Modern slavery

Overview

Modern slavery describes situations where offenders use coercion, threats or deception to exploit victims and undermine their freedom.

Practices that constitute modern slavery can include:

• human trafficking
• slavery
• servitude
• forced labour
• debt bondage
• forced marriage
• the worst forms of child labour.

Modern slavery is a term used to describe serious exploitation. It does not include practices like substandard working conditions or underpayment of workers. These practices are also harmful and may be present in some situations of modern slavery.

For more information on workplace rights and obligations in Australia, visit the Australian Government Fair Work Ombudsman website.

Modern slavery can occur in every industry and sector and has severe consequences for victims. Modern slavery also distorts global markets, undercuts responsible business and can pose significant legal and reputational risks to entities.

Entities have a responsibility to respect human rights in their operations and supply chains, as outlined in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This includes taking steps to assess and address modern slavery risks.

Taking action to combat modern slavery also makes good business sense. Entities that take action to combat modern slavery in their operations and supply chains can protect against possible business harm and improve the integrity and quality of their supply chains.

They can also increase profitability, investor confidence and access to financing opportunities.

The Australian Government is taking a global leadership role in combating modern slavery. There is no place for modern slavery in the Australian community or in the global supply chains of Australian goods and services.

Modern Slavery Act 2018

The Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018 entered into force on 1 January 2019. The Act established a national Modern Slavery Reporting Requirement.

This reporting requirement applies to large businesses and other entities in the Australian market with annual consolidated revenue of at least A$100 million.

The reporting requirement supports the Australian business community to identify and address their modern slavery risks, and maintain responsible and transparent supply chains.

Entities required to comply with the reporting requirement, including the Australian Government, must prepare annual Modern Slavery Statements.

These statements must set out the reporting entity’s actions to assess and address modern slavery risks in their global operations and supply chains. The Australian Government publishes these statements on the Modern Slavery Statements Register.

Statutory review of the Modern Slavery Act 2018

On 25 May 2023, the government tabled a report on the statutory review of Australia's Modern Slavery Act, which reviewed the first 3 years of the Act's operation. The review was conducted in accordance with s 24 of the Act and was led by Professor John McMillan, AO, supported by us.

The review made 30 recommendations for government consideration to strengthen the Act. Key recommendations made in the review include:

• introducing penalties for non-compliance with statutory reporting requirements
• lowering the reporting threshold from $100 million to $50 million
• requiring entities to report on modern slavery incidents or risks
• amending the Act to require entities have a due diligence system in place
• strengthening the administration of the Act through proposed legislative amendments and expanded administrative guidance
• proposing functions for the federal Anti-Slavery Commissioner in relation to the Act.

The review was informed by an extensive public consultation process, involving 38 targeted consultations with 285 government and non-government organisations, including from business, civil society and academia.

Read the Statutory review of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 report

Australian Government response to the review report

On 2 December 2024, the Australian Government released its response to the report of the statutory review of the Modern Slavery Act. The government response agrees (in full, in part, or in principle) to 25 of the 30 recommendations and notes 5 recommendations.

Read the Australian Government response to the review report of the Modern Slavery Act 2018

Impact of coronavirus on reporting under the Modern Slavery Act 2018

We have developed guidance for entities impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic about how to report under the Modern Slavery Act 2018. Entities can take actions to reduce the risk of vulnerable workers in their operations and supply chains becoming exposed to modern slavery as a result of COVID‑19. See Information for reporting entities about the impacts of coronavirus.

You can contact the Modern Slavery Business Engagement Unit for advice about reporting on the impacts of COVID-19 at slavery.consultations@ag.gov.au.

Key resources

The Business and Government Engagement Section is responsible for driving effective implementation of the Act. This includes providing guidance and support to reporting entities about compliance.

The Business and Government Engagement Section has also developed supplementary guidance material. This is based on identified compliance trends to support entities to comply with the Act over the second reporting cycle.

To contact us and register for email updates, email slavery.consultations@ag.gov.au.

