Australian Kids Save Lives is an Australian Resuscitation Council initiative supporting the introduction of regular, practical CPR and basic life support education for school students across Australia. The project is based on a simple principle: children can learn lifesaving skills, share them with their families and communities, and help build a generation of confident bystanders who know what to do in a cardiac arrest emergency.

Every year, around 25,000 Australians experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, yet survival remains low. Evidence shows that early CPR and early defibrillation provide the greatest chance of survival, but many people do not feel confident to act. Because cardiac arrests often happen in homes and community settings, school-based CPR education has the potential to reach students, families and the wider community.

The aims and objectives of the Australian Resuscitation Council (a voluntary body) include the teaching and practice of resuscitation. The Council seeks to foster uniformity and simplicity in resuscitation techniques.

It is recognised through statistical data that a person you are most likely to have to perform CPR on or provide first aid to a loved one and as such the Council has determined that it is important that all school students in Australia complete a course in CPR training and first aid as part of their education.

The Council representatives had discussion with the then Federal Minister of Education in 2020 who confirmed that CPR training and first aid are part of the Australian curriculum and that each State and Territory had the obligation of implementing the curriculum in their respective jurisdictions. The Council is desirous to ensure that CPR training and first aid training are compulsory in all jurisdictions and as part of that commenced a pilot program in conjunction with Ambulance at Victoria in the State of Victoria. That program has met with great success not only in relation to the development of appropriate resources for teachers but in its implementation and reception by students, teachers and families in Victoria.

The State of Queensland has confirmed that they are prepared to make CPR and first aid training compulsory in that jurisdiction and work is being done with other jurisdictions throughout Australia to achieve a result whereby CPR training is compulsory in every jurisdiction across Australia. 

The Council is continuing to work with governments, education authorities, ambulance services, schools and community partners to support consistent implementation of CPR and first aid training across all States and Territories. The long-term goal is for every Australian student to leave school with the knowledge, confidence and practical skills to help save a life.