Climate Change and Worker Safety: What ISO/PAS 45007:2026 Means for Australian Businesses

Extreme heat, bushfire smoke, flooding, and severe storms are no longer fringe concerns for Australian workplaces. They are showing up in risk registers, incident reports, and injury statistics right now. Released in January 2026, ISO/PAS 45007:2026 provides the first dedicated international guidance on integrating climate change into Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) management systems. For businesses operating under Australian work health and safety laws, this guidance arrives at exactly the right time.

This article breaks down what the standard covers, how it connects to existing requirements, and what practical steps organisations can take now.

Why Climate Change Is Now an OHS Issue

ISO/PAS 45007 reframes climate change as a direct driver of workplace hazards rather than a long-term environmental concern. Heat stress, smoke inhalation, storm-related slips and trips, and fatigue from altered work schedules are all immediate safety risks. The standard treats these as operational issues that need to be built into existing management systems today.

Importantly, from 2026, several ISO management system standards including ISO 45001 and ISO 9001 now explicitly require organisations to determine whether climate change is a relevant issue under Clause 4.1. ISO/PAS 45007 is the practical tool that helps organisations answer that question and act on it.

Recent international standards, regulator commentary, and scientific literature recognise that climate change presents multiple, distinct categories of occupational health and safety (OHS) risk. These risks extend beyond direct physical hazards to include risks arising from adaptation measures and from the transition to low‑carbon technologies.

ISO 45001:2018/Amd 1:2024 now requires organisations to determine whether climate change is a relevant external issue for their OHS management system. This reinforces the need for systematic identification and management of climate‑related risks as part of normal hazard and risk management processes.

1. Direct Climate Impacts

Direct climate impacts refer to physical hazards that arise from changes in weather patterns and environmental conditions. These are already affecting many workplaces and are well documented by international and national authorities.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) states that:

“Climate change is already having serious impacts on the safety and health of workers in all regions of the world” and is increasing exposure to excessive heat, extreme weather events, ultraviolet radiation and workplace air pollution. (ILO, 2024)

Common direct OHS hazards include:

Heatwaves and elevated ambient temperatures, increasing the risk of heat stress, dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke, particularly for outdoor and physically demanding work (ILO, 2024; NYU Stern Center for Business & Human Rights)
Bushfire smoke and air pollution, causing respiratory illness, reduced visibility, and increased risk for workers with underlying health conditions (ILO, 2024;
Australian Unions – WHS in the Era of Climate Crisis)
Flooding and extreme rainfall, creating slip, trip, fall, entrapment, and drowning hazards, as well as contamination risks (ILO, 2024)
Increased ultraviolet (UV) exposure during prolonged outdoor work, contributing to eye damage and skin cancers (American Industrial Hygiene Association)
More frequent and intense storms, disrupting safe access, emergency response, plant stability, and normal operating conditions (ILO, 2024)

Australian research confirms that heat and extreme weather are currently the most studied and most significant climate‑related WHS hazards, particularly for construction, agriculture, and emergency services (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health).

2. Risks Arising from Climate Adaptation Measures

In addition to direct hazards, new OHS risks can emerge when organisations change how work is performed in response to climate conditions.

ISO guidance emphasises that changes driven by external issues (including climate change) must be assessed for unintended consequences within the OHS management system. (CQI | IRCA – Impact of climate change considerations on ISO 45001).

For example:

Shifting outdoor work to earlier start times (e.g. 4:00 am) may reduce heat exposure but can introduce fatigue‑related risks, reduced visibility, and increased interaction with wildlife.
Installing temporary shade structures, cooling equipment, or shelters may create new hazards related to structural stability, manual handling, or electrical safety.
Relocating tasks or modifying workflows to avoid heat or weather extremes can affect supervision, communication, and emergency response effectiveness.

The Australian climate‑WHS literature notes that climate risks may be “cascading”, where attempts to manage one hazard can amplify others if not systematically assessed. (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health).

This reinforces the need for proactive hazard identification and change management, rather than assuming adaptation measures are risk‑neutral.

3. Risks Associated with the Green Transition

The transition to a low‑carbon economy introduces new technologies, materials, and work activities, each with their own OHS implications.

