It is a universal truth that slavery is abhorrent and intolerable. New terminology captures the different forms that slavery can take. Common descriptions of slavery practices include human trafficking, servitude, worker exploitation, child labour, forced marriage, debt bondage and deceptive recruiting. Collectively, these practices are nowadays described as modern slavery.

Australia has a diverse range of laws, programs, networks and support services to address this immense challenge. A key element of Australia’s response is the Modern Slavery Act 2018. It is described as a transparency reporting law. The Act requires large businesses and other entities in Australia to submit an annual statement to the Australian Government on how they are addressing modern slavery risks in their domestic and global operations and supply chains. The statements are placed on an online public register, the Modern Slavery Statements Register.

The Act requires a review to be conducted three years after it commenced (on 1 January 2019). Terms of Reference for this review are at Appendix A of this report. The 12-month review commenced on 31 March 2022.

Three questions lay at the heart of this review. Can a law such as the Modern Slavery Act be effective in combating modern slavery? Could the Act be more effective if changes were made to how it is framed and administered? Is the law being taken seriously?

Several recommendations are made in this report to amend the Act to strengthen and sharpen the reporting process and context. The most significant is a recommendation that the Act require entities to implement a due diligence system that will go beyond reporting and will impose a duty on entities to take effective action to identify and assess risks, and track performance in addressing them.