How long does a First Aid certificate last?
It’s one of the questions I’m asked most: “Is my First Aid certificate still current?” The short answer is that CPR should be refreshed every 12 months and First Aid every 3 years. The longer answer depends on your job, and on what your employer or industry asks for.
The short answer
| Certificate | Unit code | Renew every |
|---|---|---|
| CPR | HLTAID009 | 12 months |
| First Aid (includes CPR) | HLTAID011 | 3 years (CPR every 12 months) |
| Childcare First Aid (includes CPR) | HLTAID012 | 3 years (CPR every 12 months) |
| Low Voltage Rescue (includes CPR) | UETDRMP018 | 12 months |
These are the timeframes used by almost every Australian employer, and they’re the ones we recommend to our students.
Why does my certificate not show an expiry date?
A First Aid certificate is a Statement of Attainment for a nationally recognised unit of competency. Technically, the unit itself doesn’t expire. What expires is your currency: whether your skills are recent enough for an employer, a regulator or an industry body to accept.
Those currency rules come from a few places:
- Workplace health and safety. Queensland’s First aid in the workplace Code of Practice says first aiders should do refresher CPR training every year and renew their First Aid qualification every three years.
- Industry regulators. For childcare educators, the 12-month and 3-year cycle is set in law. Regulation 136 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations says a First Aid qualification is only current if the CPR component was completed within the previous year, and the rest within the previous three years.
- Your employer. Some workplaces, such as hospitals, schools, gyms and swim schools, set their own rules, and some ask for CPR more often than once a year. Always check your workplace policy.
The yearly CPR rule is there for a good reason. CPR is a physical skill that fades quickly when it isn’t used. Studies of CPR skill retention consistently show compression depth and rate dropping off within months of training. A quick refresher every year keeps your technique where it needs to be.
How do I renew my First Aid certificate?
You renew by completing the same unit again. There is no shorter “refresher unit”. When you redo HLTAID011, you are issued a brand new Statement of Attainment dated the day you complete it, and your 3-year cycle starts again.
A typical cycle for a workplace first aider looks like this:
- Year 1: First Aid course (HLTAID011), which includes CPR
- Year 2: CPR refresher (HLTAID009), about 1.5 hours
- Year 3: CPR refresher (HLTAID009)
- Year 4: First Aid course (HLTAID011) again, and the cycle repeats
At First Aid Today we send you a text and email reminder before your CPR is due, so you don’t have to keep track of the dates yourself.
My certificate has expired. Do I need the full course again?
Yes. If your First Aid is more than 3 years old, you’ll need to complete HLTAID011 again. There is no “grace period” in the national training system. The good news is that the course is the same whether it’s your first time or your fifth, and if you’ve done it before you’ll find it much easier.
If only your CPR has lapsed but your First Aid is still within its 3 years, the CPR course is all you need.
What about older unit codes?
The First Aid units were updated in 2020. If your certificate shows an older code, here’s how it maps to the current one:
| Old code | Current code | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| HLTAID001 | HLTAID009 | Provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation |
| HLTAID002 | HLTAID010 | Provide basic emergency life support |
| HLTAID003 | HLTAID011 | Provide First Aid |
| HLTAID004 | HLTAID012 | Provide First Aid in an education and care setting |
Any certificate with an old code will be well past its 3-year currency by now, so if that’s what you’re holding, it’s time to book a new course.
How can I prove my certificate is current?
Your Statement of Attainment shows the date you completed the unit, and the name and RTO number of the training provider. Every nationally recognised result is also recorded against your Unique Student Identifier (USI), and you can download a full transcript from the USI website at any time. That’s handy if you’ve lost your certificate or need to show an employer your full training history.
Need to renew?
We run First Aid and CPR courses every week at our training centres in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast. The CPR refresher is $49 and takes about 1.5 hours, and the full First Aid course is $99. If you work in childcare, book our ACECQA approved Childcare First Aid course instead. Your certificate is emailed to you the same day.