ISO 45001. Integrated and done right.
Client asking for ISO 45001? Know what it will take.
We design and implement a safety management system around your operations. Discuss your client’s requirements, your existing documentation and your target date, so you can understand the scope, indicative costs and next steps.
- 140+ businesses supported to certification
- Exemplar Global Certified Lead Auditors
- ISO 9001 Meridian is itself certified
- Transparent fees, quoted in writing before you commit
Trusted by operators across Australia
Whatever’s driving it
We start with what your client is asking for.
A head contractor or tender requirement.
Many head contractors and government panels list ISO 45001 in their prequalification criteria. We scope the system to what they’ve asked for.
An incident or a client safety review.
An incident, a near miss or a client audit often shows that the system on paper is not the one on site. That is the moment to fix it properly.
Moving off AS/NZS 4801 or OHSAS 18001.
Clients and certification bodies now expect ISO 45001 in their place. We move your existing system across rather than starting again.
How we do it
A clear, coordinated path to ISO 45001 certification.
From onboarding through to your certification audits, we coordinate the process, develop your system with you and support your team at each stage.
Audit planning starts at onboarding.
We coordinate with your certification body early, aligning proposed audit dates with your implementation plan, business priorities and auditor availability.
Your hazards and legal duties are mapped first.
We identify the WHS legislation, codes of practice and client requirements that apply to you, and the hazards in the work your crews actually do, so the system is built on real risk.
Your system is put into practice.
We work with your team to implement the system, set up worker consultation, establish responsibilities, and complete internal audits and management review in preparation for external assessment.
We support you throughout the audits.
We prepare your team, attend your Stage 1 and Stage 2 audits, and help address any findings and coordinate follow-up actions with your certification body.
Audit scheduling depends on your organisation’s readiness and auditor availability. Certification decisions remain with the independent certification body.
The Meridian method
An ISO 45001 system built around how your teams actually work
Not generic templates. Four deliberate stages take you from first conversation to certification and beyond, and each one leaves you with something that works.
Personalise.
Understand how the work gets done.
- Site walkswith the people who do the work
- OHS policy and defined scope
- Hazard identification and risk registerbuilt from the tasks your crews actually do
- Legal and other requirements registerWHS laws, regulations and codes of practice for each state you work in
Prepare.
Build what matters.
- Worker consultation and participationset up early, with evidence it happens
- Safe work method statementsfor your high-risk construction work
- Incident reporting and investigationwith corrective actions that actually close
- Contractor managementverifying their systems, not just collecting their certificates
- Emergency preparedness and response
- Training, competency and site inductionswith records kept current
Perfect.
Make it audit-ready.
- Your first full internal auditconducted for you
- Evaluation of complianceagainst your legal duties, before an auditor does
- Management review packand first meeting facilitated
- Certifier selectionfrom accredited JAS-ANZ bodies
- Stage 1 and Stage 2 audit coordinationwith auditor interview preparation for your team
- Corrective action close-outhandled by us
Preserve.
Keep it certified.
- Surveillance audit preparationyears one and two
- Safety performance monitoringleading indicators, not just lost time injuries
- Training for ongoing complianceso your team can run the system day to day
Already have safety documents, SWMS or an AS/NZS 4801 system? Bring them. We keep what works, improve what nearly works, and only build what’s missing.
Know what you’re comparing
Three different things get advertised against “ISO 45001”.
You will see all three bidding on the same search. They are not the same product.
| Criteria | Meridian | A template seller | A certification body |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | A system built around your operations | Documents you adapt yourself | An audit and a certificate |
| Who writes it | Exemplar Global Certified Lead Auditors | Pre-written, then adapted by you | You do. They cannot build it |
| Your hazard and risk register | Built from the work your crews actually do | A generic list, if any | Your job |
| Internal audit | Run for you, ahead of certification | Your job | Your job |
| At the audit | We attend and close out findings | Not included | They are the auditor |
| Issues the certificate | No. An accredited JAS-ANZ body does | No | Yes |
| Right for you if | You need the system built properly, once | You have a WHS or HSEQ manager with time | You already have a working system |
Why Meridian
A consultancy that builds the system and runs one itself.
We are a national company which attained triple ISO certification. Our organisation had outdated processes that were no longer being properly monitored. Meridian has been brilliant in assisting us throughout the process. Highly recommended. I wouldn’t bother looking elsewhere.
Meridian made the ISO process far easier than we expected. Their team worked closely with us to build systems that fit how Concentric Concepts actually operates. The guidance was clear, practical and extremely professional from start to finish.
We are not the largest ISO consultancy in Australia and we do not try to be. Every one of those businesses is one we can name, in a sector we know.
140+ businesses supported
Businesses supported to certification across a range of sizes and sectors.
Certified Lead Auditors
Our team includes Exemplar Global Certified Lead Auditors.
ISO 9001 certified ourselves
Meridian is itself ISO 9001 certified. We run the standard we help you work towards.
Sectors we support
Built for the industries where certification wins work.
- Construction
- Civil
- Transport
- Logistics
- Manufacturing
- Government-facing
Get started
Tell us what your client is asking for.
Share your client’s requirements, your existing documentation and your target date. We will come back with the scope, an indicative cost and next steps.
So Solid, It’s Simple.
Prefer to talk?Call 1300 438 476Common questions
The things people ask before they call.
Want to talk it through first?
Call 1300 438 476How much does ISO 45001 certification cost?
There are two costs and only one of them comes to us. Our consultancy fee depends on your sites, your headcount, the risk profile of the work you do, and how much documentation already exists. Separately, your Stage 1 and Stage 2 audits are conducted by an independent, accredited JAS-ANZ certification body and paid directly to them, along with a smaller surveillance audit in years one and two. You will have an indicative figure for both on the first call, before you have committed to anything.
How long does it take?
It depends on two things, and only one of them is ours: how quickly you can turn around information and approvals, and when your certification body has an auditor available. On ISO 45001 the item most likely to slow things down is worker consultation, because the auditor will want evidence that it happens, so we set it up early. We coordinate with your certification body from the start, so proposed audit dates line up with your implementation plan.
We have AS/NZS 4801 or OHSAS 18001. Do we start again?
No. Much of what you have carries across. ISO 45001 adds requirements the older standards did not have, including stronger worker consultation and participation, leadership involvement, and planning for risks and opportunities. We review what you have, keep what works and build the gaps.
Can you guarantee we will be certified?
No. The certification decision belongs to an independent, JAS-ANZ-accredited certification body, and that independence is what makes your certificate worth something to a head contractor. What we do is build an audit-ready system, evaluate your compliance and run your internal audit and management review ahead of your certification audit, prepare your team, and close out any findings ourselves.
We already have ISO 9001 or ISO 14001. Do we need a separate system?
No, and you should not build one. ISO 45001 shares the same underlying structure as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, so we extend the system you already run rather than starting a second one beside it. One set of procedures, one internal audit programme, one management review. If you hold one already, adding ISO 45001 is a smaller job than starting from nothing, and we will tell you how much smaller on the call.
There is a tender closing soon. Can you help?
Often, yes. Tell us the closing date on the call and we will tell you straight whether it is realistic, based on auditor availability at the time. If it is not, we will tell you what you can put in the submission in the meantime.
We have had a cheaper quote.
You probably have, and it may be the right choice for you. Compare what is actually in scope: is the hazard register built from your actual work, is worker consultation set up, is the internal audit included, is the management review facilitated, does someone attend the audit with you, who closes out the corrective actions? The auditor certifies the system rather than the documents, so what is included matters more than the headline price.