We have worked with businesses and civil society to develop the Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act – Guidance for reporting entities (2MB PDF) to comply with the Act.

Find additional resources below:

• UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
• OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct
• 2018 Global Slavery Index

Modern slavery statements register

Under the Act, the Australian Government must maintain an online, publicly accessible register of modern slavery statements submitted by reporting entities.

The Modern Slavery Statements Register was launched on 30 July 2020, and the first tranche of modern slavery statements published on 27 November 2020.

For the first full reporting cycle under the Act, which ended on 30 June 2021, there were close to 2,500 statements submitted to the Register, representing close to 4,500 entities.

Visit the news and resources section for a range of resources and guidance materials to support entities to comply with their reporting obligations under the Act.

How to prepare your statement

We recommend all reporting entities review the guidance materials in the news and resources of the register. This section contains resources to help you prepare all aspects of your modern slavery statement.

If you aren’t sure how to structure your statement you can review statements submitted by other reporting entities in a similar industry or sector with comparable resources. The Modern Slavery Statements Register has a range of search criteria that allows you to search by:

• industry
• revenue
• country of headquarters
• reporting period.

When preparing a modern slavery statement, we recommend completing and attaching the Modern Slavery Statement Annexure located in the news and resources section. This annexure can help you show how you have addressed all 7 mandatory reporting criteria. You will need to show approval from your principal governing body, including a responsible member’s signature.

How to submit your statement

You can upload their statements to the Modern Slavery Statements Register.

The resources section contains documents outlining how to create an account and submit a modern slavery statement.

You can create your account and familiarise yourself with the process for submitting your statement before your reporting deadline.

We will review all statements to assess their compliance with the Act. We may require entities to revise non-compliant statements. We will also write to entities who failed to address one or more mandatory criteria in their modern slavery statements.

Commonwealth modern slavery statement

Under the Act, the government must submit an annual Commonwealth modern slavery statement (Commonwealth Statement) detailing its actions to identify, assess, and address modern slavery risks in its operations and global supply chains.

The Commonwealth Statement is submitted on behalf of all non-corporate Commonwealth entities and is published on an annual basis. Each Commonwealth Statement continues to build on the targeted, risk-based approach to identifying and assessing modern slavery risks outlined in previous Commonwealth Statements.

The Commonwealth Statements are available on the Modern Slavery Statements Register.

Annual report to Parliament on the implementation of the Modern Slavery Act

Under Section 23A of the Modern Slavery Act, the government must report annually on its actions to implement the legislation.

Annual reports are tabled in the Australian Parliament. They highlight the government's continued efforts to engage with business and civil society to implement the Act and improve compliance with legislative requirements. 

The reports also highlight key milestones in implementing the Act, such as:

• launching the government’s online Modern Slavery Statements Register
• publishing the first Commonwealth Modern Slavery Statement
• establishing the Modern Slavery Expert Advisory Group with representatives from business, academia, and key peak bodies to provide specialist advice to government on the implementation of the Act. 

To access the annual reports, visit the Modern Slavery Register Resources page and select ‘Annual Report to Parliament’.

Application of the Modern Slavery Act to local government entities

The Act explicitly excludes state and territory governments from the reporting requirement. Consistent with this approach, local government entities are not required to comply with the reporting requirement. This ensures that local government entities are treated in the same way as state and territory governments under the Act.

Local governments have an important role to play in combatting modern slavery, particularly as they often have significant procurement activities. Local government entities are encouraged to voluntarily comply with the Act, where they have capacity to do so.

Single reporting periods for joint statements covering entities with different reporting periods

The Act allows an entity to submit a joint statement on behalf of one or more reporting entities (the submitting entity).

The submitting entity may or may not be a reporting entity itself. For example, a global parent company may want to submit a joint statement on behalf of a number of its subsidiaries that are reporting entities under the Act.

In many cases, the submitting entity and all reporting entities covered by the joint statement will share a common reporting period, such as an Australian financial year. However, in some scenarios, the submitting entity and one or more of the reporting entities covered by the statement may not share a common reporting period.

