The first aid principles used across Australia come down to three aims. Your first priority in any emergency is to preserve life. When someone is unconscious and not breathing, their heart may already be in cardiac arrest, and chest compressions and rescue breaths become the difference between life and death until paramedics take over. Once survival is secured, your second aim is to stop the person’s condition from worsening. The third aim is to aid recovery through calm reassurance, warmth, and steady monitoring of the person.
The DRSABCD First Aid Protocol
DRSABCD is one of the foundational first aid principles used at every Australian medical emergency. The seven letters name seven actions:
D: Danger. Check for hazards before approaching the casualty. You can’t help if you become injured yourself, so do not approach unless it is safe to do so.
R: Response. Gently squeeze their shoulders, and ask loudly, “Can you hear me? Open your eyes.” to see if they are conscious.
S: Send for help. Call triple zero (000) or have someone else do it for you.
A: Airway. Open the person’s mouth and check inside for anything blocking the back of their throat. Roll them onto their side and clear any visible blockage with your finger.
B: Breathing. Place your ear close to their mouth and nose while watching their chest. Look for their chest to rise and fall, listen for breath sounds, and the feel for air on your cheek.
C: CPR. Perform chest compressions and rescue breaths in cycles of 30 compressions followed by 2 breaths, pressed to a depth of about one third of their chest, at a rate of 100 to 120 per minute, or 1 to 2 each second.
D: Defibrillation. As soon as an AED becomes available, switch it on and follow its prompts.
How to Perform CPR
CPR, short for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is used in life-threatening emergency situations where someone is unconscious and not breathing. The steps for CPR are:
Place the person flat on their back on a firm surface and kneel beside them.
Place the heel of one of your hands on the centre of their chest, and the other on top with your fingers interlocked.
Keeping your arms straight and your shoulders directly above your hands, push down about one third of their chest depth (around 5 centimetres), then release fully so the chest can recoil. Do not lift your hands off their chest between compressions.
Deliver 30 compressions at a rate of 100 to 120 per minute, or 1 to 2 each second.
After 30 compressions, tilt their head back with one hand on their forehead and two fingers lifting their chin, then pinch their nose closed.
Seal your mouth over theirs and give two slow breaths, each lasting about one second, watching for their chest to rise.
Return to compressions and continue cycles of 30 compressions to 2 breaths.
Do not stop until the person starts breathing normally, paramedics take over, or you physically cannot continue.
Putting Together a First Aid Kit
A well-stocked first aid kit gives you the supplies to carry out first aid principles the moment an injury or illness happens. Kits are sold ready-made by pharmacies and safety suppliers, and you can also assemble your own using a labelled, waterproof container. A basic kit should have:
Adhesive bandages in assorted sizes
Sterile gauze
Non-adherent dressings
Crepe bandages
Triangular bandages for slings
Adhesive tape
Disposable gloves
Antiseptic wipes
Saline solution
Tweezers
Scissors
A CPR face shield or pocket mask
Safety pins
A space blanket to keep an injured person warm
Check your kit every six months. Replace anything that has been used and throw out items that have passed their expiry date. Keep the kit somewhere where anyone can quickly find it in an emergency.
What is the Recovery Position?
The first aid principle behind the recovery position is to keep a person’s airway open when they are unconscious but still breathing. It stops them from choking on their own vomit, blood, or saliva. To roll a person into the recovery position:
Kneel beside them with their body straight and their legs extended.
Take the arm nearest to you and place it at a right angle to their body, palm facing up.
Bring their other arm across their chest and rest the back of their hand against the cheek closest to you. Hold their hand against their cheek to support the head during the roll.
With your other hand, reach across and bend the knee on the far side up toward their bottom, keeping the foot flat on the ground.
Pull the bent knee toward you. Their body follows, rolling the person onto their side in one controlled movement.
Adjust their top leg so the hip and knee are both bent at right angles to stabilise the body.
Tilt their head back slightly and lift their chin so the airway stays open and any fluids can drain from the mouth.
Severe Bleeding Control
The first aid principle for any heavy bleed is sustained direct pressure, held on the wound until the body can clot. When the body cannot replace blood at the speed a deep wound releases it, the steps to follow are:
Lay the person down.
Apply direct, firm pressure to the wound using a clean cloth or sterile dressing.
