Integrated management system 2026-2027: transitions and combined audit

What changes for an integrated QHSE system between 2026 and 2029?

Three things: two of the three standards change edition, the third is due for revision, and the combined audit rules have a new reference. For a site that runs ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 in a single system, these events add up. The table puts them in order, as at 5 November 2026, based on the documents of Global ACI (Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated), the organisation that has taken over the role of the IAF, the International Accreditation Forum, in accreditation.

The timeline of each standard is detailed in our articles on the ISO 9001:2026 transition deadline and the ISO 14001:2026 transition deadline. Here, the question is the integrated system.

Which combined audit rules have applied since 28 August 2026?

The same as before, under a new name. The Global ACI-TECH-3-008 document, version 1.0 of 10 July 2026, in application since 28 August 2026, states that it carries over IAF MD 11 without any substantive change to the text. It remains mandatory for the consistent application of clause 9.1.6 of ISO/IEC 17021-1, the accreditation standard for certification bodies.

Its main rules:

• audit time is calculated standard by standard, with each standard’s own rules, then added up;
• this starting point is adjusted: reduced according to the level of integration, the ability of personnel to answer questions on more than one standard and the availability of multi-standard auditors; possibly increased for the complexity of an integrated audit;
• the reduction never exceeds 20% of the starting point, and the calculation is justified in writing;
• the level of integration declared in the application is confirmed at stage 1, then checked throughout the cycle;
• the impact of a nonconformity on the other standards is considered, as is the impact of a suspension or withdrawal.

The document that sets audit time for each standard has also changed name. Global ACI-TECH-3-004, version 1.0 of 10 July 2026, covers quality, environmental and occupational health and safety management systems. It makes two points that matter for an integrated system. First, the reductions applied to each standard may not exceed 30% of the times set in its tables. Second, for an audit conducted under TECH-3-008, a reduction on the grounds that the client is already certified or recognised by another third-party scheme is invalid: the reduction is then calculated from the level of integration. The two advantages do not add up.

Why do the 2026 editions make integration more natural?

Because they bring the texts even closer. According to the Global ACI transition documents, ISO 9001:2026 and ISO 14001:2026 align with Annex SL and with resolution 16/2025 of the ISO Technical Management Board (TMB), and revise their terms and definitions to align with the Harmonized Structure. For an integrated system, three points count:

• planning of changes becomes a shared subject: ISO 14001:2026 adds a clause 6.3, ISO 9001:2026 expands its own;
• management review gains content in both standards: new inputs for ISO 9001:2026 (clause 9.3.2), sub-clauses added for ISO 14001:2026 (clause 9.3);
• the integrated approach is named: among the clarifications in Annex A of ISO 14001:2026, Global ACI lists alignment with strategy, business processes and the integrated management system approach.

Both documents describe the overall changes as minimal and attainable with reasonable effort. For an integrated system, that is a reason to run a single gap analysis and a single documentation update for both standards.

When should a combined ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 transition take place?

After your certification body has transitioned for both standards, and early enough to close any findings before 30 April 2029. According to Global ACI, a certification body issues accredited certificates to a 2026 edition only after its accreditation has been transitioned, with decisions due by 30 April 2027 for ISO 14001 and by 30 September 2027 for ISO 9001. A client’s transition must be completed, certificate issuance included, before the end of the period: 30 April 2029 for the environment, 30 September 2029 for quality.

For a combined transition, the date that governs is therefore 30 April 2029. Our reading of the timeline, which is analysis rather than a rule: a certification body that transitions at the last possible dates leaves a little more than eighteen months for a combined audit of the two 2026 editions, and a major nonconformity to close shortens that window further.

The transition audit can be conducted in conjunction with a surveillance audit, a recertification audit or a separate special audit, and remotely if the certification body can demonstrate that the transition audit objectives are met. It covers, as a minimum, the changed requirements, changes to the organisation’s context and the need for any other changes to the management system. A recertification due in 2027 or 2028 is often the right vehicle.

Where does the ISO 45001 revision stand?

It is progressing, but it is not published. On 15 December 2023, the ISO/TC 283 committee announced that the revision of ISO 45001 had been approved, the first formal review since 2018, and that the revised edition would not be published before 2027. A draft international standard is circulating: the catalogue of DIN, the German standards body, lists its July 2026 edition, under the responsibility of working group ISO/TC 283/WG 6.

As of November 2026, the Global ACI list of transition documents covers ISO 9001:2026, ISO 14001:2026, ISO/IEC 17024:2026 and ISO 37001:2025, but contains no document for ISO 45001. The length of the future transition is therefore not known.

On the ISO side, the ISO/DIS 45001 project page shows that the ballot on the draft international standard closed on 9 September 2026 (stage 40.60). No publication date has been announced at this stage.

For an integrated system, the consequence is simple: certify to ISO 45001:2018, rewrite nothing on the basis of a draft, and plan a targeted review of the health and safety part once the revised edition and its transition are published. Our ISO 45001 certification page details the fundamentals that will remain valid.

What should you do now for your integrated system?

Fix the dates with your certification body and prepare a single gap analysis for both 2026 editions.

• Ask your certification body in writing where it stands on its transition for ISO 9001:2026 and for ISO 14001:2026.
  
• Check that it is accredited for all three standards in your sector before grouping the audits.
  
• Choose the audit that will carry the combined transition, with a margin before 30 April 2029.
  
• Run a joint gap analysis on the changed requirements of ISO 9001:2026 and ISO 14001:2026.
  
• Update management of change and management review once, for both standards.
  
• Ask for an offer that quotes Global ACI-TECH-3-008 and justifies the audit time reduction.
  
• Keep ISO 45001:2018 and schedule a review after the revised edition is published.
  

The underlying method is on our integrated QHSE management system page and in our guide to the integrated QHSE management system for factories in Morocco.