Australia is moving to toughen laws aimed at preventing modern slavery in company supply chains, following pressure from the United States over the issue. Australia’s top legal figure says large firms would be made criminally liable if they fail to take steps to prevent modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains. The proposed changes introduce a new criminal offence, applying to companies above a specified revenue threshold.
The outlets report that the reforms focus on conduct including forced labour and debt bondage. In addition to potential fines, the approach includes criminal action for non-compliance. The timing is linked to a recent U.S. threat to impose new trade tariffs—reported as up to 12.5%—on a set of countries, including Australia, unless action is taken to address slave labour.
While specific revenue thresholds differ in reporting between sources, they broadly indicate that the measures target large companies, rather than small businesses. The change is presented as an effort to strengthen enforcement and compliance requirements for supply-chain practices.
