ISO 45001 Internal Audit Toolkit

Plan, Conduct and Document Your OH&S Internal Audits

The Verivexa ISO 45001 Internal Audit Toolkit provides a focused collection of editable resources designed to help organisations establish, plan, conduct and document internal audits of their Occupational Health & Safety Management System.

Rather than relying on a standalone audit checklist, the toolkit combines a risk-based audit programme, audit planning, evidence and working papers, structured reporting and findings tracking to support a repeatable internal audit process.

£69 | 5 practical OH&S audit resources + START HERE guide | Editable Word & Excel files | Immediate digital delivery

What’s Included

The toolkit contains 5 dedicated internal audit resources:

• Internal Audit Policy & Procedure
• Risk-Based Internal Audit Programme
• Internal Audit Plan Template
• Internal Audit Checklist, Evidence & Working Papers
• Internal Audit Report & Findings Tracker

Together, these resources provide a practical framework for managing the internal audit lifecycle:

Programme → Plan → Audit → Evidence → Findings → Actions → Follow-Up

Risk-Based Internal Audit Programme

ISO 45001 internal auditing should be more than completing the same clause checklist once each year.

The included Risk-Based Internal Audit Programme helps organisations plan audit activity while considering factors such as:

• OH&S risks and hazards
• Importance of processes
• Previous audit results
• Incidents and nonconformities
• Organisational and operational changes
• OH&S performance
• Legal and compliance status
• Contractor and outsourced activities
• Management-system maturity

This allows higher-risk or poorly performing areas to receive appropriate audit attention while still maintaining coverage of the OH&S management system over the defined audit cycle.

Plan Individual Audits

The Internal Audit Plan provides a structured way to define each audit before it begins.

Use it to establish:

• Audit objectives
• Audit scope
• Audit criteria
• Processes and locations
• Auditor responsibilities
• People to be interviewed
• Timing and schedule
• Evidence requirements
• Reporting arrangements

This helps ensure audits are purposeful and proportionate rather than simply driven by a generic checklist.

Gather Meaningful Audit Evidence

The included Audit Checklist, Evidence & Working Papers supports structured evidence gathering throughout the audit.

Internal audit evidence can include:

• Documents and records
• Workplace observations
• Worker interviews
• Management interviews
• Risk assessments
• Operational controls
• Monitoring and measurement results
• Compliance evaluations
• Incident records
• Previous corrective actions

The toolkit encourages auditors to triangulate evidence rather than relying on documents alone.

For example:

Documented Process → Interview → Workplace Observation → Record → Audit Conclusion

This provides stronger evidence of whether processes are actually implemented and effective.

Worker Consultation & Participation

Worker involvement is a particularly important element of an ISO 45001 management system.

Internal audits should therefore consider evidence from the people performing the work rather than relying solely on managers or documented procedures.

The toolkit supports appropriate worker interviews and evidence gathering to determine whether arrangements are understood and operating in practice.

Record Clear Audit Findings

The Audit Report & Findings Tracker provides a structured approach for recording audit results and maintaining visibility of identified issues.

Findings can be supported by:

• Objective evidence
• Relevant audit criteria
• Clear descriptions
• Responsible owners
• Required actions
• Target dates
• Follow-up
• Effectiveness verification

This creates traceability from the original audit evidence through to resolution.

Auditor Objectivity & Competence

The toolkit supports organisations in considering the competence and objectivity of internal auditors.

Internal auditors do not automatically need to be external to the organisation, but arrangements should provide sufficient impartiality so auditors are not simply auditing their own work without appropriate safeguards.

Smaller organisations can adapt their approach through cross-auditing, independent internal personnel or competent external support where appropriate.

More Than Clause Checking

A strong internal audit should determine whether the OH&S management system is implemented, maintained and operating effectively.

The toolkit therefore encourages auditors to follow processes and evidence trails rather than treating internal audit as a document-presence exercise.

For example:

Hazard → Risk Assessment → Control → Worker Understanding → Workplace Implementation → Monitoring → Improvement

This approach provides much stronger insight into how the management system actually operates.

Fully Editable

Resources are supplied in editable Microsoft Word and Excel formats, allowing you to customise the audit process to reflect your organisation's:

• Size
• Activities
• Workplaces
• OH&S risks
• Processes
• Audit cycle
• Organisational structure
• Existing audit arrangements

Ideal For

• Organisations implementing ISO 45001
• ISO 45001-certified organisations
• Health & Safety Managers
• Internal Auditors
• Management System Managers
• Compliance Teams
• Consultants
• Organisations strengthening existing OH&S audit programmes

Use as a Standalone Toolkit or With the Full ISO 45001 Suite

The Internal Audit Toolkit can be used independently to establish or strengthen an organisation's ISO 45001 internal audit process.

These resources are also included within the relevant Verivexa ISO 45001 management-system toolkits.

Current Standard Alignment

Developed for:

ISO 45001:2018 — Occupational health and safety management systems

Including:

ISO 45001:2018/Amd 1:2024 — Climate action changes

Important Information

The Verivexa ISO 45001 Internal Audit Toolkit provides resources to support internal audit planning and implementation.

Organisations remain responsible for establishing an audit programme appropriate to their activities, risks and management system and for ensuring auditors have appropriate competence and objectivity.

The toolkit does not replace the ISO 45001 standard, applicable legislation, competent professional advice or independent certification assessment.

Digital Product — Instant Download

5 editable specialist resources

£59 — One-Time Purchase