On a Sunday afternoon in July, Wantirna's Adam Farchione was at a football game when he saw a man collapse and require CPR. The basics of CPR he saw while paramedics attended to the man would prove vital just a few hours later.

Later that night, Adam was watching television with his father, Tony, when Tony went into cardiac arrest.

Adam said his father made a weird noise and wasn't responding to him. Adam then rushed to the phone and dialled 000. He managed to calm himself down and applied CPR.

For about 10 minutes, he helped treat his father before an ambulance arrived. A defibrillator applied by paramedics eventually helped revive Tony.

Tony said he was proud that his son had been nominated.

Adam, a student at Whitefriars College in Donvale, is now calling on schools throughout the state to give students the opportunity to learn how to administer CPR.

"You need to learn the basics about what to do."

Paramedic Kevin Commins said Adam's efforts undoubtedly contributed to his father's complete recovery.