Pushing for stronger laws to end modern slavery
KEY PROJECT | Corporate Accountability
Many Australian companies continue to turn a blind eye to exploitation and abuse in their supply chains. The Human Rights Law Centre advocates for stronger laws to end modern slavery.
From Malaysian workers forced to work around the clock to make PPE for the COVID crisis, to migrant workers trapped in shocking conditions on Australian farms, many companies continue to turn a blind eye to exploitation and abuse in their supply chains.
The Human Rights Law Centre has been at the forefront of pushing for the first modern slavery laws in Australia. We have advocated in the media, before parliamentary committees and in meetings with politicians from all political parties for stronger laws. In December 2018, our work paid off with modern slavery laws passing the Australian Parliament.
The Modern Slavery Act introduced was meant to drive a ‘race to the top’ by Australian business to address these practices, but unfortunately there is still work to be done. Research we conducted in 2021 revealed that most companies have barely left the starting blocks. In February 2022, the Human Rights Law Centre released a joint report, Paper Promises? Evaluating the early impact of the Act. The report examined the statements of 102 companies from four sectors with known risks of modern slavery: garments from China, rubber gloves from Malaysia, seafood from Thailand and fresh produce from Australia. The Modern Slavery Act requires companies to submit statements assessing their performance in addressing modern slavery in their operations.
Our research found that an alarming number of companies failed to identify obvious risks of forced labour in their supply chains or take necessary action to address them. More than three quarters of companies failed to comply with the legal reporting requirements; just over half failed to identify clear modern slavery risks in their supply chains; and less than a third appeared to be taking effective action to address these risks.
Australia should be a global leader in addressing modern slavery, but instead our weak laws allow companies to turn a blind eye to abuse. Our team is advocating for the Modern Slavery Act to be strengthened. The law should require companies to carry out due diligence to ensure their supply chains are clean, with appropriate penalties for companies that do the wrong thing and pathways for exploited workers to access justice.
In 2022, the Government launched a review of the Modern Slavery Act to look at how the legislation could be improved. We co-ordinated civil society, conducted advocacy around the Review, and made submissions recommending critical reforms, including: requiring companies to carry out due diligence on their supply chains; banning imports made with forced labour; and improving oversight, enforcement, and access to justice for people impacted. In May 2023, the findings of the review were released. The review supported several of our recommendations and found that our modern slavery laws must be strengthened without delay. We also released model legislative amendments that would establish enforceable mandatory human rights due diligence obligations on companies to address modern slavery risk
The Human Rights Law Centre will continue to push for stronger laws to eradicate slavery and properly protect the rights of workers who make the products we use every day.