The Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018

The Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018 (the Act) entered into force on 1 January 2019. The Act established a national Modern Slavery Reporting Requirement (Reporting Requirement) for large businesses and other entities in the Australian market with annual consolidated revenue of at least AUD$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 must prepare annual Modern Slavery Statements (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 through this online register.

The Act also requires the Australian Government to publish an annual Modern Slavery Statement covering Commonwealth procurement and investment activities. This initiative highlights the Australian Government’s commitment to lead by example in the fight against modern slavery and will help to mitigate modern slavery risks in public procurement and investments.

Project Goals

To evaluate the quality of Modern Slavery Statements that are produced by companies in accordance with the Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018. This year we want to establish a baseline against which we can measure the impact of the Act on companies, and in turn, on modern slavery.

What is modern slavery?

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, and
• 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, although these practices are also harmful and may be present in some situations of modern slavery. For further information on workplace rights and obligations in Australia, please visit the Australian Government Fair Work Ombudsman website.

Find out more about modern slavery:

Suggested reading:

1. Walk Free Tackling Modern Slavery in Supply Chains: A Guide 1.0

2. Statements can be found here

Further Guidance:

Check out the following example company to see how the project organisers have researched these metrics:

• Marks and Spencer Group plc

Watch the tutorial on adding to this research project: