Modern slavery is an umbrella term which includes the crimes of human trafficking, forced labour, debt bondage, servitude, slavery, the worst forms of child labour, deceptive recruiting, forced marriage, and commercial sexual exploitation.
There are over 40 million victims of modern slavery globally. Around two-thirds of victims are located in the Indo-Pacific, where Australia has enormous strategic influence and economic interests.
And there are an estimated 15,000 victims here in Australia, often hidden in plain sight
This, in turn, presents both opportunities and risks for businesses, employers, shareholders, investors, clients, and consumers.
Apart from laws already in place in Divisions 270 and 271 of Australia’s Criminal Code, directly criminalising modern slavery offences, Australia recently implemented the Modern Slavery Act (‘the Act’), which commenced 1 January 2019.
Internationally, there has also been a huge growth in nations implementing similar transparency in supply chains legislation (such as the UK and Australia, and soon Canada), due diligence legislation (such as France), and forced labour import bans (such as the US with respect to Uyghur forced labour).
This Act requires entities with Australian operations, with over $100 million in consolidated revenue for their relevant reporting period (e.g., financial year), to report on modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains through annual Modern Slavery Statements.
Any reporting entities must report against several mandatory prescribed criteria under the Act, with Modern Slavery Statements published publicly on Australia’s Modern Slavery Register. And the highest level in an organisation must sign off on the statement (e.g. Board).
Importantly, any entity below the $100 million threshold can voluntarily report. Smaller entities may also need to undertake their own compliance measures to reduce risk and retain market access, particularly if supplying to reporting entities.
Most if not all entities will have modern slavery in their supply chains, whether it is through the mobile phones or computers used by staff, work clothing, food purchased, goods and services produced and offered, and so forth.
Entities taking this issue seriously by tackling modern slavery in their operations and supply chains – looking beyond just first-tier suppliers – can not only reduce risk but create opportunities for themselves.
Businesses wishing to address concerns of stakeholders and investors from an ESG perspective may wish to understand the impact of modern slavery on their ESG performance.
Riskcom helps entities to understand how risk management can enhance success by providing a platform for organisations to:
Riskcom offers industry-leading expertise in managing risk for enterprises and organisations in every sector, specialising in risk management solutions that achieve the best possible outcome for every client.
Darren Head from Riskcom & Chris Crewther from Nineteen Consulting will present a webinar on: “Modern slavery risks and opportunities for small-medium enterprises”
Date: 24th June Time: 10am – 11am
Click here to register your interest.
