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Australia, APAC | Effective: 2018

Australia Modern Slavery Act (Commonwealth Act)

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Established in 2018, this Commonwealth Act applies to Australian entities or foreign entities carrying out business in Australia and generating an annual revenue of at least A$100 million. The Modern Slavery Act requires entities to show concrete steps toward understanding and managing their modern slavery risks and provides a clear framework for doing so. Those in scope need to prepare annual public reports (Modern Slavery Statements) on their efforts to identify and address modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains, and in the operations and supply chains of any entities they own or control.

The Act sets out seven mandatory criteria for the content of the statements:

  • Information on the reporting entity
  • The organizational structure and supply chains
  • The risks of modern slavery in the operations and supply chains of the reporting entity and any entities it owns or controls
  • The actions taken by the reporting entity to assess and address these risks, including due diligence and remediation processes
  • How the reporting entity addresses the effectiveness of these actions
  • And how the reporting entity consults with any entities it owns or controls or is issuing a modern slavery statement with
  • Any other information the reporting entity considers relevant

The statements must be approved by the principal governing body submitted and made available to the public through an online central register.

The Act encourages entities to continually assess their modern slavery risks and improve their responses over time. While addressing the mandatory reporting criteria, they should use the opportunity to commit to improvement goals for the next reporting period.