Hold pressure without releasing it. If blood soaks through the first dressing, place another on top rather than lifting the first one away, because lifting it can disturb any clotting that has started.
Raise the injured limb above the level of the person’s heart if possible.
If an object is embedded in the wound, do not pull it out. Apply pressure around the object and pad either side to hold it steady.
Call triple zero (000) if you haven’t already, for bleeding that doesn’t stop within a few minutes, or sooner if the wound is large, spurting, or deep. Keep the person warm and calm while you wait for paramedics.
Handling Burns
Twenty minutes of cool running water is the first aid principle for a burn, started as soon as possible and still useful up to three hours after the injury as heat continues to damage tissue long after the source has been removed. Follow these steps:
Move the person away from the cause of the burn, smothering them with a blanket if needed.
Cool the burn under cool running water for 20 minutes.
Remove jewellery, watches, and loose clothing from the burn area while the water is running.
Cover the burn loosely with a clean, non-stick dressing or a piece of plastic cling film laid over the skin.
Call triple zero (000) if the burn is larger than a 20-cent coin, involves the face, hands, feet, groin, or a joint, goes all the way through the skin, or was caused by electricity or chemicals.
Cool water is the only liquid to use on a burn. Ice, butter, toothpaste, egg white, creams, and ointments trap heat, introduce infection risk, or stick to the wound and make it harder for paramedics to assess the injury.
Choking Emergencies
For a choking person, the first aid principle is to alternate five back blows with five chest thrusts until the blockage clears or the person loses consciousness. Ask the person, “Are you choking?” Someone who can cough forcefully, speak, or cry still has some airway open; encourage them to keep coughing and stay with them, whereas someone who cannot has a full blockage and needs immediate first aid.
Call triple zero (000) or shout for someone else to.
Lean the person forward.
Deliver up to five sharp blows to the back between their shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. Check between each blow to see whether the blockage has cleared.
Place the heel of one hand on the lower half of the breastbone and deliver up to five sharp, inward thrusts.
Alternate five back blows with five chest thrusts until the blockage clears or the person becomes unconscious.
If the person becomes unconscious, lay them on their back and start CPR.
For an infant under one year, support the baby face down along your forearm with their head lower than their bottom, and deliver back blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your other hand. Switch to chest thrusts with two fingers on the centre of the breastbone if back blows fail.
Anaphylaxis and Asthma
The first aid principles for anaphylaxis and for severe asthma both rely on medication.
Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction whose warning signs include swelling of the tongue, throat, or face; difficulty breathing; a widespread rash or hives; sudden wheezing; and collapse. If the person carries an adrenaline autoinjector, use it as soon as you recognise anaphylaxis by pressing the device firmly against their outer mid-thigh (through clothing if necessary), hold it in place for three seconds. Lay the person flat, call triple zero (000), and give them a second dose after five minutes if their symptoms have not improved,
An asthma attack narrows the airways through swelling and muscle tightening. Signs include wheezing, a persistent cough, tightness in the chest, and trouble finishing a sentence in one breath. The standard response follows four steps, called the 4x4x4 plan:
Sit the person upright and stay calm with them.
Give four separate puffs from their inhaler, one puff at a time, allowing them to take four breaths between each puff.
Wait four minutes. If there is no improvement, give them another four puffs.
If there is still no improvement after the second round, call triple zero (000) for an ambulance and keep giving four puffs every four minutes until help arrives.
Save Lives: Learn The Principles of First Aid
These first aid principles are learnable by anyone who wants to know them. What separates a responder from a frozen bystander is practice. A hands-on course works through each skill and builds the muscle memory that stays with you when the real moment comes. You could be the person whose child, workmate, or neighbour survives a medical emergency because you enrolled in first aid training before you needed it.
FAQs
Does First Aid Training Include CPR?
Yes. The standard Australian first aid course is HLTAID011 Provide First Aid, which contains HLTAID009 Provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation as a unit within it.
Do I Need A Medical or Healthcare Background to Become a First Aider?
No medical background is required to enrol in a first aid course.
How Often Should I Take a Refresher First Aid Course?
CPR skills require a refresher course every 12 months, and the full first aid qualification (HLTAID011) requires a refresher every three years.