The final report from the Australian government's statutory review of its Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) was tabled in Federal Parliament on 25 May, 2023.

 

Proposed legislative changes to strengthen and sharpen the reporting process and context largely target what are seen to be the three main weaknesses in the present Act – the standard of modern slavery reporting is variable; the reporting obligation is not properly enforceable; and the process is at risk of being drowned by a sea of large and incompatible statements.

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There were 30 recommendations, the most significant being that the Act compels reporting entities to implement a due diligence system that goes beyond reporting and imposes a duty to identify and assess risks and track performance in addressing them.

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Other recommendations include:

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• The appointment of a federal anti-slavery commissioner

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• Penalties for non-compliance

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• Lowering of the company reporting threshold from $100m to $50m turnover