LVR & CPR vs First Aid & CPR: what's the difference?
LVR & CPR teaches you how to rescue a person from a live low voltage panel and then perform CPR. First Aid & CPR teaches you how to treat a wide range of injuries and illnesses until help arrives. Both include CPR, but neither one replaces the other.
If you do electrical work in Queensland, you need LVR & CPR every 12 months. First Aid is an extra ticket, renewed every 3 years, that you’ll need if you’re one of your site’s First Aiders or your employer asks for it.
At a glance
| LVR & CPR | First Aid & CPR | |
|---|---|---|
| Units | UETDRMP018 Perform rescue from a live low voltage panel, HLTAID009 Provide CPR | HLTAID011 Provide First Aid, plus HLTAID009 Provide CPR and HLTAID010 Provide basic emergency life support |
| What it’s for | Rescuing a person from contact with a live low voltage panel, then resuscitating them | Treating injuries and illnesses until an ambulance arrives |
| What you learn | Isolation, rescue equipment and PPE, releasing a casualty from electrical contact, CPR and using a defibrillator (AED) | CPR and AED, plus bleeding, burns, fractures, choking, asthma, anaphylaxis, snake and spider bites, eye injuries and more |
| Course length | 2.5 hours | 3.5 hours |
| Price | $119 | $99 |
| How often to renew | Every 12 months | First Aid every 3 years, CPR every 12 months |
| Who usually needs it | Electricians, apprentices, safety observers | Nominated First Aiders, and workers whose employer or site asks for it |
Does LVR include First Aid?
No. An LVR & CPR course covers the rescue and resuscitation: isolating the supply, using a low voltage rescue kit to release the casualty, then CPR and using a defibrillator. It doesn’t teach you how to manage bleeding, burns, fractures, choking or the other injuries and illnesses covered in a First Aid course.
Your LVR & CPR Statement of Attainment lists UETDRMP018 and HLTAID009. It doesn’t list HLTAID011, so it won’t count as a First Aid certificate.
Does First Aid replace LVR?
No. HLTAID011 includes CPR, but it doesn’t cover a rescue from a live low voltage panel. Queensland’s Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 requires workers who perform, or help with, electrical work to be competent in rescue and resuscitation, and a safety observer must have been assessed in both within the previous 12 months. A First Aid course on its own doesn’t meet the rescue part.
Do electricians need both?
- LVR & CPR: yes, every 12 months. It’s how electricians, apprentices and safety observers meet the rescue and resuscitation requirement. Read more about LVR & CPR renewal in Queensland.
- First Aid: only in some cases. The electrical safety laws don’t require it, but every business must have enough trained First Aiders. Queensland’s First aid in the workplace Code of Practice recommends one First Aider for every 25 workers on a high risk site such as a construction site, and on small crews that’s often one of the tradies. Leading hands, supervisors and contractors are often asked to hold it.
If your employer or principal contractor lists both, you’ll need both certificates.
The CPR overlap
Both courses include HLTAID009 Provide CPR, and CPR should be refreshed every 12 months. That’s why the two fit together well:
- Your yearly LVR & CPR course keeps your CPR current.
- Your First Aid only needs renewing every 3 years.
In the year your First Aid is due, book both courses. Every other year, LVR & CPR is all you need.
Which course should I book?
- You do electrical work, or act as a safety observer: LVR & CPR, every 12 months.
- You also need to be a First Aider on site: add First Aid & CPR every 3 years.
- You don’t do electrical work and need First Aid: First Aid & CPR on its own.
- You only need a CPR refresher: CPR, 1.5 hours for $49.
Read more about what Low Voltage Rescue covers and whether tradies need a First Aid certificate.
All our courses are face-to-face at Aspley and Rocklea in Brisbane and Ashmore on the Gold Coast, with free parking and certificates issued on the day.