Modern slavery is a global issue that must be stopped at all costs. It exploits human lives and weakens economies. It includes debt bondage, child labour, trafficking, deceptive recruiting, servitude, slavery, and forced marriage. Many nations across the globe have their own and international legislation in place to prevent and deal with modern slavery incidences.
For businesses operating in Australia, the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) (Commonwealth Act) was commenced in 2018. It requires larger companies in Australia to follow certain standards for modern slavery reporting.
If you own a business in Australia, you have the responsibility of providing this information to your workforce and manage compliance with this act. We have listed a few things that need to be considered.
Some useful statistics
- Nearly 40 million people are enslaved globally
- Approximately 150 US$ per year is generated in the global private economy through forced labour
- Nearly 62% of all people enslaved are in the Asia-Pacific region
- Approximately 1,900 people are enslaved in Australia
- Only 1 in 5 modern slavery victims are detected in Australia
Broadly, an Australian entity is any company, trust, corporate, partnership, or other entity that is resident in Australia as per respective subsections and divisions of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 and/or carries on business in Australia.
The Modern Slavery Act 2018 was implemented to help businesses operating in Australia clearly define the behaviour and practices that constitute modern slavery, report it, and mitigate future risks. Companies are required to comply with this act and help society overcome human rights violations in the form of slavery.
