Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Guide

Page last updated 11 September 2026

The requirements outlined in this guide will be implemented from 2 August 2027. Until that date, HLTAID009 – Provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) will continue to be accepted where Basic Life Support certification is required.

From 2 August 2027, HLTAID010 – Provide Basic Emergency Life Support will be required and HLTAID009 – Provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) will no longer be accepted. This change does not affect Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements, and HLTAID009 will continue to be accepted for CPD.

Introduction

This guide outlines the RACGP’s requirements for Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Life Support (ALS) and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training. It explains what training you need to complete, when you need to complete it, and the courses and certifications accepted by the RACGP.

Scope

The requirements in this guide apply to:

Education or training program applicants to, and registrars/participants in:

Australian General Practice Training Program (AGPT)
Fellowship Support Program (FSP)
General Practice Experience (GPE) Pathway
Practice Experience Program – Specialist (PEP SP)
Practice Experience Program – Standard (PEP ST)
Remote Vocational Training Scheme (RVTS)

Specialist international medical graduates (SIMGs):

applying for Fellowship through the Medical Board of Australia’s (MBA) Expedited Specialist Pathway

Specialist general practitioners (GPs):

meeting Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements
training towards Rural Generalist (RG) Fellowship

BLS, ALS and CPR requirements

The table below summarises the requirements that apply at different stages of your general practice journey, including the courses and certifications accepted by the RACGP.

Table 1. Summary of RACGP’s life support requirements

Stage	Training requirement	Accepted course/certification	Notes
Entry into program	BLS	HLTAID010 or HLTAID011	Must be current at entry (completed within the previous 12 months)
During program	BLS	HLTAID010 or HLTAID011	Recommended to keep certification current throughout training
Applying for Fellowship	BLS and ALS	HLTAID010 or HLTAID011, and ALS1 or ALS2	BLS must be current at the time of application (completed within the previous 12 months) ALS must be completed within the four years prior to applying for Fellowship
CPD	CPR course*	HLTAID009, HLTAID010 or HLTAID011	Required once per CPD triennium (for example, the 2026–28 triennium) The Medical Board of Australia has determined CPR courses are only eligible to contribute to CPD hours under the educational CPD activities type.

*A recognised CPR course that includes recognising and responding to emergency situations, performing CPR procedures, communicating details of the incident, and reviewing the incident, including recognising potential psychological impacts on rescuers and others involved.

If you’ve completed an ALS course, you may be able to use your ALS certificate as evidence of BLS training. Your ALS certificate will only be accepted as evidence if the ALS course specifically includes BLS, and assessment in CPR.

Course requirements

To be accepted by the RACGP, BLS and ALS courses must meet certain content requirements.

BLS and ALS courses must include assessment of CPR competence. As part of the assessment, you must be required to demonstrate CPR on a mannequin.

BLS courses must also be at least one hour long and cover adult BLS.

ALS courses must also include management of adults. Courses that only cover paediatric ALS won’t be accepted.

RG Fellowship training

If you’re an AGPT, FSP, RVTs registrar, or a specialist GP considering RG Fellowship, additional BLS and ALS requirements apply to the following RG training:

Core emergency medicine training (core EMT)
Current BLS certification and ALS2 completed within the 24 months before, or during, core EMT.
Additional rural skills training (ARST) in anaesthesia
Current BLS certification and ALS2 completed within the 52 weeks before commencing the ARST post.
Additional rural skills training (ARST) in emergency medicine
Current BLS certification and ALS2 completed within the five years before, or during, the ARST post.

Approved training providers and instructors

To ensure your BLS, ALS or CPR certification is accepted by the RACGP, your training must:

be completed through an approved training provider that meets the guidelines of the Australian Resuscitation Council and New Zealand Committee on Resuscitation (ANZCOR), and/or Resuscitation Council United Kingdom (RCUK),
be delivered by a qualified instructor, and
meet the course requirements.

For CPD requirements, certification may also be accepted from other members of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR).

Approved training providers include:

Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) accredited course centres,
Registered Training Organisations approved to deliver and/or assess the relevant certification,
Fellows of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) and/or the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) currently working in an Australian emergency or anaesthetic hospital department,
the organisations listed in Appendix 1, or
RACGP CPD providers (for CPD requirements only).

Your instructor must either:

hold a current BLS or ALS instructor certificate that complies with ANZCOR’s Education and Implementation Guidelines: 10.1 – Basic Life Support (BLS) Training or 10.2 – Advanced Life Support Training, and the 2025 Standards for Registered Training Organisations, or
be a Fellow of ACEM and/or ANZCA currently working in an Australian emergency or anaesthetic hospital department.

Medical conditions and disabilities

The RACGP recognises that some medical conditions and disabilities may affect your ability to physically perform BLS or CPR.

If this applies to you, you must provide a medical certificate or statutory declaration stating this. You must also provide the RACGP with written details of the arrangements your practice has in place to support you and ensure you’re prepared for situations requiring BLS or CPR.

The RACGP acknowledges that disclosing a medical condition or disability may be difficult, especially if you’ve had negative experiences in the past. Refer to the Wellbeing Hub for support and additional resources.

Appendix 1. Approved organisations

Australasian College of Emergency Medicine
Australasian College of Paramedicine
Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists
Australian College of Critical Care Nurses
Australian College of Nursing
Australian Defence Force
Australian Red Cross
Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand
College of Emergency Nursing Australasia
Council of Ambulance Authorities
Heart Foundation
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
Royal Life Saving Australia
St John Ambulance Australia
Surf Lifesaving Australia

Glossary

Term	Definition
Advanced life support (ALS)	The provision of effective airway management, ventilation of the lungs and production of a circulation by means of techniques additional to those of BLS. These techniques should include, but are not limited to, advanced airway management, vascular access/drug therapy and defibrillation.
Additional rural skills training (ARST)	52 calendar weeks (FTE) in an accredited training post that provides the appropriate depth and breadth of experience necessary to meet the requirements of the particular ARST curriculum.
Basic life support (BLS)	The preservation of life by the initial establishment of, and/or maintenance of, airway, breathing, circulation and related emergency care, including use of an automated external defibrillator.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)	A technique used to minimise the effects of circulatory arrest and assist the return of spontaneous circulation, including the technique of rescue breathing combined with external chest compressions.
Core emergency medicine training (Core EMT)	A mandatory component (minimum of 6 months) of the Rural Generalist Fellowship that is designed to strengthen rural general practice training by providing registrars with the skills and confidence to manage emergency situations in rural and remote environments.
Fellowship	Admittance to either: Fellowship of the RACGP (FRACGP), or FRACGP and Rural Generalist Fellowship (FRACGP-RG).
Registered training organisation (RTO)	A training organisation registered to deliver nationally recognised vocational education and training such as ALS, BLS and CPR courses per the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA).
Rural generalist (RG)	A medical practitioner who is trained to meet the specific current and future healthcare needs of Australian rural and remote communities, in a sustainable and cost-effective way, by providing both comprehensive general practice and emergency care, and required components of other medical specialist care in hospital and community settings as part of a rural healthcare team, per the Collingrove Agreement.