Tracking first aid, CPR, anaphylaxis and asthma training currency
Training certificates expire on different cycles, and the people holding them change shift by shift. The harder question in OSHC is rarely whether a certificate exists. It is whether someone with a current one is on site during the hours children are present. This guide covers how to track both.
What the regulations ask for
The Education and Care Services National Regulations set requirements for first aid, anaphylaxis management and emergency asthma management training for approved services, including who must be on the premises while children are being cared for. The exact wording, and which courses are approved, is on ACECQA (acecqa.gov.au). Read it there rather than relying on a summary, including this one, because it is updated from time to time.
Your state regulator and your own policies may add expectations. Treat the regulations as the floor and your service's policy as what you actually audit against.
The certificates people usually track
Most OSHC services keep four kinds of training on file for educators. The renewal cycle printed on each certificate is the one to follow, since providers and course versions differ.
- Approved first aid, which commonly renews on a multi-year cycle
- CPR, which commonly renews more often than first aid
- Anaphylaxis management training
- Emergency asthma management training
Track the date on the certificate, not the date you filed it
The date that matters is the one on the certificate or the provider's confirmation. People often upload a certificate months after the course, so a record that says 'received 3 March' tells you nothing about when it lapses. Record the issue date and the expiry date, and keep the provider's name so you can check the course is an approved one.
If a certificate shows only an issue date, work out the expiry from the provider's stated validity and write down how you got it.
Check coverage, not just currency
A full set of valid certificates across the team still leaves a gap if the only qualified person works Monday and Tuesday. Once a term, look at the roster against the qualifications and ask which sessions, including before school, after school and vacation care days, have someone qualified present. Excursions need the same check, since the group is off site and the whole team may not be there.
The simplest version is a table with sessions down the side, qualifications across the top, and a name in each cell. Gaps are obvious as soon as you look.
Renewal and replacement
Book courses before the lapse, not after. Group sessions are cheaper and easier than one-off bookings, so a 90-day warning gives you time to organise one. When a certificate does lapse, decide in advance what happens: who covers the shift, and whether the educator is rostered on until they renew. Writing this down once avoids an argument at 7am.
How Lighthouse helps
Lighthouse holds each educator's training certificates with issue and expiry dates, and flags the ones that are missing or running out on the director's Needs attention list. Educators can upload a certificate from their phone, and the director approves it. It does not decide your rostering for you, so the coverage check above is still yours to make. It does remove the hunt through email for who has what.
Common questions
How often does CPR need renewing?
Providers commonly set CPR on a shorter cycle than first aid, but the date printed on the certificate and the current regulations are what count. Check with your training provider and ACECQA.