Australia is moving to hold major companies criminally responsible for modern slavery in overseas supply chains, the nation’s top lawyer announced, just weeks after the United States threatened tariffs over the issue.
Attorney General Michelle Rowland said the government would strengthen its laws by creating a criminal offence for companies with revenue above Aus$100 million that fail to prevent abuses such as forced labour and debt bondage in supply chains outside Australia.
“Australians rightly expect that the products they buy are not made on the back of modern slavery,” she said.
The announcement follows a protest by Australia’s embassy after the US Trade Representative placed the country among 60 nations facing a 12.5% tariff for failing to block imports of goods produced with forced labour.
“There is no credible evidentiary basis for a finding that Australia’s lack of a US-style prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour is unreasonable, or burdens or restricts US commerce,” it said.
Tougher action
Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner Chris Evans said the country had once led the world with its anti-slavery regulations, but lost ground as other nations adopted more forceful measures.
Justine Nolan, director of the Australian Human Rights Institute, said legislation introduced eight years earlier was no longer fit for purpose. She described the planned reforms as significant, saying they would compel companies to act to prevent slavery.
There was “probably some correlation” between the timing of the reforms and the US government’s tariff threat, she added.
Under the proposed law, companies will have a defence if they can demonstrate that they took reasonable steps to prevent slavery.
Australia will also impose civil penalties on companies that fail to meet their existing obligations under the Modern Slavery Act.
