The Federal Government are planning to introduce laws to parliament today, to force companies with a turnover of more than 100 million dollars to annually report on the risks of slavery in their supply chains.
The laws will also be introduced to Commonwealth procurement, in a stated world first. Fine print in the bill shows that companies that fail to comply will not be penalised though.
Labor has vowed to amend the legislation in the senate claiming that a voluntary reporting process is toothless. Opposition justice shadow minister, Claire O'Neill said that “An optional scheme with no oversight is an enormous disappointment”
Slavery is effectively banned under the United Nation's 19-48 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 20-16 Global Slavery Index estimates that globally around 45.8 million people are victims of slavery.