DRSABCD: someone has collapsed
The basic life-support sequence for an unresponsive person: Danger, Response, Send for help, Airway, Breathing, CPR, Defibrillation.
Critical caution: This summary does not replace a first-aid course. Follow the instructions of the emergency call-taker, who can coach you through CPR.
- Time
- Seconds to start
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Outcome
- Keep blood flowing to the brain until help or a defibrillator arrives
Survival lens: In a collapse, the survival mindset is about starting, not perfection. Effort now, guided by the call-taker, beats waiting for certainty.
Before you begin
- Know your emergency number
- Know where the nearest AED (defibrillator) is at home, work and in your area
- Do a recognised CPR course and refresh it regularly
What you need
- Phone on speaker
- Gloves and CPR face shield if available
- AED (defibrillator) if available
- Someone to send for help
Step-by-step procedure
- Danger. Check for traffic, fire, electricity, gas, water or violence. Do not become a second casualty.
- Response. Talk and touch: speak loudly, squeeze their shoulders. If they respond, keep them comfortable, monitor them and get help as needed.
- Send for help. Call the emergency number, or get someone else to call, and put the phone on speaker. Send someone to find an AED.
- Airway. Open the mouth and check for anything blocking it. If there is, roll them onto their side and clear it. Then lay them on their back and tilt the head back to open the airway.
- Breathing. Look, listen and feel for normal breathing. Gasping or irregular breathing is not normal breathing.
- CPR. If they are unresponsive and not breathing normally, start CPR: 30 chest compressions to 2 breaths, at a rate of 100–120 compressions a minute, pressing down about one-third of the depth of the chest in the centre. If you cannot or will not give breaths, do continuous compressions. Swap rescuers every two minutes if you can.
- Defibrillation. Turn on an AED as soon as it arrives and follow its voice prompts. Continue CPR until the person recovers, help arrives and takes over, or you are physically unable to continue.
How to check it is working
- Emergency services have been called
- Compressions are hard, fast and in the centre of the chest
- Interruptions to compressions are short
- The AED is attached as soon as it arrives
Common mistakes
- Waiting to be sure before starting CPR
- Mistaking gasping for normal breathing
- Stopping compressions for long checks
- Delaying the AED
Sources and further reading
How this guide was checked
Official-source aligned: Aligned with the Australian Resuscitation Council (ANZCOR) basic life support sequence
Independent specialist review: not yet completed. How review works.
Last updated: Nov 2026 · edition 1.0.
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