First aid requirements calculator

Work out how many trained first aiders, first aid kits and rooms your workplace needs from its size, risk level and location, under the first aid code for your state.

Figures checked 5 November 2026. Free to use, no sign-in.

Victoria and Western Australia have their own Acts; the tool switches to them.

Include contractors and labour hire workers on site at the same time.

Risk level

Low risk: offices, shops, libraries. High risk: hazardous machinery or substances, work at height, confined spaces, heat, or violence.

Isolated from help because of location, time or the nature of the work.

Recommended first aid

Trained first aiders

3

High risk: 1 first aider for every 25 workers.

First aid room
Not needed
Workers
60

Also plan for

  • A first aid room is recommended for a high risk workplace with 100 or more workers.
  • First aiders hold a current first aid certificate, renewed every 3 years, with CPR refreshed every year.
  • Kits are easy to find, marked with a white cross on green, and stocked for your hazards.
  • Workers know who the first aiders are and how to call for help, including after hours.
  • These numbers come from a code of practice. The legal duty is to provide first aid that is adequate for your hazards, size and location, so your own assessment may call for more.
  • First aider numbers are rounded up.
  • Provide at least one first aid kit, on every second floor of a multi-storey building, with contents suited to your hazards. Check it after each use, or at least every 12 months.

General information, not legal or first aid advice. Source: Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: First aid in the workplace (2019).

How this works

All jurisdictions except Victoria: r 42 of the WHS Regulations requires adequate first aid. The numbers come from Safe Work Australia’s model Code of Practice, First aid in the workplace, which Western Australia’s code matches: first aiders at 1 per 50 (low risk), 1 per 25 (high risk) or 1 per 10 (remote high risk), rounded up.

Victoria: WorkSafe Victoria’s compliance code, First aid in the workplace (2021), sets first aid officers and kits in bands by risk level, with first aid rooms above 200 (low risk) or 100 (higher risk) employees. The code also allows a risk-assessment approach instead of the prescribed numbers.

Not included: first aid kit contents, defibrillators, and industry rules such as mining or diving.

Legal basis

Checked against these sources on 5 November 2026. Spotted a figure that looks wrong? Tell us.

Questions

How many first aiders does a workplace need?

Under the model Code of Practice (and WA’s code): 1 for every 50 workers in a low risk workplace, 1 for every 25 in a high risk workplace, and 1 for every 10 in a remote high risk workplace. Victoria’s compliance code uses bands: for a low risk workplace, 1 first aid officer for 10–50 employees and 2 for 51–100.

When is a first aid room needed?

The model Code recommends one for low risk workplaces with 200 or more workers and high risk workplaces with 100 or more. Victoria’s code says more than 200 and more than 100 employees respectively.

What is a low risk workplace?

One where workers are unlikely to be exposed to hazards that could cause serious injury or illness, such as offices, shops and libraries. Workplaces with hazardous machinery or chemicals, work at height, confined spaces or exposure to violence are high risk. Victoria also treats isolated or remote workplaces as higher risk.

Does a very small business need a first aider?

The model Code’s ratios suggest at least one trained first aider wherever people work. In Victoria, a low risk workplace with fewer than 10 employees needs only a basic first aid kit under the prescribed approach, but must still make sure first aid is adequate.

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Questions the calculator can’t answer?

Workfloor answers pay, award, leave and termination questions for your team, with the Fair Work Act section or award clause behind each answer.

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