Several countries known to have modern slavery occurring in parts of the labour market produce goods and services that are sold in the Australian market.
The complex and multi-tiered nature of supply chains can limit many companies’ visibility of what is occurring, particularly where there is outsourcing or subcontracting.
This has increased the risk that goods and services in the Australia have been tainted by modern slavery.
The Business Council supports an effective approach to combating modern slavery, including the introduction of a Modern Slavery Act (MSA) in Australia. The design of a MSA must balance the desire for increased transparency of supply chains with the need for practical and measured reform.
In this context, this submission has identified some design issues and proposed six principles underpin the design of a Australian MSA.
Submission to the Inquiry into Establishing a Modern Slavery Act in Australia