First Aid Training Matrix: How to Build One That Holds Up
A first aid training matrix is a single table that shows who in your workplace holds which first aid qualification, when it expires and where the gaps are. It only works if you build it from a first aid training needs analysis, not the other way round. This guide walks through both, in order, using Safe Work Australia’s guidance and the nationally recognised HLTAID units your auditor will expect to see.
TL;DR
A training needs analysis decides what training your workplace requires. The matrix records and tracks it: people, units, dates and gaps.
Base first aider numbers on risk and location. Safe Work Australia’s Model Code suggests 1 per 50 workers for low-risk, 1 per 25 for high-risk and 1 per 10 for remote high-risk workplaces.
Record the nationally recognised statement of attainment for each person, with CPR renewed every year and first aid every three years.
Cover every shift, roster and site, including nights, overtime and work away from the main workplace.
Review the matrix regularly and whenever your work, people or sites change.
Table of Contents
Needs analysis first, matrix second
The two terms get used as if they were the same document. They are not.
A training needs analysis identifies and assesses training requirements, existing skill levels and any gap between them. That is how the University of Wollongong’s WHS training guidelines describe it. The matrix is the working record that comes out of that analysis. It lists roles or people against required training, shows what each person currently holds, and flags what is missing or due.
Build the matrix before the analysis and you end up with a neat grid of the wrong things: courses people happened to do, rather than courses your hazards demand. If you want a broader view of why the analysis has to lead, this piece on choosing training tools for your business covers the thinking. We also have our own practical guide to first aid training needs.
Needs analysis | Training matrix | |
Question it answers | What first aid capability do we need? | Who has it, and what is missing? |
When you do it | Before the matrix, then at each review | Continuously, as people and dates change |
Main inputs | Hazards, headcount, locations, shifts, consultation | Certificates, expiry dates, rosters |
Output | Required units and first aider numbers | A live record with gaps, due dates and budget |
Step 1: Run the needs analysis through a first aid risk assessment
In Australia the needs analysis is, in practice, your first aid risk assessment. Safe Work Australia says to consider workplace hazards, size, location, and the number and types of people present. It also says to consult workers and review the assessment regularly.
The Model Code of Practice: First aid in the workplace sets out the risk process:
Identify the hazards.
Assess the type, severity and likelihood of injury or illness.
Provide appropriate equipment, facilities and training.
Review requirements regularly or when circumstances change.
Write down what you find in plain terms. For a Pilbara contractor, that might be heavy vehicles, hot work, heat illness, working at heights, confined spaces and a two-hour drive to the nearest hospital. For an office, it might be falls, cuts, sudden illness and a handful of visitors each day.
We have laid out a four-step first aid risk assessment if you want a worked process to follow.
Questions to ask your team
Consultation is part of the analysis, not an optional extra. Ask supervisors and workers:
Which injuries and near misses have actually happened here?
Where are people working alone or out of radio or phone range?
Which crews start early, finish late or work night shift?
Who already holds a current first aid certificate, and have they said they are willing to act as a first aider?
Do any tasks need more than standard first aid, such as oxygen therapy or care in an isolated site?
Step 2: Set how many first aiders you need
The Model Code recommends one first aider per 50 workers in low-risk workplaces, one per 25 in high-risk workplaces and one per 10 in remote high-risk workplaces, as set out in the Model Code. Safe Work Australia’s first aid guidance adds that access to a first aider must be available at all times, including night shifts, overtime and work outside the usual workplace.
That last point is where most matrices fail. A headcount ratio is a starting point. Coverage is measured by who is on site at 2 am on a Sunday, not who is on the payroll.
A worked example
Take a hypothetical remote construction crew of 60 people on a rotating roster, with two crews on site at any one time.
Ratio check: at 1 per 10 for a remote high-risk site, 30 people on site at once needs at least 3 first aiders on every shift.
Roster check: with a 20% allowance for leave, sickness and people who cannot be released, you would want more qualified people than the minimum, spread evenly across both crews.
Role check: supervisors or leading hands are often good candidates, because they are always near the crew.
The 20% allowance is our planning rule of thumb for this example, not a figure from the Code. Your own risk assessment sets the real number. Our guide to how many first aiders you need at work goes through the 1:25 and 1:10 cases in more detail.
Step 3: Decide which units belong in the matrix
The Model Code points to nationally recognised statements of attainment from a registered training organisation (RTO) for Provide First Aid or equivalent skills. It adds any higher-level or additional training your risks require.
In practice, the columns of your matrix are usually drawn from these units:
Unit | What it covers | Where it fits | Our price |
CPR | Everyone who needs a yearly CPR refresh, and a base layer for all roles | $150 | |
Core workplace first aid | Designated first aiders in most workplaces | $240 | |
First aid for education and care | Childcare and education staff | $250 | |
First aid where help is far away | Mine, construction and other remote sites | $400 | |
Higher-level first aid | Higher-risk sites and nominated senior responders | $400 | |
Advanced resuscitation and oxygen | Sites where oxygen therapy is part of the response plan | $400 |
Queensland Government guidance on selecting and training first aid officers lists Provide First Aid and Provide Advanced First Aid as course examples. It also prefers asthma and anaphylaxis management training where possible. It includes options for remote situations and for education and care settings too, which is a useful reminder that one workplace can need several different units.
One more unit is worth knowing about if you coordinate first aid for a large site. HLTAID008 Manage first aid services and resources covers determining workplace first aid requirements, maintaining facilities and personnel, keeping records and reviewing provision after incidents. That is close to a job description for whoever owns your matrix.
