CPR, first aid or childcare first aid — which course do you need?
Four unit codes cover most of what people are sent to do, and they are not interchangeable. Picking the wrong one usually means paying twice.
HLTAID009 Provide CPR
Resuscitation only. You learn to recognise an unresponsive casualty who is not breathing normally, perform compressions and rescue breaths, and use a defibrillator. It is the shortest of the courses and the one that needs renewing most often — every year.
Choose it if your employer has asked specifically for CPR, or if you hold a current first aid certificate and only need the resuscitation component brought back into currency.
HLTAID011 Provide First Aid
The general workplace certificate, and the one most people mean when they say “first aid”. It includes CPR — you do not need to book HLTAID009 as well. On top of resuscitation it covers bleeding, burns, fractures, choking, allergic reactions, asthma, seizures, head and spinal injuries, shock and envenomation.
Choose it if you are a workplace first aider, a volunteer, a coach, a security officer, or you simply want the broad certificate.
HLTAID012 Provide First Aid in an Education and Care Setting
The childcare and schools version. It includes everything in HLTAID011, plus content specific to infants and children and to the environments they are cared for in — and it is the unit that education and care services are generally asked for.
Choose it if you work in long day care, family day care, outside school hours care, preschool or a school. If you are unsure, ask your service which unit their compliance register is built on before booking.
HLTWHS005 Conduct Manual Tasks Safely
Not a first aid unit at all. It covers safe manual handling — assessing a task, using equipment, and reducing the risk of musculoskeletal injury. It often appears alongside first aid in aged care, disability and NDIS onboarding lists.
CHCPRT025 Identify and Report Children and Young People at Risk
Child protection, delivered online and self-paced. Also not first aid, and also commonly bundled into the same onboarding requirement for anyone working with children.
The quick test
- Work with children in an education or care setting → HLTAID012
- General workplace first aider → HLTAID011
- Already hold current first aid, CPR has lapsed → HLTAID009
- Asked for “first aid and manual handling” → HLTAID011 + HLTWHS005
Do not stack what is already included
The most common booking mistake is paying for HLTAID009 alongside HLTAID011 or HLTAID012. CPR is already inside both. If someone has told you that you need “first aid and CPR”, one course covers it.
Still not sure?
Tell us what your employer or service has asked for and we will tell you which unit it maps to. Best First Aid Training delivers nationally recognised training at our Parramatta, Penrith, Blacktown and Liverpool branches. See all courses or get in touch.
