1 in 5 Australians suffers from a mental illness in any given year. These illnesses can be categorised based on severity, behaviours, or treatability but about 1 out of 10 people with mental illnesses commit suicide. There is a global movement towards removing the stigma associated with mental illness and specialised first aid courses to improve the emergency first aid response to help those with mental disorders are considered as a welcomed change by many. Since MHFA Australia was first incepted, 27 countries have adopted the same model and now there are about 3 million trained in MHFA  (800,000 Australians).

The program will teach you how to identify the signs and symptoms of medical illnesses. It also includes training on responding to the calls of mentally ill persons in a crisis to help de-escalate and direct them to the appropriate channels for medical/psychiatric assistance.

The motorcyclist first aid is a highly specialised and very new program that was introduced in response to increasing fatalities due to motorcycle accidents. It includes training on how to remove a helmet safely in an accident and treat injuries and trauma typical in motorcycle crashes. This type of training is especially recommended for casual riders or those who bike to commute, so you can assist other riders in need.

Sailing is a popular pastime in Australia. In 2016, about 13% of the population is reported to have owned a boat. Marine first aid is for those who love the aquatic life or have water-based professions. It’s mandatory for racing yachtsmen and highly advised for all who sail offshore. This training includes an emergency first aid response and first aid kits applicable to very specific situations such as pulling victims out of the water, aiding an injured patient to be evacuated by a helicopter, or providing first aid when the victim is not able to reach medical facilities any time soon.

There are 3 providers who are authorised by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to offer maritime first aid training, only one of which offers more bite-size courses (the other two are for ship operators or the navy):

HLTAID005 is designed to equip students with superior first aid response capabilities, geared towards remote locations. Thus, it includes contingency planning and communications for use to ensure safe retrieval of a patient in remote, wireless environments. As these crises could last for a prolonged period of time, there are other dangers (infection, dehydration, advanced resuscitation, etc.) with which the first aiders must become familiar. This type of training is recommended for anyone who works or manages services in remote/outback locations (e.g. tourism, gas supply, etc.).

Remote first aiders should have an HLTAID005 refresher every 3 years and CPR refresher every 12 months.