Q: Is there any exception for having a trained first aider in your business should you be in the vicinity of a doctor’s surgery or medical centre?

A: Under the WHS Regulations, a person conducting a business or undertaking must ensure that an adequate number of workers are trained to administer first aid in the workplace or that workers have access to an adequate number of people outside the business who have been trained to administer first aid.

The only circumstances in which a business is not required to have a trained first aider are where you:

• assess the level of risk to be so low that it would not be reasonably practicable to have a trained first aider in your workplace; or
• have put arrangements in place for another organisation to provide this to your business.

Unless you have this arrangement formally in place with a doctor’s surgery or medical centre, you will not discharge your business’s obligation just because trained first aiders are in the vicinity of your workplace.

Please note: The answer is correct at the time of publishing. Be aware that laws may change over time. Refer to First aid for current advice.