Occupational Health & Safety

Does your business meet Australian OH&S guidelines?

Below is a summary of the OH&S guidelines for First Aid Kits across
Australia.

• Employers must provide First Aid facilities that are adequate for the immediate treatment of injuries that arise at the place of work.
• Employers must ensure first aid facilities include a First Aid kit appropriate for the number of employees on each site and work environment.
• Employers should ensure that First Aid kits are maintained in proper condition and the contents are replenished as necessary.
• First Aid kits should have regular checks to ensure the contents are as listed and have not deteriorated or expired.
• First aid kits should have a white cross on a green background with the words 'First Aid' prominently displayed on the outside.
• First Aid kits should be located at points convenient to the work force and where there is a risk of injury occurring.
• At least one First Aid kit should be provided on each floor of a multi-level workplace.
• Each work vehicle should be provided with a vehicle First Aid kit.

Need more information on current Australian First Aid and/or OH&S related legislation?

Australian states and territories set and govern their respective First Aid Lesgislations and Regulations. Comparatively First Aid safety rules and regulations are somewhat more ambiguous than most.

The links below will hopefully provide information to a good starting point when researching Australian First Aid in your workplace.

Please note that Alsco Holdings Pty Ltd is not tied or connected to any of the agencies and organisations listed below.

New South Wales

• Occupational Health & Safety Act 2000
• Occupational Health & Safety Regulation 2001
• Your Guide to Workplace Health and Safety (WorkCover NSW)
• Required Kit Contents

Australian Capital Territory

• Occupational Health & Safety Act 1989
• Occupational Health & Safety Regulation (General) 2007
• First Aid In The Workplace Code Of Practice

Victoria

• Occupational Health & Safety Act 2004
• The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2007

Queensland

• Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
• Workplace Health and Safety Regulation 1997
• First Aid Code of Practice 2004

South Australia

• Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare Act 1986
• Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations 1995
• SA Code Of Practice For Occupational, Health and Safety

Western Australia

• Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984
• Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996
• Code Of Practice: First Aid Facilities and Services

Tasmania

• Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
• Workplace Health and Safety Regulations 1998

Northern Territory

• Work Health (Occupational Health and Safety) Regulations

OH&S regulations can be strictly enforced and vary from state to state, as the table below demonstrates. A fully managed First Aid service from Alsco takes the headaches out of ensuring OH&S compliance, leaving you free to concentrate on your core business.

State Regulations
	Kit A	Kit B	Kit C
NSW	25-100 staff	1-25 staff	1-10 staff
VIC	Medium - Large workplace	Small - Medium workplace	Small workplace
QLD	30 - 100 employees	1 - 30 employees	1 - 10 staff
SA	30 - 100 employees	1 - 30 employees	1 - 10 staff
WA / TAS / NT / ACT	25 - 100 employees	1 - 25 employees	1 - 10 staff

N.S.W. Specific OH&S Guidelines

First Aid Kit A

Construction sites at which 25 or more persons work or other places of work at which 100 or more persons work.
» View Alsco First Aid Kit A

First Aid Kit B
Construction sites at which fewer than 25 persons work or other places of work at which fewer than 100 and more than 10 persons work.
» View Alsco First Aid Kit B

First Aid  Kit C
Places of work (other than construction sites) at which 10 or fewer persons work.
» View Alsco First Aid Kit C

(5)  In subclause (4), First Aid Kit A, First Aid Kit B and First Aid Kit C mean a First Aid Kit containing the following items in the quantity (if any)  specified in columns A, B and C, respectively:

		A	B	C
Adhesive plastic dressing strips, sterile, packets of 50		2	1	1
Adhesive dressing tape, 2.5cm 5cm		1	1	-
Bags, plastic, for amputated parts:	Small Medium Large	2 2 2	1 1 1	1 1 -
Dressings, non-adherent, sterile 7.5cm 7.5cm		5	2	-
Eye Pads, sterile		5	2	-
Gauze Bandages: 5cm		3	1	1
Gauze Bandages: 10cm		3	1	-
Gloves, disposable, single		10	4	2
Rescue blanket, silver space		1	1	-
Safety pins, packets		1	1	1
Scissors, blunt/short nosed, minimum length 12.5cm		1	1	-
Splinter forceps		1	1	-
Sterile eyewash solution, 10ml single use ampoules of sachets		12	6	-
Swabs, prepacked, antiseptic, packs of 10		1	1	-
Triangular bandages, minimum 90cm		8	4	1
Wound dressings, sterile, non-medicated, large		10	3	1
First-aid pamphlet as approved by WorkCover		1	1	1

All the information on this webpage aims to be as accurate as we can reasonably be. The information and advice is general and not necessarily applicable to your specific business or workplace. You should make sure you do your own research on how applicable and relevant the information or advice is to your particular situation. Please keep in mind the information on this page is focusing on First Aid, there are many more elements to Occupational Health and Safety Acts/Regulations. You should ensure a risk assessment is conducted by OH&S committee to ensure your individual workplace requirements are covered at all time.