"More forced marriages and worker exploitation – why Australia needs an anti-slavery commissioner", 22 January 2024

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Forced marriage, forced labour, debt bondage, domestic servitude and deceptive recruitment are on the rise in Australia.

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The effectiveness of the act in curbing slavery has come under scrutiny and a bill to amend it and to appoint an anti-slavery commissioner is currently before parliament.

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The Modern Slavery Amendment Bill 2023 outlines several functions for the proposed commissioner.

But many of these functions lack detail prompting a collective of civil society organisations and academics to make a joint submission to parliament, urging the government go further.

According to this group, the commissioner should have the authority to:

Receive complaints and refer cases[...].

Investigate, research, and provide advice[...].

Support the shift from reporting to mandatory due diligence[...].

Act independently from government[...].

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