The Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) (the Act) set a new standard for modern slavery disclosures in Australia. The Act required entities with a consolidated annual revenue of $100 million or more to disclose their efforts in identifying and addressing modern slavery risks within their operations and supply chain. The objective of the Act was to provide a framework to assist with proactively and effectively addressing modern slavery.

In May 2023, the Australian government completed an independent review of the impact and effectiveness of the Act, led by John McMillan.

The review found that although the Act had increased awareness of and engagement with modern slavery risks, it had not resulted in meaningful change for people affected by modern slavery.

This guide provides:

• An introduction to modern slavery and high-risk sectors.
• A summary of the key findings of the review, explaining key recommendations, potential changes to reporting requirements and how they might affect entities operating in Australia.
• An overview of how the modern slavery regulatory context is evolving in Australia and globally.
• An explanation of the connection between risks to people and risks to business.
• An overview of changes to mandatory reporting requirements.
• A blueprint for how your entity can prepare for mandatory modern slavery due diligence.