll need to demonstrate your alternative was at least as good — a hard conversation to have after an incident.

How many first aiders does a Dandenong business need?

The Compliance Code's baseline for low-risk workplaces (offices, shops, cafes) is one trained first aider for every 10–50 employees. For higher-risk workplaces — and Dandenong's manufacturing, warehousing, food processing and transport sectors sit squarely here — it's one first aider for every 25 employees, with first aid reachable within a couple of minutes of high-risk work areas.

Two practical points the Code makes that businesses often miss:

• Cover every shift. A qualified first aider on day shift doesn't help the crew packing orders at 9pm. Rosters, leave and turnover mean most sites should train more people than the minimum ratio suggests.
• Reassess when things change. New machinery, more staff, a second unit — the Code expects the first aid assessment to be revisited, not filed away.

What training counts in Victoria?

WorkSafe expects first aiders to hold a nationally recognised qualification — in practice HLTAID011 Provide First Aid, delivered by a registered training organisation, kept current with renewal every 3 years and an annual CPR refresher. In-house or informal training doesn't satisfy the Code.

Kits and equipment

The Code details kit contents by workplace type and size — and requires kits to be checked and restocked, signed, and accessible. Higher-risk sites should also consider a first aid room once headcount is significant, and many Victorian industrial sites now add a defibrillator (AED) given how cheap they've become relative to the stakes.

Getting your team qualified in Dandenong

We run HLTAID011 Provide First Aid ($95) every morning and afternoon at our Walker Street training centre — a short online module first, then a 3-hour practical session with the certificate issued the same day. Booking a group across different shifts? Call 1300 628 299 and we'll spread your team across dates so the site is never uncovered.