How to Get ISO9001 Accreditation in Australia

  • By: Darren McCullagh
  • January 13, 2025
ISO 9001 Accreditation Australia
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Earning an ISO9001 certification is mandatory in some industries, but even if it’s not, the senior leadership in any organisation should strive to earn it. The certification assures business partners and customers that your organisation is committed to consistently maintaining legal and ethical standards across its operations while delivering quality service. Organisations attain ISO9001 certification after completing a multi-step process in which your company proves it will follow best practices and meet certain requirements. 

The process can seem intimidating from a distance. In this article, we will explain each step of the certification process.

What is ISO9001?

ISO9001 is the international standard for creating a quality management system (QMS). Quality management systems are a set of defined processes and responsibilities that help increase the efficiency of your business and customer satisfaction. 

ISO is run by the International Organisation for Standardisation, the official governing body for QMS, which first published the ISO9001 standards in 1978. The standards have been updated periodically since, most recently in 2015.

Even if ISO9001 isn’t required in your industry of choice, it can still create several advantages for your company. Certification enables your team to more readily meet the needs of customers and become a more competitive option in the marketplace. Modern technologies and techniques improve overall performance while also saving time and resources. This heightened level of competence will be felt by customers, boosting your organisation’s reputation and raising the bar for potential success.

Now that you know why ISO9001 accreditation is so beneficial, learn how to earn the certification.

Product Overview

Enhance strategic meetings with OnBoard's intuitive board management tools.

Achieving ISO9001 Accreditation in Australia

Follow these steps to earn ISO9001 accreditation.

1. Understand ISO9001 Standards

What does success look like? How will your organisation achieve this goal? The first step of any planning process is to answer those two questions. In the case of ISO9001, the specific requirements for certification differ depending on the industry in which you work. General ISO requirements in Australia include:

  • Sensible allocation of proper resources
  • Formal training for each department 
  • Internal audits
  • Complete documentation of internal processes and records
  • A commitment to effective leadership

One way to gauge your organisation’s current status in relation to ISO9001 accreditation is with a gap analysis. It identifies areas of improvement for your company to help your establishment meet the eligibility requirements for ISO9001 certification.

2. Plan the Quality Management System Implementation

After evaluating your organisation’s ISO readiness, you can then begin developing a QMS strategy. Senior management should hold meetings among themselves and other high-level employees to define overall business goals, objectives, and metrics to measure success. Take stock of your team’s capabilities and available resources to ensure your goals are ambitious but attainable. Your organisation should also create a risk management profile to mitigate the most dangerous risks and protect against legal issues.

This preparation allows you to create a more realistic outline for future success and map out an appropriate timeline for the implementation process. There is a tricky balance to strike. Quality management systems can be rushed to completion in a couple of weeks, but the hurried schedule could lead to errors in development. Similarly, an extended project could lose momentum or direction.

3. Develop the QMS

With agreed-upon plans in place, you can get to work on a new quality management system to ensure compliance with ISO9001 moving forward. Be sure to set certain benchmarks and hold regular meetings to check if progress is being made on time, and adjust the schedule if needed. The development process should be documented in detail to maintain strong records and help team members understand each step of the QMS process.

4. Implement the QMS

The next step is to apply the ISO9001 standards to your business. The implementation stage is often the lengthiest portion of the process due to the amount of work and oversight needed to incorporate ISO requirements into the organisation’s processes. 

Each department should receive ample training to perform their new duties at a high level. The company should create reporting systems to review effectiveness throughout the process and make improvements when necessary. Reporting can take the form of regular inspections, tests, statistical profiles, and discussions with key personnel.

5. Perform Internal Audits

One common requirement of the ISO9001 standard is that each organisation must conduct internal audits. Audits are crucial to identifying challenges as they occur and quickly devising effective responses to those challenges. This ensures your operations run efficiently and may help you find new growth opportunities for your business. The ability to perform internal audits shows your management team is capable of honestly evaluating the organisation’s business and is worthy of trust. 

6. Select a Certification Body

If all goes well, the accreditation process concludes with an independent audit. These independent audits are conducted by certification bodies, which are third-party organisations that specialise in reviewing businesses to verify that they meet the ISO9001 standards. 

The Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) is a non-profit organisation that provides a searchable list of certification bodies and companies that are currently certified. JAS-ANZ also has a technical advisory council and accreditation review board. The directory streamlines the process by allowing you to search by name, country, city, certification type, and other variables so you can find the optimal certification body for your organisation.  If your organisation meets the standards, you will receive a certificate that formally recognizes your ISO9001 accreditation. The certificate remains valid for three years before it needs to be renewed.

Understanding the Board's Role in ISO9001 Accreditation

An ISO9001 certification shows potential customers, business partners, and peers in the industry that your organisation can be trusted to conduct its operations properly. Earning and maintaining an ISO9001 accreditation in Australia requires organised management and record-keeping. OnBoard’s digital management platform can help your organisation perform all these tasks and more. The platform comes with numerous features, such as engagement analytics, board assessments, and task management tools to help your team share information and collaborate even when they’re working in separate locations. 

To experience how OnBoard can improve your board meetings, download our free board meeting agenda template.

Board Meeting

Ensure effective, efficient meetings with our comprehensive Board Meeting Agenda Template.

Ready to upgrade your board’s effectiveness with OnBoard’s board intelligence platform? Schedule a demo or request a free trial