Australia’s Anti-Slavery Commissioner has made calls in a new report to strengthen the country’s Modern Slavery Act, with the fashion industry well-within the firing line.
In the 30-page report, the Commissioner set out two key amendment proposals, including implementing a mandatory, risk-based, modern slavery due diligence obligation for reporting entities.
This obligation means reporting entities, including the Australian Government, will need to demonstrate that they are taking reasonable steps to identify, prevent and address modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.
The second proposal would allow the Commissioner to declare that a product, service or industry carries a high risk of modern slavery, and would require affected entities to show regard to declarations in their due diligence and reporting obligations.
Fashion business consultant and Growth Activists co-founder Rosanna Iacono said the second proposal in particular makes fashion a primary target. This is because clothing, textiles and cotton are already identified as high-risk industries globally.
“What it would essentially mean is that once a declaration is made (for example, on cotton possibly coming from the Xinjiang region of China, or around the risk of bonded workers in a Bangladeshi factory), businesses must then 'have regard to it' in their due diligence. That means it becomes a trigger for them to take action and explicitly explain how they addressed that specific risk in the due diligence process.
“While the report doesn’t mention them as a requirement, this push for transparency aligns perfectly with Digital Product Passports, as brands will need verified provenance data to prove they’ve addressed declared high-risk factors. I can certainly see that convergence happening.”
Regarding the first proposal, Iacono pointed out that reporting entities with a turnover of $100 million and operating in Australia, either locally owned or overseas, only need to describe what they are doing, “even if it's nothing.”
Some entities do tend to go above and beyond these requirements, with some tabling 30- or 40-page reports, while others stick to the bare minimum.
With the new rules, Iacono said fashion businesses especially will be pushed toward fuller supply chain mapping, beyond tier 1, as the Commissioner’s term ‘reasonable steps’ includes identifying risks in complex global supply chains where exploitation is most prevalent.
The proposed rules will also give power to the regulator to issue infringement notices or seek civil penalties for businesses that fail to conduct due diligence or report on it, and businesses would be required to provide for or cooperate in remediation where they’ve caused or contributed to harm.
“The fact that the proposed reforms are designed to align Australia with the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and other international standards is a huge positive,” Iacono said. “This will create efficiencies for Australian brands selling into Europe or North America. Harmonising Australian law with global expectations means businesses can take a ‘one action, many markets’ approach.”
Iacono – who has held lead managing roles at Sass & Bide, Jurlique, Mex, SABA, Sheridan, Levi Strauss and Nike – also pointed out that the Commissioner’s report cites research that shows robust human rights records correlating with better asset efficiency and investor confidence.
According to the Anti-Slavery Commissioner, these recommendations come as the Australian Government commences consultations on reforms to the federal Modern Slavery Act, with decisions being made during the year.
“We have known for years that the Modern Slavery Act’s transparency measures alone have not created meaningful impact for exploited workers,” Commissioner Chris Evans said. “Currently, reporting is mandatory but taking action is not, leaving workers exposed and responsible businesses disadvantaged.
“Other like-minded countries have already legislated mandatory due diligence regimes, recognising that reporting is not enough and that real action is required. These reforms are pragmatic, enforceable, and designed to deliver real change for people trapped in modern slavery.”
The Commissioner added this sets a more level playing field, which Iacono concurred with, saying this will ensure that ethical brands investing in deep supply chain mapping and remediation actions are not undercut by competitors who do the bare minimum or nothing at all.
“It can become a powerful mechanism for dealing with the ultra-fast fashion and value chain players who until now have managed to get away with box-ticking versus meaningful action.”
This Modern Slavery Act overhaul comes amid growing public scrutiny over how certain companies address modern slavery, including the likes of Shein and Temu globally, with local operator Kmart currently defending itself in a court case over allegations around the use of Uyghur forced labour by some of its clothing suppliers in China.
Uyghurs are Turkic-speaking people of inner Asia living mostly in the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang in northwestern China, where systematic state-sponsored forced labour and other human rights abuses have occurred against them, according to many media and government body reports globally.
Mid-last year, the Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women’s Association (AUTWA) filed an application in the Federal Court to compel Kmart to produce documents demonstrating what it knows about two suppliers listed on its 2024 and 2025 factory lists with links to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
AUTWA is seeking the documents to determine whether Kmart has adequately implemented its ethical sourcing procedures regarding these suppliers, and whether Kmart’s public statements about this have been misleading or deceptive.
If the documents show that Kmart has not rigorously monitored the risk of the use of forced labour in its supply chain, AUTWA noted this may pave the way for a legal claim that Kmart has breached Australian Consumer Law by engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct.
“We’re demanding answers from Kmart so we know whether its actions live up to its words about addressing forced labour risks in its supply chain,” the association's president Ramila Chanisheff said then.
“Kmart, and all companies, must ensure they are not profiting from forced labour in China. China’s mass imprisonment, repression and forced labour of Uyghur people is well-documented. Our community has lost family members, friends and loved ones because of China’s brutal treatment of Uyghurs.”
Kmart swiftly responded then, with a spokesperson saying the retailer is committed to respecting human rights in its operations and supply chains.
“As a large Australian retailer, we recognise that through our size and scale we have an important role to play in combating modern slavery, which is a serious and complex problem facing global supply chains,” the spokesperson said.
“We are disappointed that the AUTWA has taken this course of action. As part of Kmart’s transparent approach to our Ethical Sourcing Program, we invited the AUTWA to meet with us several times to help us understand their concerns.
“Kmart has been in correspondence with the applicant’s lawyers for over 12 months and has provided extensive details of our Ethical Sourcing Program.”