MSA Principal Governing Body Approval
About the data
Approval
There are two categories of statements:
- "Normal" statement that pertains to a single entity subject to the law in a given year, having a turnover exceeding 100 million AUD.
- "Joint" statement is a collective statement from multiple entities subject to the law, each having a turnover exceeding 100 million AUD.
“Normal” statement - for a single reporting entity
Section 13 of the Act requires statements given by single reporting entities to be approved by the principal governing body of the reporting entity.
The principal governing body is the body or group of members with primary responsibility for the governance of the reporting entity.
“Joint” statement - for multiple entities
Section 14 of the Act provides three options for approval of joint statements:
- OPTION ONE: The principal governing body of each reporting entity covered by the statement approves the statement.
- OPTION TWO: The principal governing body of a higher entity (such as a global parent), which is in a position to influence or control each entity covered by the statement, approves the statement. The higher entity does not have to be a reporting entity itself.
- OPTION THREE: If it is not practicable to comply with Option One or Option Two, the principal governing body of at least one reporting entity covered by the statement may approve the statement. In this case, the statement must also explain why this option was taken.
Methodology
“Normal” statement - for a single reporting entity
The Act does not permit delegation of approval authority, including to an Individual, Executive Committee, Sub-Committee, or Workgroup.
To ensure an entity's statement can be published on the government's Register, entities should ensure there is no ambiguity in who approved the statement. Groups like ‘Executive Leadership Committee', ‘Members of the Board', and ‘Senior Executive on behalf of the Board' leave it unclear whether the entity's principal governing body has cleared their modern slavery statement, or if it was approved by a select few members. Any language that indicates that the statement was "considered by the board" or "put forward to the board" is not sufficient to meet this criterion.
Note: If the the statement is approved by the reporting entity’s principal governing body the select the option: "Approved by the principal governing body of each reporting entity".
“Joint” statement - for multiple entities
Select:
"Approved by the principal governing body of each reporting entity": if the principal governing body of each reporting entity covered by the statement approves the statement.
"Approved by principal governing body of a higher entity/global parent": If the principal governing body of a higher entity (such as a global parent), which is in a position to influence or control each entity covered by the statement, approves the statement. The higher entity does not have to be a reporting entity itself.
"Approved by the principal governing body of at least on reporting entity covered in statement": If it is not practicable to comply with Option One or Option Two and the principal governing body of at least one reporting entity covered by the statement may approve the statement. In this case, the statement must also explain why this option was taken.