Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

The government will not be supporting the amendment from the Greens and Senator Steele-John. The Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018 entered into force in 2018 and enforces reporting requirements. Australia has comprehensively criminalised modern slavery practices in divisions 270 and 271 of the Criminal Code Act 1995, reflecting Australia's obligations under international law and commitment to eliminating modern slavery, which includes forced labour. The reporting requirement applies to large businesses and other entities in the Australian market with annual consolidated revenue of at least $100 million. The reporting requirement supports the Australian business community to identify and address its modern slavery risks and to maintain responsible and transparent supply chains. Entities required to comply with the reporting requirement, including the Australian government, must prepare annual modern slavery statements. These statements must set out the reporting entity's actions to assess and address modern slavery risks in their global operations and supply chains. The Australian government publishes these statements through an online central register.

The Australian government is taking a global leadership role in combating modern slavery. There is no place for modern slavery in Australian community or in the global supply chains of Australian goods and services. We take these issues seriously and are taking action. The government is proud to commit an additional $24.3 million in funding for the Support for Trafficked People Program in our 2023-24 budget. This is the largest financial commitment the government has made to combating modern slavery crimes to date and underscores our strong commitment to eradicating modern slavery. Our Modern Slavery Act creates a robust transparency framework to give business actions to identify and address modern slavery in global supply chains. The government is committed to taking action.