How many first aid kits does a workplace need?

Provide at least one workplace first aid kit, then add more wherever a single location would leave people too far from suitable supplies. Safe Work Australia does not set a universal kit-to-worker ratio.

Count for access, not headcount alone

Map where work happens and how people would reach a kit during a busy shift. Consider the work, its hazards, the site size and location, and the number and types of people there—the model Code’s risk factors.

• Separate or higher-risk areas: A workshop, laboratory or second building may need nearby coverage, especially if the route to a central kit is long or crosses a hazard.
• Floors and access controls: Check each floor and secured work area. A kit is useful only if workers can get to it during the shift.
• Shifts and mobile work: Keep access available whenever work takes place. For mobile workers whose vehicle is their workplace, keep a portable kit in the vehicle and secure it so it cannot become a projectile in a collision.
• Remote work and visitors: Consider how far the work is from emergency help and who else may be on site. Remote work may call for extra supplies, communications or trained coverage too.

The model Code also gives a multistorey example of at least one kit on every second floor. Its first-aider ratios are a separate recommendation; do not use the number of trained first aiders as a kit-count formula.

Check for a local counting method

Victoria’s compliance code offers a prescribed kit count based on risk and employee numbers, or a separate risk-assessment approach.

Test the plan against a real shift

Imagine an office, a workshop across the yard and two crews working in separate vehicles. A kit at the office alone would not provide practical access to the work happening elsewhere. Map a kit location for the office and workshop, then decide how each mobile crew will carry and secure a kit. Try the routes on a night shift, during overtime and at temporary sites too.

Record and review the count

Write down the number of kits, the areas each one covers and the reason for the arrangement. Revisit the count when work moves, a shift is added, a hazard changes or people are spread across a larger area.

For placement advice, read where workplace first aid kits should be located. For supplies, see what belongs in a workplace first aid kit.