The ILO highlights that climate mitigation efforts must be accompanied by strong occupational safety controls to ensure a “just transition” that protects workers during technological change. (ILO – Ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate).

Examples of green‑transition OHS risks include:

Rooftop solar installation and maintenance, involving heightened work‑at‑height risks and electrical hazards (ILO, 2024)
Hydrogen production, storage, and handling, introducing flammability and explosion risks that many organisations have limited experience managing (ILO, 2024)
New refrigerants used in low‑emissions systems, some of which have different toxicity, flammability, or exposure characteristics compared to traditional substances (ILO, 2024)
Unfamiliar construction materials and methods used in energy‑efficient and low‑carbon buildings, requiring updated competencies and controls (SGS – Climate Change and ISO 45001)

ISO 45001 does not treat these as exceptional risks; rather, they are expected to be managed through normal hazard identification, risk assessment, and control processes, consistent with any introduction of new plant, substances, or work methods. (ISO 45001 guidance overview).

Authoritative guidance consistently reinforces that climate‑related OHS risks fall into three overlapping but distinct categories:

Direct physical impacts of climate change
Secondary risks created by adaptation measures
Emerging hazards introduced through the low‑carbon transition

Recognising and addressing all three is now considered part of good‑practice OHS risk management and is explicitly supported by international standards and global labour organisations.

How This Fits into Your Existing OHS System

ISO/PAS 45007 is designed to sit alongside ISO 45001, not replace it. It follows the familiar Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle and is intended to be embedded into routine OHS processes rather than treated as a separate workstream.

Plan: Identify climate-related hazards and assess how they affect different worker groups. Consider vulnerabilities such as age, existing health conditions, time spent outdoors, and remote or isolated work.

Do: Implement controls such as heat stress protocols, updated PPE requirements, hydration schedules, modified rest break arrangements, and revised emergency plans for rapidly developing weather events.

Check and Act: Monitor outcomes and review incident data, including heat-related illness, near misses during storms, and fatigue indicators. Because climate patterns continue to shift, controls need to be reviewed regularly rather than set and forgotten.

Australian Regulatory Obligations to Keep in Mind

ISO/PAS 45007 is a voluntary guidance document, however, it intersects with a range of statutory duties that apply to Australian businesses regardless of whether they follow the standard.

Hazardous chemicals: Under WHS Regulation 2011, Chapter 7, Section 344, businesses must obtain current Safety Data Sheets before using any hazardous chemical in the workplace. This applies to new refrigerants, hydrogen, battery chemicals, and other substances introduced through green transition activities.

Hazardous manual tasks: Climate conditions can increase physical strain and alter how tasks are performed safely. Persons conducting a business or undertaking must manage musculoskeletal risks that arise when extreme heat, slippery surfaces from rain, or increased physical exertion elevates the likelihood of injury.

These obligations apply regardless of whether operational changes are driven by climate adaptation or mitigation activities. The cause of the hazard does not change the duty to manage it.

What Should Organisations Do Now?

A good starting point is to ask three straightforward questions:

Are any of our current or planned work activities affected by extreme weather, heat, fire risk, or flooding?
Have we introduced or are we planning to introduce new technologies, chemicals, or work processes as part of decarbonisation?
Does our current OHS risk register and emergency planning account for climate-related scenarios?

If any answer is yes or uncertain, it is worth undertaking a structured review of how climate risks are identified, assessed, and controlled within your existing OHS framework.

How Peter J Ramsay and Associates Can Assist

At PJRA, we help organisations integrate emerging regulatory and guidance requirements into practical, workable OHS and environmental management systems. Our services relevant to climate-related risk management include:

Legal registers and compliance audits that reflect evolving climate-related WHS duties
Risk assessments that identify climate-related hazards across your operations
ISO 45001 gap analysis and integration of ISO/PAS 45007 principles into existing frameworks
Support with Safety Data Sheet requirements for new chemicals introduced through green transition activities

Learn more about how we can assist today

Giorgia McGuigan

Phone: 03 9690 0522

Email: giorgia.mcguigan@pjra.com.au