Modern Slavery FAQs

Can your company verify, trace and stop potential modern slavery risks in your supply chain?

Most frequently asked questions about Modern Slavery

Modern Slavery Acts are in force in many countries such as Australia and the UK. Modern Slavery is becoming increasingly an important part of most imminent legislations, eg. EU or Germany. Even it is not mandatory, it is highly recommended to report on Modern Slavery, particularly for internationally operating companies with multi-leveled supply chains.

Informed 365 has helped some of Australia’s biggest companies, prepare for their Modern Slavery reporting statement. We would be most happy to walk you through the process we have taken with other reportable entities. Below, are some links to other informative sites:

The Australian Government ‘Guidelines for Reporting Entities’: https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/criminal-justice/files/modern-slavery-reporting- entities.pdf

Supply Chain Sustainability School Modern Slavery resource library: http://supplychainschool.org.au/resources/modern-slavery.aspx

The Global Slavery Index: https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/

Anti-Slavery Australia: http://www.antislavery.org.au/

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: https://www.ohchr.org/documents/publications/GuidingprinciplesBusinesshr_eN.pdf

The Australian Government Fair Work Ombudsman: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/

The Australian Human Rights Commission: https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our- work/complaint-information-service/work-out-your-rights-information-employees

The Dhaka Principles, from the Institute for Human Rights and Business: https://www.ihrb.org/dhaka-principles/

The Australian Government Department of Home Affairs Criminal Justice resources: https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about-us/our-portfolios/criminal- justice/people-smuggling-human-trafficking/modern-slavery

Typical issues that need to be addressed in a Modern Slavery Statement?

  • The name of your organisation as an entity
  • Your organisation’s structure and operations
  • Your organisation’s key modern slavery risks
  • The actions being taken to address them
  • How your organisation assesses the effectiveness of the actions being taken
  • What consultation has taken place within parts of your organisation’s business (including overseas)
  • Any ‘other initiatives’ – consultation, collaboration etc.

 

The Modern Slavery Act 2018. is an Act that requires entities based, or operating, in Australia, which have an annual consolidated revenue of more than $100 million, to report annually on the risks of modern slavery in their operations and supply chains, and actions to address those risks.
Reports are kept by the Minister in a public repository known as the Modern Slavery Statements Register. Statements on the register may be accessed by the public, free of charge, on the internet.
Organisations are required as part of the report to submit modern slavery statements, describing the risks of modern slavery in the operations and supply chains of reporting entities and entities owned or controlled by those entities.

The statements must also include information about actions taken to address those risks.

Joint modern slavery statements may be given on behalf of one or more reporting entities.

Globally it is estimated that there are over 40 million people engaged in Modern Slavery. About two thirds of the global slave trade occurs in the Asia-Pacific. Some of the world’s biggest trading partners, including China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, are host to some of the most egregious crimes. Which means, that while your internal practices and many of your tier 1 suppliers might clearly display no signs of modern slavery, the probably of finding slavery in your deeper tiers is highly likely. In fact, a survey conducted in 2015 of retailers and their tier 1 suppliers found a 71% likelihood of slavery in their supply chains. If you haven’t identified it yet, it is probably because you are not looking in the right places.
(Ashbridge Centre for Business and Sustainability)

Different countries use different legal terminologies, but “modern slavery” includes the crimes of human trafficking, slavery and slavery like practices such as servitude, forced labour, forced or servile marriage, the sale and exploitation of children, and debt bondage.