Confidentiality
ISC will maintain complete confidentiality regarding all information with which it becomes acquainted as a result of contact with the company. ISC recognises the importance of impartiality in certification decisions and will take all necessary steps to ensure this is maintained throughout the certification process.

General Conditions for Clients
ISC clients for their part must also comply with all the requirements of the relevant certification standards and the requirements outlined in the Certification Agreement and reiterated here.
 
The client must also inform ISC of any changes in their organisation which may impact on the certification and/or the quality of the product.
 
The audit frequency is determined by a number of factors including the size of the organisation, employee numbers and the risk assessment and relevant technical factors that require consideration during the certification process. In the event that certified systems are not maintained adequately and become problematic then ISC reserves the right to increase the frequency of audit and/or duration until the confidence level can be restored.
 
ISC normally conducts its surveillance audit on a semi-annual basis or at least once every year depending on the maturity of the organisations management system, risks involved and the size of the organisation etc.
 
In the event that a 'Major' non conformity is identified, ISC shall either review the remedial action and associated evidence or conduct a re-audit on the problematic part of the system to verify the corrective action is appropriate and effective.
 
ISC reserves the right to charge the organisation an additional fee for work associated with any such 'Major' non conformance.
 
ISC also reserves the right to conduct an audit on short notice in the event of serious complaint being received.
 
Re-Certification is typically conducted after every 3 year period of certification for management system certification standards. Variations on this may apply to specific standards.
 
Certificates remain valid for as long as verification audits are allowed to take place, the results are positive and applicable fees are paid.
 
The client shall in no way imply that their products and/or services are approved by the JAS-ANZ accreditation council or the appropriate Australian and New Zealand Government Ministers.
 
The certificate of registration shall not be used in any manner which may bring the certified organisation or the certifier, ISC, into disrepute. Neither should any statement be made, expressed or implied, that is misleading or unauthorised.
 
In the event that the company/organisation develops new products or wishes to extend the scope of it’s certified activities then ISC shall conduct an extension/upgrade audit as required.
 
ISC reserves the right to amend and implement new certification rules, regulation and / or guidelines as required by the international guidelines/regulations or the accreditation body etc to maintain the validity of the certificate.
 
ISC registered clients are expected to maintain a register of complaints in accordance with various Management System Requirements/Standards and that such complaints shall be thoroughly investigated and corrective action be taken as necessary. ISC shall review these complaints and applicable actions during each audit.
 
ISC registered client shall conduct an internal audit of the whole system at least once a year. ISC recommends that various parts of the system be audited throughout the year rather than trying to do the whole lot in 'one hit' By doing so internal auditors become more proficient by getting regular practice in 'manageable chunks'.
 
Management review shall be held by the people from the top management level at least once a year.
 
The client shall notify ISC in writing of intended or implemented major changes on its certified system that may affect the registration. This includes but not limited to changes to company structure, key personnel, size or scope of certification covering additional and new products, processes or services, change in address or extension of registration, multi site audits etc.
 
In the context of maintaining ISC’s accreditation, the client agrees to allow as required by the Accreditation body from time to time, a witness audit of the ISC audit process performed at your company or for the purpose of monitoring ISC’s auditor/s to ensure quality services are maintained.

ISC Certification Mark
The ISC Certification Mark may only be used whilst the certified system is maintained and the registration remains valid. This mark may only be used in conjunction with your Organisation’s name and/or Logo on stationery, literature and publicly material. This may not be used on product or affixed in any way that may be interpreted as denoting product certification or conformity.

JAS-ANZ Mark
Specifications for the JAS-ANZ Mark
The JAS-ANZ Mark can be reproduced in the colours detailed below. Under no circumstances can the JASANZ Mark be reproduced in a colour combination at variance with the figure below. However, the Mark can be reproduced in any single colour to conform with your existing stationery.

 How the JAS-ANZ Mark may be used
In all cases the JAS-ANZ Mark must appear in the proximity of the ISC certification mark. Certified organisations using the JAS-ANZ Mark must ensure:
- that it is used in conjunction with the organisations name or mark;
- and the JAS-ANZ Mark and the ISC mark are represented in a manner that the relationship between the JAS-ANZ Mark and the ISC Mark is obvious. reimbursement

 An example of an acceptable layout using the QMS Certification Mark is shown below:

Fees
Fees will be detailed in the quotation submitted to applicants. As costs are based on the charge rate applicable at the time of submitting a quotation ISC reserves the right to increase charges during the certification period.

Clients will be notified of any increase in fees.

Additional fees shall be charged for all additional work that is not included in the agreed quotation and for extra, unscheduled audits or activities required due to identification of non conforming product or non-compliance being identified in the Management System or Certification Program.
Unless otherwise specified, the fees quoted exclude travel and related expenses, which will be charged extra

Suspension and Withdrawal of Certification

Suspension
A certificate may be suspended for a limited period in cases such as the following;
a) If improper use is made of the certification status, the Certificate of Registration, or the ISC Certification Mark and the improper use is not remedied to the Managing Director’s satisfaction;
b) If the client’s certified management system has persistently or seriously failed to meet certification requirements, including requirements for the effectiveness of the management system;
c) If surveillance audits or re-assessments indicate a non compliance with the specified requirements and immediate withdrawal of the Certificate of Registration is not considered necessary;
d) If Corrective Action Requests have not been closed out within the designated time limit;
e) If the certified client has voluntarily requested a suspension (this must be submitted in writing);
f) If there has been any other contravention of the Certification Agreement;
g) If there has been any contravention of the conditions of the System Certification;
h) Improper use of the JAS-ANZ accreditation mark;
i) In the case of EMS and OHS certifications, if the organisation is found to be currently under investigation for, or has been convicted of any offence under Health and Safety, Dangerous Goods, Public Safety or other related legislation in the relevant jurisdiction. The organisation shall notify International Standards Certifications in writing within 28 days of such a conviction.

