Modern Slavery Act

Contents

• Examples of Human Rights Violations
• Toughening the Modern Slavery Act
• What these Changes Mean
• What Businesses Need to Do
• Anthesis Support
• Contact Us

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Modern Slavery and Human Rights Legislation: Actions for Businesses

Modern slavery is a global issue. According to the United Nations, 40.3 million people are subjected to modern slavery through forced labour each day. In the UK, there are estimates of as many as 138,000 people who are trapped in modern slavery. At COP 21, nearly 200 UN countries and territories aligned on this global concern and agreed to eradicate modern slavery and achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 by 2030. This article reviews what changes have been made by governments and what businesses should do to maintain transparency within their supply chain.

In recent years, the media has repeatedly brought attention to human rights violations that have shocked the world, resulting in countries tightening their legislation in response. Countries with strong political will, high levels of resources, and a strong civil society that holds governments to account are taking the strongest action. For instance, governments in the UK, Australia, Canada and other jurisdictions require organisations to assess and report on modern slavery risks within their operations and supply chains. Expectations are also increasing across the Asia-Pacific region as investors, customers and regulators seek greater transparency on how businesses identify and manage human rights risks.

Global Examples of Human Rights Violations  

Forced labour and slavery in supply chains is a hidden threat. It has the potential to affect all businesses. Unless a business has complete transparency across their supply chains, they could unknowingly be supporting such activities. The following examples are well documented examples of forced labour, however no country is free from modern slavery.

 Some recent examples of forced labour today, include:  

• Sumangali workers in South India where an estimated 100,000 girls are recruited from their houses to work in factories for several years under constant surveillance, precarious work conditions, limited freedom and low wages.
• Syrian workers who have fled the war in their home country and migrated to Turkey but are unable to receive the same rights as Turkish workers. Figures from 2019, show that out of the 3.6 million registered Syrian refugees in Turkey, only 31,000 received official work permits.

Toughening Modern Slavery Act requirements around the world 

In January 2021, the UK Government released additional measures, toughening the response towards modern slavery and preventing goods linked to forced labour from entering the UK supply chain. This builds on the 2015 Modern Slavery Act issued by the UK Government, where Section 54 requires businesses with a total annual turnover of £36m or more to prepare a slavery and human trafficking statement for each financial year. The slavery and human trafficking statement should set out what steps organisations have taken to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in its organisation or supply chain.

Other countries have also taken action against modern slavery. Australia introduced its Modern Slavery Act 2018, requiring large entities to report on modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains and the actions taken to address those risks. The Act has helped increase board-level visibility of modern slavery and human rights issues, while ongoing reform discussions continue to focus on reporting quality, accountability and effective due diligence. As recently as 2026 the government is implementing updates to strengthen the law.

The US and Canada, meanwhile, have introduced targeted bans on certain goods imported from regions that they suspect carry a higher risk of forced labour.

Navigating modern slavery and human rights requirements across global markets 

Organisations are facing increasing expectations to identify, assess and address human rights risks across their operations and supply chains. Governments in jurisdictions including Australia, the UK, Canada, the EU and the US have introduced legislation, reporting requirements and import controls designed to address forced labour and strengthen supply chain transparency. These developments are reinforcing the importance of effective laws and human rights due diligence, defined by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains.

What businesses need to do now

As regulatory and stakeholder expectations continue to increase globally, organisations need a clear understanding of human rights risks across their operations and value chains. This is particularly important for businesses reporting under Australia’s Modern Slavery Act and those responding to growing customer, investor and supply chain due diligence requests across APAC and international markets. The most critical actions businesses can take to ensure compliance are:

• Look at the Modern Slavery statement. Assess and establish a human rights due diligence programme to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for actual and potential human rights and environmental impacts in their operations.
• Identify salient risks within the business. Find gaps and develop new policies and action plans in relation to modern slavery mitigation.
• Assess risks across regional supply chains. Many organisations operate complex supply chains spanning Asia-Pacific markets where labour rights, recruitment practices and supplier oversight require careful assessment and ongoing engagement.
• Understand the source of raw material to finished product. In some regions, further reviews need to be undertaken to decide on the specific products that will be subject to new import controls and government sanction lists.
• Build capacity within the organisation. Establish training and development on ethical trade, human rights, gender equality, modern slavery, as well as creating grievance mechanisms and worker representation models for global supply chains.

How we can help  

We support organisations globally, including across Australia and Asia-Pacific, to align modern slavery reporting, human rights due diligence and supply chain risk management with evolving regulatory and stakeholder expectations.

Anthesis can support your business with the creation of human rights impact assessments and in developing strategy and direction towards human rights due diligence, with a focus on transparency and traceability in supply chains. Using our in-house tools, we can identify and rank where the key human rights and salient risks are located within your business, both geographically and within Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) parameters.

For more information on how to identify if your organisation needs to publish a modern slavery statement or needs to improve it, or guidance to ensure slavery and human trafficking are not taking place in your supply chains, please contact us, we’d love to help.