diff --git a/qa/sql/security/build.gradle b/qa/sql/security/build.gradle
index 86f13f13c95..d051a39577e 100644
--- a/qa/sql/security/build.gradle
+++ b/qa/sql/security/build.gradle
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ integTestCluster {
   // Try and speed up audit logging without overwelming it
   setting 'xpack.security.audit.index.flush_interval', '250ms'
   // NOCOMMIT reenable after https://github.com/elastic/x-pack-elasticsearch/issues/2705 for lower overhead tests
+  // see the NOCOMMIT in RestSqlSecurityIT#cleanAuditLogs and revert to 1 minute once this is reenabled
   // setting 'xpack.security.audit.index.settings.index.number_of_shards', '1'
   // setting 'xpack.security.audit.index.settings.index.refresh_interval', '250ms'
   // Setup roles used by tests
diff --git a/qa/sql/security/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/qa/sql/security/RestSqlSecurityIT.java b/qa/sql/security/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/qa/sql/security/RestSqlSecurityIT.java
index 5b258d99ccd..23e4080bb44 100644
--- a/qa/sql/security/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/qa/sql/security/RestSqlSecurityIT.java
+++ b/qa/sql/security/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/qa/sql/security/RestSqlSecurityIT.java
@@ -114,7 +114,8 @@ public class RestSqlSecurityIT extends ESRestTestCase {
                 logger.info("Waiting on bulk writes to finish:\n{}", bulksString);
                 fail("Waiting on bulk writes to finish:\n" + bulksString);
             }
-        }, 1, TimeUnit.MINUTES);
+        }, 4, TimeUnit.MINUTES);
+        // NOCOMMIT 1 minute used to be plenty before we 
         try {
             clearAuditEvents();
         } catch (ResponseException e) {