Mental Health First Aid Delivery Standards
Certificates
The certification date should correspond to the completion of the final unit. The qualification’s validity period, as outlined in Table 2, should be determined from this date. Certificates awarded for Mental Health First aid must include the following details:
- A reference to the Management of Health and Safety RegulationsÂ
- A statement confirming that the certificate is valid for three years from the final unit completion date
- The name of the training provider
Training Duration
The minimum required contact hours (time allocated for direct teaching and assessment, excluding breaks) for each qualification are outlined in Table 2.
For MHFA qualifications, the minimum contact hours are as follows:
- Mental Health First Aid Awareness: 4 hours
- Mental Health First Aid: 6 hours
Learners who have previously achieved the MHFA qualification must re-certify by completing the full course again.
All learners must be assessed on every learning outcome and criterion outlined in the course units.Â
It is important for training providers, centres, and employers to understand that if a workplace mental health first aider’s certification expires, they will not be recognised as a mental health first aider until they complete the qualification again.
Session Plans
All courses must be conducted using the current session plans provided within each course pack. It is the trainer’s ultimate responsibility to ensure these plans are followed and implemented throughout the training.
Course Evaluation
All courses must be conducted using the current session plans provided within each course pack. It is the trainer’s ultimate responsibility to ensure these plans are followed and implemented throughout the training.
Internal Quality Assurance (IQA)
All courses must be conducted using the current session plans provided within each course pack. It is the trainer’s ultimate responsibility to ensure these plans are followed and implemented throughout the training.
Table 1: Training Venue and Equipment Requirements:
Hygiene
Adequate procedures must be established to maintain hygiene when using training equipment.
AV Equipment & Training Aids
Sufficient Audio Visual equipment and training aids should be available to facilitate learning using varying teaching methods.
Reference Materials
Participants should be given clear and accurate reference books or handouts that cover all the topics included in the qualification. They should have access to these materials for the duration of their certification’s validity.
Training Venues
The training venue must comply with acceptable health and safety standards and provide a conducive learning environment. This includes adequate size, appropriate floor surfaces, sufficient seating and writing surfaces, clean toilet facilities, proper ventilation, lighting, heating, accessible entrances and exits, cleanliness, and minimal distracting noise.
Table 2: Standards for Duration, Certification and Delivery of First Aid Qualifications
Qualification
Learning
Hours 1
Minimum
Days 2
Maximum
Weeks 3
Minimum
Session 4
Participant /
Trainer Ratio 5
Certification
Period 6
Annual
Refresher 7
Mental Health First Aid
6
1
10
2 hours
16:1
3 Years
Yes
Mental Health First Aid Awareness
4
½Â
4
2 hours
16:1
3 Years
Yes
NOTES FOR IN-PERSON LEARNING
- Time allocated for direct classroom instruction and assessment, excluding breaks.
- Minimum number of days required for the delivery of the training.
- Maximum timeframe within which the qualification must be completed. Special considerations may allow for an extension if necessary.
- Minimum length of any single training session.
- Maximum number of participants per Trainer or Assessor at any given time.
- The certificate’s validity period should be calculated from the date the final unit is completed.
- Indicates whether annual refreshers are recommended during the qualification period before re-qualification. While some IT systems may not support this, AOs should include a recommendation for annual refreshers on certificates, ideally specifying the month/years they should take place and the deadline for full re-qualification.
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