If you are mapping units to roles, our three-check guide to aligning training with HLTAID units is a quick cross-reference.
Beyond first aid
Many high-risk sites track related competencies in the same grid, so one document answers one audit question. Common additions include fit testing for respirators and hearing protection, working at heights, confined spaces and gas testing, first attack firefighting and low voltage panel rescue. We deliver these too, and you can see the full list on our courses page.
Step 4: Build the matrix
A spreadsheet is enough. What matters is the columns. A practical layout looks like this (names and dates are illustrative):
Name | Role | Crew / site | Shift | Required unit | Held unit | CPR (HLTAID009) due | First aid due | Status |
Worker A | Leading hand | Crew 1, Site North | Day | HLTAID013 | HLTAID013 | Month 11 | Year 3 | Current |
Worker B | Supervisor | Crew 2, Site North | Night | HLTAID013 | HLTAID011 | Month 4 | Year 2 | Upgrade needed |
Worker C | Site admin | Office | Day | HLTAID011 | None | n/a | n/a | Book course |
Add these fields as well:
Certificate number or a link to the statement of attainment, so you can find evidence in seconds.
Training provider (the RTO) named on the certificate.
Date completed and the date each renewal falls due.
Booked course date, so a gap shows as being closed, not just open.
Cost line, so the matrix doubles as a training budget.
A good matrix also has a coverage view: a second tab counting current first aiders per shift, per site and per crew against the number your risk assessment requires. Colour the cell red when it drops below the target.
Step 5: Track renewals and refreshers
The Model Code advises refreshing CPR annually and renewing first aid qualifications every three years, as stated in the Model Code. Put two date columns in your matrix for exactly that reason: a CPR date and a first aid date.
Unit HLTAID008 also notes that specific licensing and refresher requirements should be obtained from the relevant state or territory WHS regulator, per training.gov.au. In Western Australia, check requirements with the state regulator before you fix your renewal rules. Our guide to first aid refresher requirements shows how to avoid compliance gaps.
Set reminders at 90 and 30 days before expiry. For remote rosters, 90 days matters: it is the window in which you can still book a trainer to come to site, rather than flying people out.
How often to review the matrix
There is no single mandated review date for a matrix. What the Model Code does require is that the underlying first aid arrangements are reviewed regularly or when circumstances change, and the matrix should follow that rhythm. We suggest:
A light monthly check of expiry dates and booked courses.
A full review each year against your risk assessment and roster.
An immediate review after any of these: a serious incident or near miss, a new site, a new shift pattern, a headcount jump, new equipment or processes, or a first aider leaving.
The monthly and annual cadence is our recommendation, not a legal requirement. The triggers come straight from the Code’s principle of reviewing when circumstances change.
Our perspective
We train crews across the Pilbara, and the same pattern turns up on remote sites. The certificates exist, but nobody has checked whether they line up with the roster. A site can have eight qualified people and still have an uncovered night shift.
We think a matrix should answer one blunt question: if someone is hurt at this location, at this hour, who responds and are they trained for what we do here? Everything else is housekeeping.
That is why we customise course content to a client’s real hazards, and why we deliver on site and outside standard business hours. When training happens where the work happens, you get fewer people travelling out, fewer uncovered shifts and a matrix that stays green. Fast certification helps too, because a statement of attainment that arrives promptly can go straight into the record.
— Vapour
Close the gaps with training on your site
Once your matrix shows red cells, the fix is booking the right unit for the right people. We deliver first aid, CPR, remote and isolated site first aid, advanced first aid and oxygen therapy training on site anywhere in the Pilbara, including remote mine and construction sites. Content can be tailored to your industry’s risks, and sessions can be scheduled around your roster.
If you coordinate training for a large team, start with the HLTAID013 remote or isolated site course or the HLTAID011 Provide First Aid course. When you are ready to schedule, book online and we will work out the dates with you.
Keep the matrix audit-ready
The matrix is one piece of evidence. Auditors and principal contractors will also look at the rest of your first aid arrangements. Under WHS Regulation 42, as described in the Model Code, a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must provide first aid equipment, access to it, first aid facilities and an adequate number of trained first aiders or access to other trained people.
So keep these documents together:
The first aid risk assessment and the date of its last review.
The matrix, with certificates attached.
Your first aid kit checks, covered in our first aid kit requirements guide.
A summary of your duties at remote sites, set out in our guide to WHS first aid obligations.
FAQ
Is a first aid training matrix a legal requirement?
The WHS Regulation requires an adequate number of trained first aiders or access to other trained people, and the Model Code expects you to keep arrangements under review. It does not prescribe a matrix by name. A matrix is the simplest way to prove you meet those duties. Check state-specific obligations with your WHS regulator.
What is the difference between a first aid training matrix and a needs analysis?
The needs analysis works out what training your workplace requires based on hazards, size, location and people present. The matrix records who holds that training, when it expires and where gaps remain. Do the analysis first and let it set the columns of the matrix.
How many first aiders should the matrix show?
The Model Code recommends 1 per 50 workers in low-risk workplaces, 1 per 25 in high-risk workplaces and 1 per 10 in remote high-risk workplaces. Your risk assessment can justify more. Count people available on each shift, not just on the payroll.
How often do first aid certificates need renewing?
The Model Code advises refreshing CPR every year and renewing first aid qualifications every three years. Record both dates for each person. Confirm any extra state or territory requirement with your WHS regulator.
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