Modern slavery in supply chains

Field 1What the law means by modern slavery

Australia’s modern slavery offences sit in Divisions 270 and 271 of the Commonwealth Criminal Code. The Attorney-General’s Department says they include “slavery, servitude, forced labour, forced marriage, deceptive recruiting, debt bondage and human trafficking”.

For reporting, the Act’s definition reaches a little further. It also takes in trafficking in persons as defined by the UN trafficking protocol, and the worst forms of child labour as defined by ILO Convention No. 182.

Field 2Who must report

The Act came into force on 1 January 2019. Its reporting requirement covers large businesses and other entities in the Australian market whose annual consolidated revenue reaches $100 million, and the Australian Government itself, which gives an annual Commonwealth statement for non-corporate Commonwealth entities.

A reporting entity’s statement has to be approved by its principal governing body, such as its board, signed by a responsible member, and given to the Minister within six months after the end of the reporting period.

Field 3The seven things every statement covers

Section 16 sets the mandatory criteria. For each reporting entity it covers, a statement must:

1. 01identify the entity;
2. 02describe its structure, its operations and its supply chains;
3. 03describe the risks of modern slavery in its operations and supply chains, and in any entity it owns or controls;
4. 04describe what it and the entities it owns or controls have done to assess and address those risks, including due diligence and remediation;
5. 05describe how it judges whether those actions are working;
6. 06describe how it consulted the entities it owns or controls (and, for a joint statement, the entity giving it);
7. 07include anything else the entity considers relevant.

The Act’s own example of the actions in item 04: writing policies and processes to deal with modern slavery risks, and training staff about it.

Field 4Reading a statement

The Australian Government must keep the statements on an online register the public can search. As at October 2026, the register’s front page gives indicative counts of 17,677 mandatory statements and 1,192 voluntary statements lodged.

Because item 02 asks for a description of supply chains and item 03 for the risks in them, a large supplier’s or customer’s statement is a public account, in its own words, of where it thinks its risks lie.

Field 5If your business is smaller

An Australian entity, or any entity carrying on business in Australia, can volunteer to comply with the Act by giving the Minister written notice before the end of the reporting period. A volunteer then reports as a reporting entity would, and can withdraw for a future period by notice given before that period starts.

Field 6If you suspect modern slavery

The Attorney-General’s Department says anyone can report suspected modern slavery in Australia, and that the Australian Federal Police leads investigations into modern slavery crimes. Its page on modern slavery support services lists how to reach the AFP and the free support services for people affected.

Field 7Changes under way

A statutory review of the Act’s first three years was tabled on 25 May 2023 with 30 recommendations, among them penalties for not complying, lowering the reporting threshold from $100 million to $50 million, requiring entities to have a due diligence system, and reporting on modern slavery incidents or risks.

The Government’s response, released on 2 December 2024, accepted 25 of the 30 recommendations, some in full and others in part or in principle, and noted the remaining five. As at October 2026, the Department’s page still gives the reporting threshold as $100 million.