The Australian government should provide guidance on which regions and sectors carry high modern slavery risks and specify how reporting entities should address those risks. One way to do this is by maintaining a current list of industry sectors that are high-risk for forced labour and child labour.

What has the government said so far?

In December 2024, the Australian government agreed in principle with the McMillan Review recommendation tabled in May 2023 that “the Minister or the Anti-Slavery Commissioner may make a written declaration of a region, location, industry, product, supplier or supply chain that is regarded as carrying a high modern slavery risk, and the extent to which reporting entities must have regard to that declaration in preparing their modern slavery statement under the Act”.

In July 2025, the government opened public submissions on the Act and committed to conducting targeted consultations on other topics, including a model for making declarations of high-risk matters. The government has not yet specified a timeframe for these consultations or their implementation under amended legislation.

There should be a duty on reporting entities to take concrete action to address human rights infringements and forced labour drivers that they cause, contribute to, or which are linked to their commercial practices.

The government should extend the transparency premise of the Act to place clear obligations on entities beyond simply describing their processes. The Act needs a legally binding and enforceable standard that requires obligations to carry out robust due diligence across entire supply chain to:

• identify risks
• take action to prevent and mitigate adverse impacts; and
• provide remedies.

The due diligence system must require companies to identify actual occurrences of modern slavery where they occur as well as potential modern slavery risks, to prevent and mitigate those risks, and to bring to an end actual instances of labour rights abuses or minimise their extent.

What has the government said so far?

In December 2024, the Australian government noted the McMillan Review recommendation tabled in May 2023 that “The Modern Slavery Act be amended to provide that a reporting entity must: have a due diligence system that meets the requirements mentioned in rules made under s 25 of the Act, and in the entity’s annual modern slavery statement, explain the activity undertaken by the entity in accordance with that system." The government committed to first undertaking consultations including consideration of how enhanced due diligence requirements on modern slavery would align with broader global developments towards human rights due diligence.

In July 2025, the government opened public submissions on the Act, and committed to conducting targeted consultations on other topics, including introducing obligations for a due diligence system. The government has not yet specified a timeframe for these consultations or their implementation under amended legislation.

The Australian government should enact a civil penalty scheme or enhance the ability for the government to publicly name non-compliant entities. These penalties should target entities that do not submit a statement, provide false or misleading information in their statement, or do not comply with specific guidance or remediation orders from the government. Penalties and consequences of being found to be a non-compliant entity should be proportionate to the size and revenue of the entity and could include restrictions on access to public procurement opportunities from the government. Enforcement mechanisms would give teeth to the currently toothless Modern Slavery Act, which has little to no way of holding entities accountable for non-compliance.

What has the government said so far?

In December 2024, the Australian government agreed in principle, in part with the McMillan Review recommendations tabled in May 2023 that “The Modern Slavery Act be amended to provide that it is an offence for a reporting entity:

• to fail, without reasonable excuse, to give the Minister a modern slavery statement within a reporting period for that entity
• to give the Minister a modern slavery statement that knowingly includes materially false information
• to fail to comply with a request given by the Minister to the entity to take specified remedial action to comply with the reporting requirements of the Modern Slavery Act
• to fail to have a due diligence system in place that meets the requirements set out in rules made under s25 of the Act.”

The government agreed with the need to strengthen enforcement and compliance, and said they would consult on the introduction of civil penalties for:

• Failure to give statement
• False information in statement; and
• Failure to comply with request for remedial action

The government also specified the introduction of a penalty framework would be subject to a future decision of government.

In July 2025, the government produced a consultation paper on the introduction of penalties for non-compliance, with submissions closing on 1 September 2025.