What is the DRSABCD Action Plan in Australia?

DRSABCD is the action plan used across Australia to assess and respond to an unconscious or collapsed person: Danger, Response, Send for help, Airway, Breathing, CPR, Defibrillation. It is the sequence taught in every HLTAID009 Provide CPR and HLTAID011 Provide First Aid course, and the order you should follow at every emergency before, during and after resuscitation.

The plan puts your own safety first, checks whether the person is conscious, summons emergency services early, and then works through airway, breathing, compressions and an AED in strict order. Remembering the seven letters keeps a high-stress situation structured.

What each letter of DRSABCD stands for

D — Danger

Before touching anyone, scan for hazards: traffic, live electricity, fire, smoke, chemicals, aggressive people or animals. If the scene is not safe, do not enter — moving an unconscious casualty is never worth becoming a second patient yourself. Control the hazard or wait for emergency services where that is the only safe option.

R — Response

Check whether the person responds. Speak loudly (“Open your eyes”, “Can you hear me?”), squeeze their shoulders firmly. If they react, keep them in a comfortable position, monitor them and reassess continuously. If there is no response, move straight to sending for help.

S — Send for help

Call 000 immediately, or ask a bystander to make the call and to fetch a defibrillator (AED). On the phone, give the exact location, what has happened and how many people are injured, and follow the operator’s instructions — they can coach you through CPR over the phone.

A — Airway

Open the airway. For an adult, tilt the head back and lift the chin, and check that the mouth is clear of foreign material — roll the person on their side to drain vomit if needed, then roll them back before breathing checks.

B — Breathing

Look, listen and feel for normal breathing for no more than 10 seconds. Gasping, irregular or absent breathing is not normal — treat the person as not breathing and start CPR.

C — CPR

Start chest compressions in the centre of the chest, compressing about a third of the chest depth at 100–120 compressions a minute. Current Australian guidelines for untrained or lone rescuers lean towards continuous compressions; trained rescuers trained to a ratio of 30 compressions to 2 breaths use that ratio — whichever pathway you are trained in, push hard and fast with minimal interruption.

D — Defibrillation

Attach an automated external defibrillator as soon as one arrives and follow its voice prompts. An AED will only deliver a shock if the heart’s rhythm needs one, and it is safe to use for any first responder with minimal training — the machine decides. ALIT’s step-by-step guide to how to use an AED defibrillator in Australia walks through the whole sequence.

Why the order matters

The sequence is not arbitrary. The plan runs through the life-threats in the order they kill: an obstructed airway kills in minutes, absent breathing stops oxygenated blood flow, and a shockable cardiac rhythm is the one thing an AED can reverse. Following the order means you never waste time on compressions for someone who was simply asleep, and never perform CPR in a live traffic lane. The assessment steps — Danger and Response — exist to protect you and to avoid unnecessary resuscitation; the action steps — Send, Airway, Breathing, CPR, Defibrillation — exist to keep oxygen moving until help arrives.

Where DRSABCD is taught in Australia

The action plan is the backbone of nationally accredited first aid training delivered under the HLTAID009 Provide CPR course, the full HLTAID011 Provide First Aid qualification, and first aid programs for education and care settings such as HLTAID012. At ALIT, HLTAID009 runs on campus at West Melbourne in a 3.5-hour session with weekly intakes, with a $75 indicative fee (confirm current pricing when enrolling). CPR skills are refreshed annually in most workplaces because the Australian Resuscitation Council recommends renewing CPR training every 12 months.

You can read the full step-by-step compression technique in our companion guide to the steps of CPR for adults, or see what else a course covers in what a CPR course includes in Australia.

Common mistakes to avoid

Skipping Danger is the most common error — helpers run to the casualty and enter the same hazard that caused the collapse. Others include: forgetting to send for help early enough, spending too long deciding whether breathing is normal, compressing too shallowly or too slowly, and delaying AED use while CPR continues. AEDs are increasingly available in workplaces, public venues, and sports and community clubs, so the defibrillation step is realistic far more often than people expect.

Frequently asked questions

Is DRSABCD the same in every Australian state?

Yes. The action plan is the same nationally and reflects the Australian Resuscitation Council guidelines used by every registered training organisation, including in Victoria and New South Wales.

Do I need a first aid certificate to remember DRSABCD?

The letters are simple enough to memorise, but practical assessment — how hard to press, how to open an airway, how to use an AED — is what accredited training and annual CPR refreshers build and verify.

What number do I call to send for help?

000 for police, fire and ambulance anywhere in Australia. If you are deaf or have a speech or hearing impairment, the SMS-only emergency service 106 may be available for telecommunication relay users — otherwise 000 TTY/relay options or a trusted person nearby can make the call.

How often should DRSABCD training be refreshed?

Most workplace first aid certificates remain current for three years, with CPR refreshed every 12 months — confirm the exact requirements with your employer, industry regulator or the Australian Resuscitation Council.

DRSABCD turns panic into a checklist. If you have never rehearsed it hands-on, or your CPR skills are more than a year old, the next HLTAID009 session at ALIT’s West Melbourne campus is a short, practical way to make sure you can actually run the plan when it counts. See course dates and enrol here.