There is no single legally mandated list. The NSW First aid in the workplace Code of Practice gives an example of kit contents, and your actual kit should come from your own risk assessment — a kitchen, a construction site and an office do not face the same injuries.
That said, the example list below is what regulators expect a general workplace kit to look like, and it is a sound starting point for a home or vehicle kit too.
Example workplace first aid kit contents
- First aid instructions, including a CPR flow chart — 1
- Notebook and pen — 1
- Resuscitation face mask or face shield — 1
- Disposable nitrile gloves, latex-free — 5 pairs
- Sterile gauze pieces, 7.5 × 7.5 cm, 3 per pack — 5 packs
- Saline, 15 ml — 8
- Single-use wound cleaning wipes — 10
- Adhesive dressing strips, packet of 50 — 1
- Single-use splinter probes — 10
- Tweezers or forceps — 1
- Antiseptic liquid or spray, 50 ml — 1
- Non-adherent wound dressings, 5 × 5 cm — 6
- Non-adherent wound dressings, 7.5 × 10 cm — 3
- Non-adherent wound dressing, 10 × 10 cm — 1
- Conforming cotton bandage, 5 cm — 3
- Conforming cotton bandage, 7.5 cm — 3
- Crepe bandage, 10 cm — 1
- Scissors — 1
- Hypoallergenic adhesive tape, 2.5 cm roll — 1
- Safety pins, packet of 6 — 1
- Wound dressing No. 14, medium — 1
- Wound dressing No. 15, large — 1
- Combine pad dressing, 9 × 20 cm — 1
- Clip-seal plastic bags — 1
- Triangular bandages, at least 90 cm — 2
- Emergency rescue blanket — 1
- Single-use eye pads — 4
- Access to clean running water for 20 minutes, or hydrogel sachets — 5 sachets
- Instant ice pack — 1
The three items people forget
- The CPR flow chart. It is on the list for a reason — under pressure, nobody remembers a sequence as well as they think they will.
- A resuscitation mask or face shield. Without one, rescue breaths on a stranger become a decision rather than a reflex.
- Twenty minutes of running water. Not an item in the box, but a requirement — and the single most important thing for a burn. If there is no tap within reach of where burns are likely on your site, hydrogel is the fallback. See burns first aid.
What your risk assessment might add
The example list is a baseline, not a ceiling. Depending on your work, consider:
- Two full-length bandages if there is any snake risk — pressure immobilisation needs far more bandage than a standard kit carries. See snake bite first aid.
- An eye wash station or sterile eye wash where there are chemicals, dust or grinding
- A burn module for kitchens, hot works and food service
- A defibrillator — not kit contents, but the single highest-value piece of equipment a workplace can hold. See how to use a defibrillator.
What should not be in a general kit is medication — including paracetamol and antihistamines — unless your risk assessment and your own policy specifically provide for it.
Where kits go, and how they are kept
- Prominent and accessible, close to the areas with the highest risk of injury
- At least one kit on every second floor in a multistorey workplace
- Portable kits in vehicles for mobile workers, secured so they cannot fly around in a collision
- A white cross on a green background displayed on the outside of each kit, with first aid signage to help people find it
Who maintains it, and how often
A nominated person — usually a first aider — should look after each kit: replacing used items as soon as practicable, and checking that everything is in working order, within its expiry date, and still sealed where it needs to be sterile.
Check after every use, and at least once every 12 months if the kit has not been opened. Sign and date the inventory list each time. An unsigned kit is indistinguishable from an unchecked one in an incident investigation.
A stocked kit is not a first aid plan. The Code expects a workplace to work out how many first aiders it needs, where they are, and how people reach them — the box in the cupboard is the last step, not the first.
Kits, equipment and training
Best First Aid Training supplies first aid kits, AEDs and safety equipment, and delivers HLTAID011 first aid including CPR and group training for workplaces at Parramatta, Penrith, Blacktown and Liverpool.
Source: SafeWork NSW, First aid in the workplace — Code of Practice, Appendix E. Contents are an example only; your kit should reflect your own risk assessment, and requirements differ between states and territories.
