Increasing Accessibility to Life Saving First Aid for Australian Truckies
Last week, St John Ambulance Australia attended the 2025 Brisbane Truck Show. The event held at Brisbane Convention and Exhibition centre is the Southern Hemisphere’s largest transport industry event, attracting over 40,000 visitors. Our attendance was alongside partners, NatRoad, and saw engagement with many industry professionals and visitors, showcasing a vital development for the Truckies First Aid course.
In an Australian first, St John Ambulance Australia, in partnership with NatRoad, is proud to announce the translation of the incredibly successful Truckie First Aid eLearning program. This translation will now allow those who speak Punjabi and Mandarin to access this life-saving knowledge.
The expansion comes as part of a $4.4 million investment from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) and its Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI) supported by the Australian Government.
Our partners, NatRoad, are one of 16 grantees receiving funding as part of the $4.4 million investment towards HVSI projects. The NHVR’s Acting Executive Director Corporate Affairs, Steve Smith, said “The HVSI grants program funds critical industry-led safety projects aimed at reducing road trauma and saving lives on Australia’s roads.”
Since the initial release of Truckies First Aid in 2023, over 1,800 truck drivers across Australia have participated in the course. This additional funding now further increases accessibility to a greater proportion of truck drivers, as Punjabi and Mandarin are two of the most commonly spoken languages in the industry, following English. More languages will be released before the end of 2025.
Why is Truckies First Aid so Important?
- Immediate Response: 67.3%* of truck drivers will be first responders to a traffic incident at some time in their career. Quick, effective first aid can reduce the severity of injuries and save lives.
- Supporting a Diverse Workforce: With 30.7%* of Australia’s population being born overseas, offering training in multiple languages increases access and ensures vital safety education can reach more and more drivers.
- Improve Safety Awareness: 59%* of injury related deaths could have been prevented if adequate First Aid had been provided before emergency services arrived. This course fosters a culture of safety and preparedness, and the confidence to take action.
Reflecting on the importance of the program, St John Ambulance Australia’s Chief Operating Officer, Adrian Watts, also acknowledged the milestone of the translation, “This will make it easier for drivers with English as their second language to complete the training and be confident in what they learn, while reducing barriers to taking the course in the first place.”
The free Truckie First Aid training takes just 30 to 40 minutes and is accessible anywhere, even on your phone at a rest stop. Visit truckiefirstaid.org.au for more information.
* NT Road Transport Association Truck Drivers - First Responders, Final Report, 21 July 2021, L. Bilato)
* ABS
* British Red Cross, conducted by University of Manchester.