What Is an Internal Safety Auditor?
An internal safety auditor is a trained professional who evaluates an organisation’s safety management systems, including policies, procedures, compliance, and risk controls. These safety auditors help ensure that safety processes are effective, that they meet regulatory and standards requirements, and that there are opportunities to improve before issues become incidents.
Internal occupational health and safety auditors are not typically legally required in South Africa in every workplace, but organisations that invest in them often enjoy safer workplaces, better compliance outcomes, and a proactive culture of risk prevention.
Becoming an Internal Health and Safety Auditor — Step by Step
If you’re considering this as a career or professional growth opportunity, here’s a typical path you might follow:
1. Build a Foundation in OHS Knowledge
Before you can audit a health and safety system, you need solid grounding in the fundamentals of occupational health and safety:
- Learn about the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS Act) and relevant South African legislation.
- Understand hazard identification, risk assessment, control measures, incident investigation, and safety management system principles.
Many aspiring auditors start with a recognised Safety Officer qualification such as SAMTRAC that covers these essentials. Thereafter, SafetyCloud has two core competency courses that form the backbone of building internal health and safety auditing capability. After completing them, employees will be able to implement a safety management system and conduct internal audits.
2. Specialised Internal Auditor Training
In South Africa, most internal safety auditor training aligns to the international ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management System standard, which is widely used as a framework for safety management systems worldwide.
SafetyCloud’s two-day Health and Safety Management Systems Implementation course equips learners with the knowledge and skills to implement an effective health and safety management system within their organisation, exclusively using the NOSA Integrated Five Star System.
Thereafter, SafetyCloud’s five-day Health & Safety Auditor’s Course, also using the NOSA Five Star System, gives learners practical auditing skills grounded in international best practices and standards.
3. Gain Practical Experience
Formal training provides the knowledge, but experience builds confidence and competence.
Before or after qualifying, seek opportunities to assist in or observe internal audits in your organisation. Many safety departments welcome trainees who are serious about learning the audit process, interview techniques, evidence gathering, reporting and follow-up.
This hands-on experience is invaluable, and many training providers also recommend practical application of audit skills soon after course completion.
4. Pursue Accreditation or Certification (Optional, but Valuable)
While South Africa doesn’t mandate that internal auditors hold a specific licence just to audit internally, professional recognition and certification (e.g., through SAIOSH) enhances your credibility and employability.
Certified internal auditors have demonstrated competence to an internationally accepted standard – a major advantage in competitive job markets and for consulting roles.
Why Organisations Should Invest in Properly Trained Internal OHS Auditors
Now let’s turn the spotlight to businesses. Many organisations choose to appoint internal safety auditors, but the real value lies in ensuring those auditors are properly trained and competent.
Here’s why:
1. Accurate Interpretation and Application of Standards
Proper training ensures that internal auditors understand the why and the how of safety auditing, not just the checklist.
A well-trained auditor can correctly interpret ISO 45001 requirements, understand legal obligations, and evaluate compliance in a meaningful way. This helps prevent misinterpretation that can lead to audit gaps or false assurance.
For companies aligning with ISO 45001 management systems, this is critical.
2. Identifying Real Risks, Not Just Paperwork Issues
An untrained auditor might focus on superficial documentation – for example whether a policy exists – without assessing whether it’s effective or being followed in practice.
Trained auditors know how to detect real issues: ineffective controls, unsafe behaviours, systemic weaknesses, and gaps between documented procedures and real workplace practices. This adds actionable value to audit findings.
3. Providing Credible, Constructive Findings
Reports from trained internal auditors carry weight.
Management is more likely to act on findings that are well presented, backed by evidence, and linked to clear risk impacts. Poorly trained auditors can make vague or subjective observations that are difficult to act on — reducing the effectiveness of the audit process.
4. Support for Continuous Improvement
Internal audits are not about blame — they’re about improvement.
Properly trained auditors use audit findings to help organisations refine processes, eliminate recurring issues, prioritise risk controls, and drive performance improvements. This aligns with the spirit of ISO 45001’s “Plan-Do-Check-Act” continual improvement cycle, making the audit function a strategic tool rather than a compliance checkbox.
5. Strengthening Safety Culture
The audit process influences how safety is perceived across an organisation.
Well-executed internal audits reinforce accountability, demonstrate leadership commitment, and engage workers in safety practices. Teams respect and trust auditors who understand safety systems and communicate clearly, which in turn strengthens the safety culture.
6. Reducing Operational and Reputational Risk
Workplace incidents can have devastating human and financial consequences.
Internal auditors who are trained to spot near misses, emerging risks, and non-conformances early help organisations take corrective action before injuries, fines, or operational interruptions occur. Over time, this can reduce insurance costs, regulatory penalties and reputational damage.
A Meaningful Career and Business Advantage
Becoming an internal safety auditor in South Africa is a rewarding and impactful career path blending technical skill with practical problem-solving. The process involves building OHS knowledge, completing recognised auditor training, gaining experience, and optionally pursuing certification for added credibility.
For businesses, having trained internal OHS auditors means more than ticking compliance boxes. It means elevating how safety systems operate, how risks are controlled, and how employees are protected. Well-trained auditors contribute to safer workplaces, stronger cultures, and smarter decisions – a competitive advantage in every industry.
Start Your Safety Auditor Journey with SafetyCloud
Don’t delay – build your health and safety auditing capability today.
SafetyCloud’s internal health and safety auditor training is built on recognised best-practice auditing and management system principles, yet remains fully transferable across any HSE framework, including ISO-aligned systems and organisation-specific standards. The curriculum extends beyond traditional occupational health and safety to include environmental and operational compliance, preparing well-rounded, highly adaptable health and safety professionals.