The Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) had until September 30 to present a plan for how to restore confidence in their activities after the major doping scandal.
It is a requirement for the country's athletes to compete internationally, including at the Olympics in Tokyo next year.
Now WA extends the deadline to March 1, 2021, but at the same time sharpens the tone against Russia.
"If there is not a sufficiently elaborated plan by that date, the board will again raise the issue of excluding RusAF," said WA chairman Sebastian Coe in a press release.
RusAF submitted an action plan this summer to WA's working group on Russian doping, but WA believes that it was substandard and could not be approved.
RusAF must introduce zero tolerance for doping among both activists and leaders and coaches in Russia, but does not seem to be able to restore confidence in its anti-doping work because the organization is too weak, WA writes in a press release.
Now WA is putting its hopes in a new leadership for the Russian anti-doping organization that will be in place during the autumn.
Therefore, the deadline is extended to next year.
The Russian Athletics Federation has been banned from international competitions since November 2015, but Russian activists have been able to compete under neutral flags at galas and in major championships.
In December, WA will decide whether to extend that arrangement.