Note 1: As per international rule ISC will suspend those clients that failed to undergo an audit within 12 months from their last audit. Following re-instatement of certification, ISC will review the circumstances and may increase the audit frequency and duration depending upon the number of surveillances missed.
Note 2: In most cases the suspension would not exceed 6 months. Failure to correct the cause of suspension will lead to cancellation of certification and the publication of cancellation.

The client shall not identify as registered any product, process or service that has been offered under a suspended Certificate.

An official suspension of a Certificate will be confirmed in writing by ISC to the Registrant. The conditions under which the suspension will be removed will also be included.

At the end of the suspension period, an investigation will be carried out to determine whether the conditions for reinstating the Certificate have been fulfilled. On fulfillment of these conditions, the suspension shall be lifted and the company notified of the Certificate reinstatement. If the conditions are not fulfilled, the Certificate will be withdrawn.

All costs incurred by ISC in suspending and reinstating the certificate will be charged to the client.

Withdrawal
The Managing Director shall cancel certification, withdraw the certificate and cancel any agreement for use of the Certification Mark in the following cases:
a) Failure to resolve the issues that have resulted in the suspension in a time frame established by ISC;
b) If the company fails to comply with the due settlement of its financial obligation;
c) If surveillance audits indicate that nonconformance(s) to relevant requirements are of a serious nature;
d) At the written request of the Registrant;
e) If the organisation or its relevant section is convicted of any offence under relevant legislation;
f) If the Conditions of the System Certification are changed and the Registrant either will not or cannot ensure conformity with the new requirements;
g) If the Registrant ceases to operate the certified system;
h) If the Registrant fails to meet any financial obligations to ISC;
i) On any other grounds specifically provided for in the General Conditions of Quality System Certification or as formally agreed to between ISC and the Registrant.
If any of the above applies, ISC has the right to withdraw the Certificate and will inform the company accordingly.

The company may give notice of appeal (refer section on Appeals).

No reimbursement of audit fees will be given. Withdrawal of a Certificate will be published by ISC.

For SafetyMAP – Withdrawal of SafetyMAP Certification will also obligate ISC to inform the Victorian Workcover Authority of the situation. Local country regulations may also require the same for other program

For CSSQH – ISO will be obliged to notify the Health Funds that Certification has been withdrawn and the hospital would not be entitled to Health Fund Rebates during the period they are not certified.

Note1: Upon suspension or cancellation of client’s certification, the client must discontinue its use of all advertising matter that contains a reference to certification.
Note 2: ISC reserves the right to publish the cancelled certification.
Note 3: Upon request by any party, ISC shall correctly state the status of certification of a client’s management system as being suspended, cancelled or reduced.

Reduction of Scope
ISC shall reduce the client’s scope of certification to exclude the parts not meeting the requirements, when the client has persistently or seriously failed to meet the certification requirements for those parts of the scope of certification. Any such reduction shall be in line with the requirements of the standard used for certification
 
Note: All valid certificates shall be returned to ISC at your costs. No re-imbursement of audit fees shall be given. ISC reserves the right to publish the cancelled certification.

Complaints
In our pursuit of continuous improvement ISC would be grateful to any of our stakeholders if they would take the time and trouble to communicate any complaint or any dissatisfaction regarding the services of ISC in general. This complaint  should be made in writing and send it to the Managing Director, PO Box 149R Round Corner NSW 2158 or by e-mail to admin@isc-worldwide.com
 
The Managing Director will, unless involved directly, try to resolve the complaint in a fair and just manner. All complaints shall be held in private. The complainant will receive a written statement of the complaint findings including the reason for the decision reached.
 
In the interests of continuing improvement and to comply with any changes in International Accreditation requirements, International Standards Certifications Pty Ltd reserves the right to add to, delete from, or change this code of practice without prior notification.
 
If a complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome of the ISC's complaints handling process, the complainant may refer the complaint to JAS-ANZ.
 
All information is treated in a confidential manner. ISC will determine, together with the client and complainant, whether and, if so to what extent, the subject of the complaint and its resolution shall be made public.

Appeals
An ISC applicant may appeal against any ISC audit or certification decision.

Notification of intent to appeal must be made in writing and received by the Managing Director ISC within seven days of receipt of;
a) Notification of Certificate suspension or withdrawal;
b) Receipt of audit report with adverse findings and/or recommendations.

An Appeals Form will be sent to the company for completion and must be returned to the Managing Director ISC within 14 days of receipt, supported by relevant facts and data for consideration during the Appeals Procedure.

The Managing Director will, unless involved directly, try to resolve the appeal in a fair and just manner.

An independent appeals panel is established within the ISC Advisory Council and this panel shall handle the case. None of the panel members shall have any direct commercial interest in the subject of an appeal. The decision of the panel shall be final.
 
No claim may be made against ISC for reimbursement of cost, losses, damages resulting to the action taken.

In instances where the appeal has been successful and the Certificate reinstated, no claim can be made against ISC for reimbursement of costs or any losses incurred as a result of the initial withdrawal notification.

In the event that the appeal was unsuccessful a further appeal path is available through the accreditation body (e.g. JAS-ANZ or other) involved in the certificate concerned.