Modern Slavery: Federal Government Inquiry a Progress Report

In February 2017 we reported that the Federal Government had established an inquiry to be run by the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (the Joint Committee) into what has become known as "modern slavery" in Australia.  The inquiry's  key tasks to is to consider whether Australia should adopt legislation similar to that already enacted in the UK, namely the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

To Recap - The Key Areas of Investigation

The Joint Committee was instructed to look into:

• the nature and extent of modern slavery (this was to include slavery, forced labour and wage exploitation, involuntary servitude, debt bondage, human trafficking, forced marriage and other slavery-like exploitation) both in Australia and globally;
• the prevalence of modern slavery in the domestic and global supply chains of companies, businesses and organisations operating in Australia;
• identification of international best practice employed by governments, companies, businesses and organisations to prevent modern slavery in domestic and global supply chains, with a view to strengthening Australian legislation;
• the implications for Australia’s visa regime, and conformity with the "Palermo Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons", especially Women and Children regarding federal compensation for victims of modern slavery;
• the provisions in the UK’s legislation which have proven effective in addressing modern slavery, and whether similar or improved measures should be introduced in Australia; and
• whether a Modern Slavery Act should be introduced in Australia; and any other related matters.

Joint Committee's Hearings Schedule

To date, the Joint Committee has held Public Hearings and has on 29 May 2017 heard from the UK Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner in a discussion on modern slavery; on 22 June 2017 met to investigate "supply chain transparency" and heard from key government agencies on the matter; and on 31 July 2017 has held further hearings. On 1 August 2017, the Joint Committee conducted hearing in Melbourne and is due to conduct further hearings on 11 August 2017 in Parliament House Canberra.

Some Basic Facts About Modern Slavery

Some of the basic facts about Modern Slavery are:

• 45.8 million people are trapped in some form of slavery [See the 2016 global slavery index, funded by the Walk Free Foundation];
• Half of the 45.8 million people living in modern slavery are located in five countries: India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan;
• The above report ranks the occurrence of slavery in 167 countries: India is ranked as having the highest number of slaves while North Korea has the highest percentage of slaves per head of population;
• 2016 estimates were nearly 30 percent higher than in the previous report, which estimated 35.8 million people living in slavery in 2014;
• The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that 21 million people are trapped in forced labour and other forms of modern slavery; and
• Australia is not untarnished, the Walk Free Foundation estimate that there are at least 4,300 slaves in Australia, and that is before people have really started looking, after which it is anticipated more are likely to be found as were found in the UK.

Feedback from Some of the Submissions

Generally, it is reported that the Joint Committee has heard that Australian businesses are not doing enough to tackle slavery in their supply chains but also that big companies have warned against "overly prescriptive" laws in a bid to solve the problem.

There is also debate in the submissions as to who the laws should apply to, if such laws are made - namely, it is not at this stage clear which size companies would be caught by such laws and there is also division between businesses on whether reporting by companies on what they are doing to tackle the problem should be mandatory.

For example, the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) is reported as suggesting ". . .mandatory reporting, with provision for board approval, public disclosure, independent oversight and civil penalties". While the Business Council of Australia warns against ". . . overly prescriptive" laws, arguing that the legislation must clearly define which companies will be required to report and what part of their supply chains they will have to report on, so as to minimise the risk of a regulatory burden on companies, or overlapping with existing laws. Likewise retailer David Jones was reported as being ". . . broadly supportive" of the introduction of a Modern Slavery Act in Australia, but also indicated that ". . . any time and resources spent managing and reporting on compliance detracts resources from actual implementation" - urging the government to minimise the costs of compliance and guide companies in the implementation.

It is interesting to note that, it is reported that almost 10 percent of Australia's top 100 ASX listed companies are already involved in reporting under the UK legislation and that as Fortescue Metals said in its submission ". . . Without mandatory reporting, those companies that voluntarily report on the identification of slavery within their supply chain may be unfairly disadvantaged, . . ."

Will Modern Slavery Legislation be Effective

As The Conversation (Authors: McGaughey, Webb and Hogg) points out, in Australia, various ". . . longstanding criminal laws against trafficking and slavery have not prevented their occurrence and, for the most part, have not been relied on by authorities to prosecute exploitation". Further, the effectiveness of pursuing employers for the exploitation of migrant workers via offices such as that of the Fair Work Ombudsman is also limited.

One effect of Modern Slavery legislation would be to extend the responsibility of tackling exploitation to include the business sector and would not just leave it as a government responsibility. The introduction of an Australian Modern Slavery Act could help in dealing with worker exploitation. 

The risk remains, as The Conversation (Authors: McGaughey, Webb and Hogg) points out ". . . that this initiative [a Modern Slavery Act] will continue the trend of side-stepping the root causes of worker exploitation in this country" namely,  vulnerability to workplace exploitation  which is closely connected to the regulation of migration and labour. This implies as The Conversation (Authors: McGaughey, Webb and Hogg) points out, that the support of Australia’s business community and any proposed solution to the problem also requires government to produce policies, practices and legislation affecting migration and migrant labour  which reduce the vulnerability of workers.

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Inquiry into establishing a Modern Slavery Act in Australia

Should Australia have a Modern Slavery Act? (The Conversation)(Authors: McGaughey, Webb and Hogg)

Australian businesses unaware of slavery in supply chains, inquiry told (SMH

Modern Slavery In Australia Is Hiding In Plain Sight (Huff Post)