Whats happening with ISO45001?

The long awaited ISO45001 international safety standard is now in place and companies in Australia are already certified to the new standard. We have been getting questions from our clients asking what is going on, what does it mean for their 4801 certification and do they need to change?

Theres no need to panic just yet. The ISO45001 standard replaces the OHSAS18001 standard. Most companies in Australia are certificated to AS4801. However, there are also a lot of companies who have 18001 due to international client requirements or parent company requirements.

For companies certified to OHSAS18001, you have 3 years to transition to the new ISO45001 standard. Your certification body should have already contacted you with the cutoff date for this (31 March 2021).

If you are a company who is currently certified to AS4801 then you don't need to do anything yet. ISO45001 does not yet replace AS4801. If you have AS4801 you may choose to change to ISO45001. However, this will be seen as a new certification by your certification body and hence cost you more money for the certification process compared to your current surveillance or recertification costs with AS4801.

Currently the Government agencies are still accepting AS4801 certification. However, the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) advised J2M Systems late last year that they are in discussions with regulatory authorities regarding AS4801 and ISO45001 and it is expected that all certificates will be to ISO45001 by 31 March 2021. This has not been finalised yet so currently AS4801 certificates remain valid and new companies seeking certification can choose AS4801 or OHSAS18001.

If you have any questions about standards or need help complying. Please feel free to give us a call on 02 8402 2195 or info@j2m.com.au