The Australian Government will be required to submit a report addressing its modern slavery risks in government procurement. The Modern Slavery Business Engagement Unit within The Attorney-General’s Department (AGD) will be responsible for drafting this statement on behalf of the Commonwealth. Government Departments will therefore not be required to provide separate modern slavery statements.

There is no template for reporting as the aim of the Act is for entities to think through their own risks. This will be different for every industry and entity and cannot be captured in a template. Instead, our guidance offers a range of practical tips and actions that entities can draw from. Using the seven mandatory criteria as outlined in the Modern Slavery Act is one suggested way of breaking up your Statement and a useful starting point if you are stuck. If you do need any further general guidance, we are more than happy to assist where we can.

Each statement must address the mandatory criteria for content in the Act. The length of each statement will vary between entities and will depend on the entities’ risk profile, how far along in their modern slavery journey they are, and the type of industry.

All statement must be uploaded to the Register in PDF format. This allows for graphics and charts to be included in the statement if an entity chooses.

The AGD will be accepting all modern slavery statements through the Modern Slavery Statements Register. The Register is run by AGD’s Modern Slavery Business Engagement Unit and allows a reporting entity to upload its modern slavery statement which will then be made publicly available.

The Act explicitly excludes state and territory governments from the Reporting Requirement. Consistent with this approach, local government entities will not be required to comply with the Reporting Requirement. This approach ensures that local government entities are treated in the same way as state and territory governments under the Act.
Local governments have an important role to play in combating modern slavery and this approach does not prevent local government entities from voluntarily complying with the Act should they wish to do so.

Government run/controlled companies and other entities will be covered by the Act where they meet the revenue threshold and do not enjoy the immunities of the Crown. This will need to be assessed by individual entities on a case by case basis. Your legal area should be able to confirm this question for you.

No. It is up to each entity and their Board to decide if they are able to manage the risk and what is appropriate. In line with the UN Guiding Principles, if you do decide to continue with a supplier (for example, if they are the only provider of a product) you should continue to use your leverage to change their practices.

No. Under the Act, entities are obligated to publish a statement which reports on the risks of modern slavery in the entity’s operations and supply chains and actions being taken to address those risks.

It us up to every entity how much information it requires from its suppliers and how much action it takes to manage potential risks. An entity can choose to rely on a suppliers’ modern slavery statement if it thinks the statement shows the modern slavery risk is being appropriately managed. We want entities to meaningfully engage. It is not sufficient to outsource compliance through contracts or rely on statements from suppliers.

The Modern Slavery Act is not intended to apply to foreign parents that do not directly carry on business in Australia – for example because they operate through an Australian subsidiary. In these cases, the Australian subsidiary would only be required to report if it and any entities it controls have revenue of AU$100 million or above. In most cases, the foreign parent should already be aware of whether it legally carries on business in Australia, including because it would generally need to register with ASIC if it does.

Under the Act, revenue needs to be assessed in accordance with the Australian Accounting Standards which include information about assessing revenue for financial institutions. Reporting entities, including super funds, should already be using the Australian Accounting Standards to measure their revenue for other purposes.

In the first instance, AGD will work with entities to try and address the reason for the non-compliance, such as providing advice about how to prepare a statement. In particularly bad instances of non-compliance, the entity may be named by the Minister after being given written notice.

Yes. Any Australian entity or entity carrying on a business in Australia can provide a voluntary statement. Providing a voluntary statement may benefit your entity by demonstrating your leadership on modern slavery and show you are a responsible business that acts with integrity. This may help you to attract customers, access new business opportunities, provide a competitive advantage and build your reputation.

You can submit the same statement in the UK and Australia. However, this statement must comply with the requirements of the Australian Act. The Australian legislation includes a number of differences to the UK Modern Slavery Act. The most important difference is that statements under the Australian Act must address mandatory criteria for content (unlike recommended criteria in the UK). The Australian Act also includes concepts like joint statements and consultation that are not part of the UK legislation.

Section 4 of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (the Act) provides that ‘control’ of an entity by another entity means control within the meaning of the Australian Accounting Standards (the Standards). Franchisees would therefore only fall within the definition of a controlled entity if the relevant franchise agreement enables the franchisor to exercise influence over its franchisees to a degree that meets the definition of ‘control’ set out in the Standards. We note the Australian Accounting Standards Board’s standard on consolidated financial statements provides guidance for franchisors.
While not required to report on the operations and supply chains of specific franchisees, our policy view is that franchisors that do not control franchisees within the meaning of the Standards should include information in their modern slavery statement (statement) about the overall operation of the franchise. This may include outlining how the franchisor engages with franchisees to raise awareness of modern slavery risks and explaining any whole-of-franchise actions to address modern slavery risks (such as engagement with common suppliers across the franchise). We also recommend that franchisor statements outline significant modern slavery risks that may be present in its franchisees’ operations. For example, franchisees in the fast food sector may purchase food and grocery products that carry a high risk of modern slavery.

Section 5 of the Act provides that the legislation applies to entities that meet the AU$100 million revenue threshold and are an Australian entity or carry on business in Australia (reporting entities). Under section 16, reporting entities covered by the Act must report on modern slavery risks and actions to assess and address these risks in their operations and supply chains, as well as the operations and supply chains of any entities they own or control (subsidiary entities). Our policy view is that the requirement to report in relation to subsidiary entities includes subsidiary entities formed or operating outside of Australia. As set out in our online guidance (page 34), while not required to report on the specific operations and supply chains of non-managed joint ventures, reporting entities should also outline in general terms their investments in other foreign or Australian entities and how they engage with these entities on modern slavery issues.

The Act requires reporting entities to provide a statement for each annual reporting period of the entity. This statement must address the criteria for content set out in section 16 of the Act in relation to the reporting period for which the statement is given. For example, a statement given for the 2019-20 Australian financial year should outline actions taken by the reporting entity during this period. The Act does not require reporting entities to report on actions taken outside the reporting period or take particular actions in a reporting period.