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How to Audit Your Workplace First Aid Kit: A Practical Checklist for WHS Managers
Most workplace first aid kits fail their first real audit, and not because anything dramatic went wrong. The kit is just missing the plasters someone borrowed in March, the antiseptic wipes expired last winter, and there is no record anywhere proving when it was last checked. An audit fixes all three, and a first aid kit audit checklist is what turns an occasional glance into something you can actually stand behind if an inspector asks.
Safe Work Australia's First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice is clear that providing a kit is only half the duty. You also have to maintain it, keep it stocked, and be able to show you have done so. That last part trips up most businesses. They have the kit. What they do not have is the paper trail.
This is a procedure, not a lecture. Work through the six steps below at every kit, every time, and keep the record. That record is the difference between a compliant workplace and a manager hoping nobody checks.
How do you audit a workplace first aid kit?
To audit a workplace first aid kit, remove every item and lay it out, check each one against the kit's contents list, and confirm expiry dates, quantities, and packaging condition. Replace anything expired, depleted, or damaged, then record the date, who did it, and what was restocked. The Code's minimum is to check after each use, or at least once every 12 months; we recommend six-monthly as good practice.
That is the whole process in one breath. The rest of this article breaks it into six steps you can hand to whoever does the check, plus the records the Code of Practice expects you to keep.
The six-step first aid kit audit
Step 1: Empty the kit and inspect every item
Tip everything out onto a clean surface. You cannot audit a kit by peering into it. Laying the contents out is the only way to see what is genuinely there versus what you assume is there. Note anything that looks used, opened, or out of place as you go.
Step 2: Check expiry dates
Sterile items, antiseptics, and wound cleansing solutions all carry expiry dates, and they matter. Shelf life varies by product, so go by the printed expiry on each item rather than a standard figure, because an expired item is not a compliant item. Pull anything past its date and write it down. Triangular bandages are non-sterile cloth and rarely time-limited, but check any printed expiry and inspect for fraying or damage.
Step 3: Check quantities against the contents list
Every kit should have a contents list, and your job here is to match reality to that list. The items that vanish first are adhesive plasters, antiseptic wipes, and eye wash ampoules, the everyday supplies people raid between incidents and never replace. When a kit comes back to us for servicing after a year or more without a check, depleted stock and damaged packaging are the two findings we see most often.
Step 4: Check the container and packaging condition
A sterile dressing is only sterile while its packaging is intact. If a dressing packet has been crushed, dented, or torn in storage, the sterile barrier may be compromised even when the expiry date is fine, and it should be pulled. Check the kit container itself too: the seal, the catch, water resistance if the kit lives somewhere damp or dusty, and whether it is still mounted where staff can reach it.
Step 5: Replenish to full
Replace everything you removed in steps two to four, and bring depleted items back up to the listed quantity. Use quality replacements, not whatever is in the stationery cupboard. A kit padded out with sachets to look full is not the same as one that can manage an actual injury. Restocking supplies from a single supplier keeps the contents consistent and the list accurate.
Step 6: Record the audit
This is the step most businesses skip, and it is the one that proves compliance. Record the date, the name of the person who did the audit, every item replaced, and the date the next check is due. An audit you cannot evidence is, in practice, an audit you cannot prove happened. If an inspector asks, the record is what stands behind you.
How often should you audit, and what records to keep
Under the Code, check each kit after each use, or at least once every 12 months. We recommend six-monthly as good practice, and quarterly for higher-risk workplaces or kits in heavy-use areas. The record for each audit should name the kit and its location, the date, the auditor, the items replaced, and the next due date. Keep these together so you can produce the full history for any kit on request. For the broader picture of what triggers these obligations, see our guide to workplace first aid compliance in Australia, and if you are unsure your kit holds the right contents in the first place, start with what a compliant workplace kit needs to contain.
The hardest part of all this is not any single audit. It is doing it consistently across every kit, on schedule, with the records to match, especially across multiple sites. That is exactly the problem KitCheck solves: an annual subscription to our proprietary kit management software lets you check kits against a matched visual guide, log each audit, and see every kit's status in one place. The same discipline applies to smaller kits at home, where the principles in our guide to keeping a first aid kit well stocked and organised carry across.
If your workplace kit has not been audited in the last twelve months, the fastest fix is to run the six steps above and restock what you find. You can refill from our workplace first aid kits and first aid supplies ranges, or contact the FAD team on 03 5443 2239 or info@firstaiddistributions.com.au for help setting up a kit management routine that holds up.