What is the difference between ISO 45001 and ISO 45003?
Short answer
ISO 45001:2018 is the international management system standard for occupational health and safety — the broad WHS / OH&S framework. ISO 45003:2021 is the supplementary guidance specifically on managing psychosocial risks within an ISO 45001 OH&S management system.
ISO 45001:2018 is the management system standard for occupational health and safety. It follows the Annex SL high-level structure shared by ISO 9001 (quality), ISO 14001 (environment) and ISO 27001 (information security). Clauses include:
- 4 — Context of the organisation
- 5 — Leadership and worker participation
- 6 — Planning (including hazard identification 6.1.2)
- 7 — Support (resources, competence, awareness, communication 7.4, documented information 7.5)
- 8 — Operation
- 9 — Performance evaluation (internal audit 9.2, management review 9.3)
- 10 — Improvement (incident, NC, CA 10.2)
ISO 45003:2021 is a guidance standard (not certifiable on its own) that extends ISO 45001 to cover psychosocial risk: workplace stress, bullying, harassment, fatigue, isolation, role conflict, traumatic exposure, etc.
In Australia, every state regulator now has a Code of Practice for managing psychosocial hazards at work; the Safe Work Australia model Code was published in 2022. ISO 45003 maps cleanly to those Codes.
In New Zealand, WorkSafe published the Mentally Healthy Work Good Practice Guide (May 2024), which aligns with ISO 45003 and adds a Te Whare Tapa Whā framing.
RAE IQ's psychosocial register is structured to ISO 45003 hazard categories.