Social Impact & Human Rights

Global estimates of modern slavery are at 50 million, meaning nearly one in every 150 people in the world is in some form of forced labour or forced marriage. The International Labour Organisation estimates that in Australia there are 15,000 people in slave-like conditions. To address this, in 2018, Australia introduced the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) to combat…

Many Australian organisations submitted their first modern slavery statement in March 2021, in line with the Australian Modern Slavery Act (the Act). This is a big milestone and those who made it should be applauded for their progress. It’s now tempting to park this issue until December when the next statements are due, but no rest for the…

Global estimates of modern slavery released this week have risen to 50 million, meaning nearly one in every 150 people in the world are in some form of forced labor or forced marriage. This is according to the latest report on Modern Slavery from the International Labor Organization, U.N.’s International Organization for Migration and the WalkFree.org foundation. These…

Anti-slavery contract clauses are becoming commonplace in supplier contracts and there is no doubt that they can be an effective tool in the anti-slavery toolkit. But the obligations imposed by these clauses can significantly, and sometimes unrealistically, increase the contractual and commercial burdens on suppliers. Often these clauses attempt to pass obligations further down the…

Modern slavery is not a problem that can be solved in the abstract. You have to get to the real humans behind all the risk assessments, slavery statements, and policy updates. Collaborating down chains of supply is a way most organisation’s can take action to help those at risk or in need, and contribute towards…