Modern slavery statements for organisations are due at the end of March pursuant to the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth). As COVID-19 has reshaped the application of this legislation, the Australian Government has provided a guide for reporting entities. To summarise, here are five points to determine whether you need to submit a modern slavery statement.

1. Who must report

The Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) requires that entities must submit a modern slavery statement if they are operating or based in Australia and have an annual consolidated revenue of more than $100M. Additionally, if entities are operating under a group, a joint statement may be submitted on behalf of the group but must cover each reporting entity. Although, entities that do not fit this requirement may still submit voluntary modern slavery statements.

2. What to report

The legislation requires, among other things, that the entity submitting the modern slavery statement must identify itself as a reporting entity, describe the entity’s business structure, detail its operations and supply chain, as well as any impact of COVID-19, identify any risks of modern slavery, propose measures to address these risk, and analyse the effectiveness of these measures.

3. When to report

Due to COVID-19 and its disruption, the reporting period has been extended past its previous deadline of 6 months to 9 months. If an organisation satisfies the requirements of an entity to report, the deadline of 31 March 2021 applies, with respect to the reporting period 1 July 2019 - 30 June 2020.

4. Recommendations

To ensure that your modern slavery statement complies with the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth), here are some recommended actions and initiatives that you should consider implementing to address your social responsibility and legal obligations under the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) in managing modern slavery risks. These include:

• Remaining transparent and open in your communications with suppliers as well as your reporting obligations under the legislation;

• Mitigating against commercial practices that may place financial or labour stress on suppliers;

• Actively engaging with suppliers to go deeper into modern slavery risks and achieve optimal output;

• Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on your operation as well as your supply chains; and

• Workshop and employ effective measures to address the risks of modern slavery.

5. Consequences

Failing to comply with the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) may result in a written request to provide an explanation and/or undertake specified remedial action within 28 days. If you fail to comply with this further request, information about your failure to comply may be made public. Similarly, once a modern slavery statement is submitted, it is made public online for stakeholders, customers, investors, suppliers, and competitors to read. This is designed to demonstrate the importance of the modern slavery statement and the reputation and commercial risks for failing to adhere to it.