What Life-Saving Looks Like in 2026

As Australia enters 2026, the way lives are being saved is quietly changing.

The most important moments in a cardiac emergency are no longer defined by the arrival of paramedics alone. Increasingly, they are shaped by what happens in the first few minutes, and by who is already nearby.

Across the country, emergency services are building systems that rely on trained members of the public to act early. Smartphone responder apps, live AED registries and dispatcher-assisted CPR are bringing care forward in time. The result is a model where life-saving often begins before an ambulance arrives.

New South Wales provides the clearest public data on how this shift is playing out.

The Numbers Behind the Change

NSW Ambulance’s integration with the GoodSAM app shows rapid growth in bystander response capability.

Between mid-2024 and late 2025:

• Registered GoodSAM responders increased from around 7,300 to more than 11,600

• Public AEDs mapped in the system grew from approximately 4,300 to over 5,300

• Lives saved through the program rose from about 30 to roughly 80, including dozens where an AED was used before paramedics arrived

While these figures are NSW-specific, similar programs are operating or expanding nationwide. AED mandates, public registries and responder activation systems are now part of emergency planning across multiple states.

The direction is consistent. When cardiac arrest occurs, trained bystanders are more often present, equipped and willing to act.

Lives Behind the Data

Statistics alone do not explain why this matters.

Kent Ross was 49 when he collapsed on a golf course in New South Wales. Friends immediately began CPR and applied an AED before emergency crews arrived. He survived.

“I want people to know that CPR works. It saved my life,” Ross later said. “If you see someone collapse, don’t wait. Start CPR and use an AED if one is available.”

In another NSW case, Valerie Harwood survived a sudden cardiac arrest at an indoor climbing gym after bystanders performed CPR. She later signed up as a GoodSAM responder herself.

“I’m lucky there were people near me who knew what to do,” she said. “I encourage everyone to get trained and sign up.”

These are not isolated incidents. They are examples of what happens when training, access and confidence align.

Why 2026 Is Different

AEDs and CPR training are not new. What is new is how strongly the system now expects the public to be involved.

Emergency call-takers routinely coach callers through CPR. AED locations are visible to dispatchers and responders in real time. Trained volunteers can be alerted to emergencies happening minutes from where they already are.

The assumption has shifted. The system no longer asks whether someone nearby can help. It increasingly assumes they can.

That expectation changes the role of training.

The Role of First Aid Trainers

Every responder alert begins well before an emergency. It begins in a training room.

The growth seen in NSW did not happen by chance. It followed years of workplace CPR requirements, community training programs and instructors reinforcing a simple message: doing something early matters more than doing it perfectly.

In 2026, first aid training is no longer just about compliance or certification. It is part of the country’s emergency response infrastructure.

When someone starts compressions, retrieves an AED or responds to an app alert, they are putting training into action in real conditions. The quality of that response depends on how well they were prepared to recognise cardiac arrest, stay calm and act decisively.

For trainers, that reality brings responsibility but also relevance.

A New Year Perspective

Most lives saved in 2026 will not make headlines. They will be saved quietly, in offices, gyms, parks and homes.

They will be saved because:

• Someone recognised cardiac arrest

• Someone started CPR

• Someone used an AED

Often within the first three minutes.

As the year begins, the evidence points to a clear conclusion. Life-saving in Australia is becoming faster, closer and more community-driven.

First aid trainers are not on the sidelines of that shift. They are at its foundation.

In 2026, the first response does not start with a siren.
It starts with someone who knows what to do.