ISO 45001
ISO 45001 is the WHS system a tender can name.
ISO 45001:2018 is the occupational health and safety management system standard. In Australia that sits on a WHS system, and OHS in Victoria. PolicySystem writes the policy and runs the registers. A JAS-ANZ body still issues any certificate.
What the software gives you
A live WHS policy (OHS in Victoria) with document control. Hazard, incident, SDS, training, evidence and CAPA registers. Internal audit against the 45001 clauses you selected, plus management review from live data.
What we are not
Not a certification body. Not SWMS, not inspections, not QR sign-in and not a site WHS plan. If the client only asked for your WHS system, start there. If they named ISO 45001 on a tender, you still pay the JAS-ANZ body for the audit.
ISO 45001 clause by clause, for a small business
ISO 45001:2018 uses the same ten-clause structure as ISO 9001. Clause 4 asks who your workers and interested parties are and what your scope is. Clause 5 wants leadership, worker consultation and a WHS policy. Clause 6 is hazard identification, risk assessment and legal requirements. Clause 7 covers competence, awareness, communication and documented information. Clause 8 is operational control: hazardous chemicals, contractors, emergency preparedness, change. Clause 9 is monitoring, internal audit and management review. Clause 10 is incidents, nonconformity and corrective action. OurISO 45001 checklist walks through each one with the register that answers it.
The registers that carry the system
- Hazard register with risk ratings and controls (clause 6.1).
- Incident and near miss register with corrective actions (clause 10.2).
- Hazardous chemicals and SDS register (clause 8.1).
- Induction and training register with ticket expiry (clause 7.2).
- Evidence register for toolbox talks, consultation and inspections (clause 5.4, 9.1).
- CAPA register linking every finding to an owner and a due date (clause 10).
An assessor reads those registers before they read your policy. A beautiful policy with empty registers fails. A plain policy with six months of honest entries passes.
How it works in PolicySystem
Describe the business, including the high-risk work you do: heights, plant, chemicals, confined spaces, electrical. AI writes the WHS policy (OHS wording if Victoria is in scope) and the procedures for each risk you ticked, then marks the ones you did not tick as not applicable so the index has no holes. The registers open live. The AI internal auditor scores the 45001 clauses and tells you which form to file to close each gap.
Victoria, and every other state
Victoria runs the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, so the policy should say OHS and cite WorkSafe Victoria. Everywhere else it is WHS under the model law. ISO 45001 does not care which word you use, but the client reading your policy does. The jurisdictions you tick at setup drive the wording.
Where to next
ISO 9001 · ISO 9001 and 45001 for tenders · WHS management system · OHS Victoria · ISO certification cost
Common questions.
A WHS management system is what Australian law expects a PCBU to run: policy, consultation, risk control, training and records. ISO 45001:2018 is the international standard that describes what a good one looks like, in ten clauses, so a third party can audit it. If you build a WHS system properly you are most of the way to 45001. The certificate is the extra step a tender sometimes demands.
No. Work health and safety law (the model WHS Act in most states, the OHS Act 2004 in Victoria) requires you to manage risk and consult workers. It does not require certification. ISO 45001 is a commercial requirement that clients and tenders add. The registers and records that satisfy the law are the same ones that satisfy the standard.
No. Safe Work Method Statements are task-level documents for high-risk construction work, written per job. ISO 45001 is the company-wide system that says how you identify hazards, write SWMS when they are needed, train people and review incidents. This software is the system. SWMS are a different product.
Clause 8.1 asks you to eliminate hazards and reduce risk. For chemicals that means a hazardous chemicals register with a current safety data sheet for each substance, controls in the procedure, and training for the people who use them. The SDS register in PolicySystem is built for that question.
A JAS-ANZ accredited body runs Stage 1 (a documentation review) and Stage 2 (a site visit checking the system runs). They sample records: incidents and how you closed them, training currency, hazard registers, management review minutes and internal audit findings. Small businesses are usually one to two audit days.