diff --git a/.github/workflows/dependency-audit.yml b/.github/workflows/dependency-audit.yml
index 18c5586..2056c0f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/dependency-audit.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/dependency-audit.yml
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ jobs:
     permissions:
       contents: read
       issues: write
-    uses: hydra-ecosystem/github-actions/.github/workflows/node-audit.yml@241d646f6b83d17aeee2bb97a8c1e1e788eb6099
+    uses: hydra-ecosystem/github-actions/.github/workflows/node-audit.yml@v1
     with:
       audit-kind: ${{ inputs.audit-kind || 'auto' }}
 
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ jobs:
     permissions:
       contents: write
       pull-requests: write
-    uses: hydra-ecosystem/github-actions/.github/workflows/node-publish.yml@241d646f6b83d17aeee2bb97a8c1e1e788eb6099
+    uses: hydra-ecosystem/github-actions/.github/workflows/node-publish.yml@v1
     with:
       validation-passed: ${{ needs.audit.outputs.validation_passed }}
       app-client-id: ${{ vars.NODE_AUDIT_APP_CLIENT_ID }}
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6100981..203c342 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -63,6 +63,17 @@ For focused local runs without `nox`, use the same environment directly, for exa
 - `.venv/bin/python -m pytest server/tests/unit/test_config.py`
 - `.venv/bin/python -m pytest server/tests/unit/test_app.py`
 
+### GitHub Actions references
+
+External actions use full commit SHAs with version comments. Reusable workflows
+also use full SHAs, with one explicit exception: the two Node maintenance calls
+in `.github/workflows/dependency-audit.yml` follow
+`hydra-ecosystem/github-actions@v1` for automatic compatible fixes. This trusts
+the release tag maintained by that repository. A different source, workflow,
+caller, branch, or major release requires a separate policy update. Full SHA
+references remain valid for maintenance too. See the shared
+[release policy](https://github.com/hydra-ecosystem/github-actions/blob/main/docs/workflow-releases.md).
+
 The Docusaurus website lives in [website/](website/):
 
 - `cd website && npm install`
diff --git a/server/tests/unit/test_release_workflow_supply_chain.py b/server/tests/unit/test_release_workflow_supply_chain.py
index f50bccf..c80b21a 100644
--- a/server/tests/unit/test_release_workflow_supply_chain.py
+++ b/server/tests/unit/test_release_workflow_supply_chain.py
@@ -3,13 +3,29 @@
 import re
 from pathlib import Path
 
+import pytest
 import yaml
 
 
 ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[3]
 
 
-def test_external_workflow_actions_have_immutable_pins_and_version_comments() -> None:
+def _approved_reusable_workflow(reference: str, filename: str) -> bool:
+    if filename == "dependency-audit.yml" and reference in {
+        "hydra-ecosystem/github-actions/.github/workflows/node-audit.yml@v1",
+        "hydra-ecosystem/github-actions/.github/workflows/node-publish.yml@v1",
+    }:
+        return True
+    return (
+        re.fullmatch(
+            r"[\w-]+/[\w.-]+/\.github/workflows/[\w.-]+\.ya?ml@[0-9a-f]{40}",
+            reference,
+        )
+        is not None
+    )
+
+
+def test_external_workflow_actions_follow_reference_policy() -> None:
     for path in (ROOT / ".github" / "workflows").glob("*.yml"):
         for line in path.read_text().splitlines():
             if "uses:" not in line:
@@ -18,10 +34,7 @@ def test_external_workflow_actions_have_immutable_pins_and_version_comments() ->
             if reference.startswith("./"):
                 continue
             if "/.github/workflows/" in reference:
-                assert re.fullmatch(
-                    r"[\w-]+/[\w.-]+/\.github/workflows/[\w.-]+\.ya?ml@[0-9a-f]{40}",
-                    reference,
-                ), (path, line)
+                assert _approved_reusable_workflow(reference, path.name), (path, line)
             else:
                 assert re.fullmatch(
                     r"[\w-]+/[\w./-]+@[0-9a-f]{40} # v\d+\.\d+\.\d+", reference
@@ -56,3 +69,65 @@ def test_actions_dependency_updates_are_configured() -> None:
         and update["schedule"]["interval"] == "monthly"
         for update in config["updates"]
     )
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "filename,reference,allowed",
+    [
+        (
+            "dependency-audit.yml",
+            "hydra-ecosystem/github-actions/.github/workflows/node-audit.yml@v1",
+            True,
+        ),
+        (
+            "dependency-audit.yml",
+            "hydra-ecosystem/github-actions/.github/workflows/node-publish.yml@v1",
+            True,
+        ),
+        (
+            "publish.yml",
+            "hydra-ecosystem/github-actions/.github/workflows/node-audit.yml@v1",
+            False,
+        ),
+        (
+            "dependency-audit.yml",
+            "hydra-ecosystem/github-actions/.github/workflows/node-audit.yml@v2",
+            False,
+        ),
+        (
+            "dependency-audit.yml",
+            "hydra-ecosystem/github-actions/.github/workflows/node-audit.yml@main",
+            False,
+        ),
+        (
+            "dependency-audit.yml",
+            "hydra-ecosystem/github-actions/.github/workflows/node-audit.yml@v1.2.3",
+            False,
+        ),
+        (
+            "dependency-audit.yml",
+            "other/actions/.github/workflows/node-audit.yml@v1",
+            False,
+        ),
+        (
+            "dependency-audit.yml",
+            "hydra-ecosystem/github-actions/.github/workflows/other.yml@v1",
+            False,
+        ),
+        (
+            "publish.yml",
+            "other/actions/.github/workflows/publish.yml@" + "a" * 40,
+            True,
+        ),
+        (
+            "dependency-audit.yml",
+            "hydra-ecosystem/github-actions/.github/workflows/node-audit.yml@"
+            + "a" * 40,
+            True,
+        ),
+    ],
+)
+def test_reusable_workflow_reference_policy_boundary(
+    filename: str, reference: str, allowed: bool
+) -> None:
+    assert _approved_reusable_workflow(reference, filename) is allowed