Childcare CPR & first aid requirements
First Aid & CPR New Zealand
If you work in childcare in New Zealand — whether at a daycare, preschool, home-based care, or camp — first aid and CPR certification is not optional. It's a licensing requirement, and for good reason: children are among the most vulnerable to choking, allergic reactions, and injuries. Being prepared to respond can mean everything.
What New Zealand requires
New Zealand's Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Services, administered by the Ministry of Education, require staff to hold a current first aid qualification from an NZQA-accredited provider, built on the recognised unit standards for providing first aid and resuscitation. At least one first-aid-qualified person must be present for every 25 children across all early learning services and kōhanga reo, with home-based services covered by criterion HS216. Qualifications are kept current on a two-year renewal cycle.
Anaphylaxis and medication administration
For children who need medication, Licensing Criterion HS122 allows it to be given only by a parent, by a doctor or ambulance officer, or by a person holding written parental authorisation appropriate to the medicine, and medicines must be stored safely out of children's reach yet remain reachable in an emergency. For a child at risk of anaphylaxis, that means an individual plan and prescribed adrenaline kept ready for the moment it is needed. First aid training that covers allergic-reaction response is what turns that plan into decisive action.
How our courses meet these requirements
A recognized, standards-based certification in pediatric first aid and CPR meets New Zealand’s requirement and keeps your team ready to act.
Don't wait for renewal day
When a young child's airway closes or their heart stops, the adults already beside them are the whole of the response until an ambulance arrives — and every second counts. A recognised, standards-based first aid and CPR qualification meets the licensing requirement while giving educators the practised confidence to act calmly under real pressure. For whānau, that certificate is a quiet assurance that their tamariki are in hands that are truly ready.