Clause 7.4.1: General
The organization sets up, runs and keeps the processes it needs for communicating, inside and outside the organization, on matters that bear on its OH&S management system, deciding what is communicated, when, to whom and by what means.
What clause 7.4.1 asks
The organization sets up, runs and keeps the processes it needs for communicating, inside and outside the organization, on matters that bear on its OH&S management system, deciding what is communicated, when, to whom and by what means. It takes account of diversity, such as gender, language, culture, literacy and disability; weighs the views of outside interested parties; has regard to legal and other requirements; makes sure the OH&S information it communicates matches what the system itself produces and can be relied on; replies to relevant communications; and keeps documented information as evidence.
Communication has to reach the people who need it in a form they can use. The clause names diversity, external views, legal duties, consistency of data and a reply to what comes in.
Draft 7.4.1 General, from clause 7.4.1. The public summaries report the diversity of workers emphasis reaching 7.4, with communication expected to work for remote and hybrid workers as well as on-site teams.
Evidence for clause 7.4.1
An auditor will check that a worker who reads another language, or works nights, received the same message as the day shift.
- CommunicationCommunication plan naming content, timing, audience and channel
- CommunicationEvidence diversity aspects considered (translations, accessible formats)
- CommunicationRecords of communications and responses
- CommunicationConsistency check between communicated and internal OH&S data
Where clause 7.4.1 commonly fails
- Communication in one language for a multilingual workforce
- No process for responding to external communications
- Published OH&S figures inconsistent with internal records
What to do about clause 7.4.1 before the revision
Map each audience to a channel and a language. Add accessible formats for disability and low literacy. Check one published OH&S figure against the internal record. Show a reply to an external communication.
What the record shows for clause 7.4.1
An auditor working on clause 7.4.1 will start with Communication plan naming content, timing, audience and channel. The failure this record sees most often is Communication in one language for a multilingual workforce. Both are carried into the kit as row 20, with an owner field and a dated action.
Read across from clause 7.4.1
Read the next clause in the group, or open the full index. The revision map shows the draft structure.
Source for clause 7.4.1: ISO 45001:2018, clause 7.4.1, retrieved 18 October 2026. The draft note rests on the public DIS contents and the two named summaries; the requirement, evidence and gaps are written from the held clause record. Every source.