How many first aiders does a New Zealand workplace need?

You've got the first aid certificates. But would your workplace be covered if something happened tomorrow?

The phone rings and the caller skips hello.

“Help. We’re being audited, and we need our first aid training done by Friday.”

We take that call more often than you might think. From trades, offices, schools and early learning centres. Different workplaces, same worry: Do we have enough trained first aiders to meet our obligations?

The answer isn't always as simple as counting certificates.

So how many first aiders do we need?

In New Zealand, there's no single legal ratio that applies to every workplace.

WorkSafe says workers must have access to an adequate number of trained first aiders. How many is adequate depends on the number of people, the work they do, the risks involved and where and when they're working.

An accounting office and a building site might have the same number of staff, but their first aid needs are very different.

Some sectors, including early learning, have additional requirements. For example, centre-based early learning services generally need at least one appropriately first aid-qualified adult for every 25 children attending.

What about the first aider ratios you see online?

You'll find plenty of numbers online, but most are guidelines, not legal requirements. And they don't always agree.

As a starting point, here's the guide we use:

• Lower-risk workplaces, such as offices and retail: 1 first aider for every 25 workers.

• Higher-risk workplaces, such as construction and trades: 1 for every 10 workers.

• Remote or isolated workplaces: 1 for every 5 workers.

These are our suggested starting points, not WorkSafe-mandated ratios. Your workplace may need more or fewer depending on its risks and first aid arrangements.

And that's where the questions below matter.

What happens when your first aider is away?

You might have three trained first aiders on your staff list. But what if one works part-time, another is on annual leave and the third calls in sick?

A first aider on leave is a certificate in a drawer. They're not much help to someone who needs CPR right now.

Check your cover across every shift, including evenings, weekends and the days people are away. It's not just how many people are trained. It's whether someone trained is available when they're needed.

What if help is a long way off, or your site is spread out?

A rural crew working an hour from the nearest ambulance has different needs from a team working next door to a medical centre.

And on a large site, a first aider three floors up might be a long way from someone who's collapsed in the yard.

Think about how quickly a trained person could actually reach someone who needs help. Distance, access and emergency response times all matter.

We wrote more about this in What to do when help is an hour away.

What if our staff work on other companies' sites?

Your workplace might meet its own first aid requirements, but a client or principal contractor may have additional site-entry or training requirements.

Some sites require contractors to hold a current first aid certificate before they can start work.

Check before the job begins, not when your team is standing at the gate.

The question worth asking before your next audit

Rather than asking “How many certificates do we have?”, ask:

“If someone needed first aid at work tomorrow, who would be there to help?”

If you can answer that for every shift, every work area and the days people are away, you're in a much better position to judge whether your first aid cover is adequate.

If you can't, it's worth reviewing your arrangements before an incident or an audit brings the gap to light.

Not sure how many first aiders your workplace needs?

Tell us about your team, your work and your site. We'll help you work through what first aid cover makes sense and what training you may need.

At City First Aid, our goal is to take the stress out of first aid training. We train workplaces across the South Island, and small groups can often be booked within the week.

Find out about our Workplace First Aid Training

Gail | Head of Training | City First Aid

Reviewed October 2026. Sources: WorkSafe New Zealand, First aid at work; Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016; Ministry of Education, First aid qualifications for early learning at work.