Booked a first aid course and noticed the code on your certificate doesn’t match the one you got a few years ago? You haven’t been given the wrong course – the unit codes themselves have changed.
It is reasonable to get confused about. The code cannot be understood at a single glance, and if you happen to choose the wrong code, you might end up paying for courses you don’t actually need. This article will clarify the meaning of HLTAID011, HLTAID009, HLTAID010, and other things you need to know before making a booking.
A Quick History
Most people who trained before 2020 completed a single unit: HLTAID003 Provide First Aid. It covered CPR and general first aid response in one course, with one code and one certificate.
That single unit has since been superseded by three separate units of competency, delivered under the national HLT Health Training Package:
- HLTAID009 – Provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
- HLTAID010 – Provide Basic Emergency Life Support
- HLTAID011 – Provide First Aid
Importantly, training.gov.au records HLTAID011 as superseding but not equivalent to HLTAID003 – so this wasn’t just a renumbering. The assessment requirements genuinely changed (more rigorous skills assessment, added infection control content, and a stronger focus on PPE, among other updates).
If you still hold a Statement of Attainment for HLTAID003, it hasn’t been invalidated – a Statement of Attainment is a permanent record of what you were assessed against and doesn’t expire on its own. What determines whether it’s still accepted for a given role is your workplace’s or industry’s currency requirement, not the document itself. If you’re unsure whether your existing certificate still meets what your employer needs, that’s a conversation with your training provider or employer, not something the code itself will tell you.
Here’s how the old and new codes line up:
| Old Code | Old Code Unit Name | New Code | New Code Unit Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| HLTAID001 | Provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation | HLTAID009 | Provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation |
| HLTAID002 | Provide Basic Emergency Life Support | HLTAID010 | Provide Basic Emergency Life Support |
| HLTAID003 | Provide First Aid | HLTAID011 | Provide First Aid |
| HLTAID004 | Provide an Emergency First Aid Response in an Education and Care Setting | HLTAID012 | Provide First Aid in an Education and Care Setting |
What Does HLTAID011 Mean?
The terms “current first aid certificate” often point to the HLTAID011 “Provide First Aid” certificate, regardless of whether or not it is actually stated. The training consists of first aid for incidents of burns and fractures, the use of CPR, shock, the use of defibrillators and the treatment of an unconscious person until help arrives.
It is the certification that almost all job postings and induction checks really refer to, even if they don’t name it.
What Does HLTAID009 Mean?
HLTAID009 Provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation covers CPR and the use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). It’s a shorter session – a few hours rather than a full day – and its content sits within the HLTAID011 course. If you complete the full HLTAID011 course, you cover the HLTAID009 content as part of it.
Does HLTAID011 Include HLTAID009?
Yes. CPR is not a separate booking on top of your first aid course. The HLTAID009 content is delivered within the full HLTAID011 course, so if you are enrolled in Provide First Aid, you are covering it as part of that day.
Where the two come apart is at renewal. Your Provide First Aid certificate is generally treated as current for three years, but the CPR component needs refreshing every 12 months. That is what the standalone CPR course exists for. It lets you keep the part that needs annual attention up to date without repeating the full course.
Book the Right First Aid Unit
Star Training & Assessing (RTO 21830) delivers nationally recognised first aid and CPR training across Victoria, for individuals and for workplace groups.
HLTAID010 vs HLTAID011: Where Does It Sit?
HLTAID010 is the one nobody asks about.
Provide Basic Emergency Life Support (HLTAID010) sits in the middle of the three units, and once you see the layering, it makes sense. HLTAID009 is CPR and the defib. HLTAID010 takes that further into the wider set of skills you need when someone’s life is genuinely on the line, and you’re keeping them going until the ambulance arrives.
HLTAID011 covers all of that, then adds everything else a first aider walks into on a normal day: bleeding, burns, fractures, anaphylaxis, the lot.
So it stacks. Each unit sits inside the next one up.
That’s why you don’t book HLTAID010 separately after finishing your Provide First Aid course. You’ve already done it. In a full HLTAID011 day, that content is in there.
Where it does come up on its own is when an employer or an industry body has specifically asked for it. That happens, and it’s usually written into a site requirement or a contract rather than something a worker chooses. Everyone else should be looking at HLTAID011, because that’s what a designated first aid officer role expects, and HLTAID010 on its own generally won’t satisfy it.
Mistakes to Avoid while Dealing with HLTAID010 & HLTAID011
Booking HLTAID009 alone when your role requires full certification. A CPR-only certificate won’t satisfy a workplace first aid officer requirement, no matter how solid your compression technique is – that role needs HLTAID011.
Assuming you need to book HLTAID009 separately after finishing HLTAID011. You don’t. It’s already covered within the full course, and your annual renewal only needs to touch the CPR component – not the entire course again. A surprising number of people end up resitting all of HLTAID011 every year simply because nobody explained this to them.
Due for Your Annual CPR Refresh?
Star Training & Assessing (RTO 21830) runs first aid and CPR courses at our Rowville, Laverton North and Pakenham training facilities.
View Course DatesConclusion
The 2020 code changes weren’t red tape for their own sake – they reflect real differences in what each unit certifies and how often each part needs refreshing. HLTAID011 is the full first aid course; HLTAID009 and HLTAID010 cover components of it that can also be delivered as narrower, standalone units in the right setting.
If you’re not sure which certificate you actually need – or which one you currently hold – the safest move is to check with your training provider directly, rather than guess from the code alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The HLTAID009 content is delivered as part of the full Provide First Aid course, so there is no need to book it separately. Contact us if you want to confirm which units your Statement of Attainment covers.
Star Training & Assessing delivers Provide First Aid as a one-day course, with the standalone CPR course running as a shorter session. Current dates, durations and fees are listed on our course pages.