Modern Slavery in Australia — A Call for Proactive Compliance and Accountability
The recent Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery National Minimum Dataset (HTMS NMDS) pilot report highlights a stark reality: modern slavery persists in Australia, with diverse exploitation types spanning forced marriage, sexual servitude, and labour trafficking. Between July and December 2022 alone, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) received 150 reports of alleged modern slavery, with 69% progressing to investigation (Gannoni & Bricknell, 2024).
As legislative frameworks like Australia’s Modern Slavery Act 2018 and the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) evolve, businesses globally face mounting pressure to address and eradicate modern slavery risks within their supply chains. Yet, as the findings suggest, the scale and complexity of these challenges demand more than surface-level compliance.
The Compliance Imperative: Beyond Reporting
The dataset underscores critical gaps in tackling modern slavery:
- Private Settings Dominate Exploitation: 45% of reported cases occurred in households, pointing to the difficulty of detecting abuse within informal environments (Gannoni & Bricknell, 2024).
- Few Reports Came from Known Corporate Supply Chains: Only 9% of reported cases related to forced labour. The industries affected included:
- Agriculture, horticulture, and forestry (3%)
- Manufacturing (1%)
- Construction (1%)
- Wholesale and retail trade (3%)Arts, entertainment, and recreation (1%)
- Additionally, 17% of cases did not specify an industry (Gannoni & Bricknell, 2024).
- High Attrition Rates in Prosecution: Only 1 out of 150 cases led to prosecution, with many investigations discontinued due to insufficient evidence or victim withdrawal (Gannoni & Bricknell, 2024).
These realities highlight why compliance frameworks must go beyond checkboxes. Businesses, mainly reporting entities, must adopt tools and methodologies that provide real-time visibility, enable investigation at scale, and integrate field intelligence for actionable insights.The Role of Technology in Addressing Modern SlaverySlaveCheck’s compliance platform leverages Collective Intelligence—integrating AI-powered supply chain transparency with insights from civil society partnerships. Here’s how it aligns with the report’s findings:
- Risk Prioritisation: Forced marriage and sexual servitude accounted for over 55% of reports (Gannoni & Bricknell, 2024). SlaveCheck’s AI identifies high-risk industries and geographic hotspots, enabling businesses to prioritise investigations.
- Proactive Monitoring: The low number of self-reported victims (4%) and high levels of victim disengagement illustrate the need for scalable monitoring solutions. SlaveCheck’s partnerships with civil societies facilitate real-time, in-field intelligence collection, creating a conduit between corporate entities and vulnerable populations (Gannoni & Bricknell, 2024).
- End-to-End Visibility: Modern slavery reporting requirements in the EU and other jurisdictions increasingly mandate insights beyond Tier 1 suppliers. SlaveCheck maps extended supply chains across multiple tiers, ensuring businesses can meet stringent compliance standards.
Collaboration Across Borders
With 86% of victims born overseas, modern slavery is undeniably a global issue (Gannoni & Bricknell, 2024). Businesses operating internationally must align with regulations across regions, from Australia’s Modern Slavery Act to the US’s Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The SlaveCheck platform offers a centralised system for monitoring and reporting compliance with these diverse regulatory frameworks.
A Shared Responsibility
The HTMS NMDS pilot report is a sobering reminder of the human cost behind supply chains. For organisations, this is not just a legal obligation but an ethical imperative. By embracing solutions like SlaveCheck, businesses can lead in creating transparent, accountable, and ethical supply chains, ultimately contributing to the global effort to dismantle modern slavery.Modern slavery is not someone else’s problem—it is embedded in the supply chains of everyday products. As regulators tighten their grip, now is the time for businesses to act decisively.Read the full report here: Australian Institute of Criminology Report
Citation:
Gannoni A & Bricknell S 2024. Findings from the Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery National Minimum Dataset pilot, July to December 2022. Statistical Report no. 48. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.52922/sr77703
