ISO 45001 is being revised — what's changing, and when

The international benchmark for workplace health and safety management systems, ISO 45001, is undergoing its first major revision since it was published in 2018. A revised edition  expected to be released as ISO 45001:2027 is currently moving through ISO's formal review process, and organisations that hold or are working toward certification should start paying attention now.

Timeline

The Draft was released in mid-2026, and the standard is progressing through the usual ISO stages of stakeholder consultation and refinement before formal publication, targeted for some time in  2027. Once published, certified organisations will typically be given a three-year transition period to move from the 2018 edition to the new but, early movers will find the shift far less disruptive than those who wait.

What's expected to change

While the core Plan-Do-Check-Act structure will remain but  several substantive shifts are anticipated:

•     Psychosocial risk formally embedded with mental health and psychological wellbeing expected to be treated as a systematic risk factor within the management system, not an optional add-on (aligning ISO45001 more closely with ISO 45003).

•     Resilience and crisis preparedness with a new emphasis on managing disruption, including cyber risk, climate-related disruptions, as part of an organisation's OH&S planning.

•     A greater weight on demonstrated results, rather than paperwork and procedural compliance alone.

•     ESG and sustainability alignment, with clearer connections between OH&S performance and broader ESG and sustainability reporting.

•     Emphasis on and support for digital-first systems and real-time monitoring and assurance.

•     Closer integration with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 for organisations running multiple management systems.

What this means for your organisation

None of this is confirmed final, and the standard is still subject to change before publication but the direction of travel is clear. Organisations with maturing WHS systems have a genuine opportunity to get ahead by building psychosocial risk management, outcome-based reporting and system integration into current WHS uplift work now, rather than treating the 2027 revision as a separate future project.

We'll keep tracking this as it moves through ISO's remaining drafting stages and will update our clients as firmer dates and final requirements are confirmed.