In this case, the entities involved may select a single reporting period to be used for the purposes of the joint statement. This single reporting period does not have to align with an existing reporting period used by the entities. However, it must not be:

• later than the latest reporting period for any of the reporting entities covered by the statement, or
• the operating financial year of the submitting entity if this entity is not a reporting entity.

Some entities may choose to move from reporting through a joint statement back to an individual statement, or vice versa.

Where an entity reverts to an individual statement, it will also revert to the original individual reporting period. In these circumstances, entities must ensure that their next report covers actions they undertook to prevent and combat modern slavery during any gap resulting from the change of reporting period.

Voluntary modern slavery statement

Any Australian entity or foreign entity carrying on a business in Australia can provide a voluntary statement if they do not meet the thresholds for mandatory reporting.

You should carefully consider your capacity and resources to prepare a voluntary statement before making a commitment. Once you have volunteered to report and the related reporting period commences, you will be bound as though you were a mandatory reporting entity.

If you are unsure about whether to report voluntarily, or think you need more time to prepare, you could choose to prepare a voluntary statement and make it available on your website. The statement should clearly identify whether it has been formally submitted to the AGD as a voluntary statement.

For further information on how to prepare a voluntary statement, see news and resources.

Modern Slavery Expert Advisory Group

The inaugural Expert Advisory Group was established in May 2020, for a specified term, to provide strategic advice to the Australian Government on the implementation of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth). After the successful implementation and review of the Act, and following a public expression of interest process, the government appointed a new Expert Advisory Group in November 2023 to provide expert advice on the operation of the Act.

Read about the Modern Slavery Expert Advisory Group

Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner

Mr Chris Evans is the inaugural Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner. He was appointed through a merit-based process and commences his 5-year term on 2 December 2024.

The Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner is a new, independent pillar in Australia's comprehensive response to countering modern slavery.

The Commissioner will work with government, business, civil society, and the broader community to:

• promote compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth)
• engage and support victims and survivors
• raise awareness and educate the Australian community about modern slavery
• help fight modern slavery in Australia and overseas.

Modern slavery in Australia website

The Modern Slavery in Australia website brings together authoritative, factual information on modern slavery in Australia, including how to get help and how to support someone else. It provides information for people interested in understanding Australia's modern slavery laws and policies. It also contains useful guidance, training and resources.

Modern slavery lived experience engagement and empowerment

Modern slavery lived experience engagement and empowerment: values, principles and practical guidance to support trauma-informed engagement and empowerment in Australia is designed to help organisations seeking to engage with and empower people with lived experienced of modern slavery in Australia. It contains values, principles and practical guidance to help them do this in ways that are:

• safe
• ethical
• trauma-informed.

Overview of state and territory victims of crime financial assistance schemes

The department has completed an Overview of state and territory victims of crime financial assistance schemes and their availability to victims and survivors of modern slavery. This delivers action item 27 of the National action plan to combat modern slavery 2020–25.

The overview report contains information about state and territory victims of crime financial assistance and compensation schemes, and their availability to modern slavery victims and survivors. The report includes information on eligibility criteria to access financial assistance and compensation schemes. It is current as at November 2024.

Targeted review of modern slavery offences in Divisions 270 and 271 of the Criminal Code (Cth)

In 2023, we completed a targeted review of Australia’s modern slavery offences in Divisions 270 and 271 of the Criminal Code (Cth), in collaboration with the Australian Federal Police and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. This delivered Action Item 19 of the National Action Plan to Combat Modern Slavery 2020-25.

The targeted review examined the effectiveness of Australia’s modern slavery offences against the current and future challenges of contemporary and emerging forms of modern slavery. The review made 22 findings, 19 of which concerned potential areas for legislative reform.

The government has considered the findings report and has agreed to develop potential legislative reforms to address the findings of the review. We are commencing targeted consultations on proposed reforms, including to streamline, clarify and provide additional guidance on offences, and to strengthen the application of Australia’s offences to the conduct of Australians offshore.

For more information, contact targetedslaveryreviews@ag.gov.au.