By Amy Sinclair -
Snapshot
- Australia has introduced new laws, at both the state and federal level, to prevent slavery in corporate supply chains.
- These legislative changes require Australian businesses to publish annual modern slavery statements reporting on the risks of ‘modern slavery’, most commonly forced labour, in their operations and supply chains and actions they have taken to assess and address those risks.
- Australian businesses are advised to initiate immediate measures to enable them to effectively meet their new reporting obligations under these laws.
Australia has introduced new laws to prevent slavery in supply chains. This article outlines recent legislative changes (at NSW and Commonwealth level), considers what they do and what changes they will require businesses in Australia to make, as well as what to anticipate given the international context of increasing corporate human rights regulation.
The Global Slavery Index estimates that two thirds of the 40.3 million people living in slavery worldwide are in the Asia-Pacific region, many of whom provide the labour for industries that supply food, clothes and electronic goods to the Australian market.
