Quick Answer:
Forced labour is when someone uses coercion, threats or deception so that a worker feels they cannot stop working or leave. It is a serious crime in Australia. To prevent forced labour, train your people to spot the warning signs, give workers a safe way to report, check how your suppliers and labour hire providers recruit and pay people, and act quickly on any concern.
In this guide
The latest Global Estimates of Modern Slavery found that about 50 million people (49.6 million) were in modern slavery on any given day in 2021. This is the extent to which modern slavery has advanced in businesses all over the world. Thriving economies are at an increased risk of attracting more exploitation.
Of those, about 27.6 million people were in forced labour, including 3.3 million children. It affects people of all ages and communities that are unable to defend themselves against exploitation. They are forced into slavery and often subjected to harsh treatment for not complying with the expectations of their oppressors.
Let’s discuss forced labour, which is one of the major forms of modern slavery, and how measures such as modern slavery training can help us prevent it.
What is forced labour?
Any form of work, slavery, or labour that people are forced to do against their will is known as forced labour. Victims working under such conditions often do not believe they are free to stop working or are scared of the coercion, threats, or deception employed by their oppressors.
What Forced Labour Means Under Australian Law
The Australian Government describes forced labour as when a person uses coercion such as manipulation, control or violence, threats or lies to make someone feel they cannot stop working or leave their place of work. Under the Criminal Code, the test is whether a reasonable person in the worker’s position would feel free to stop working or to leave. Coercion can include psychological pressure, abuse of power or taking advantage of a person’s vulnerability. A threat can include a threat to have the person deported.
Causing someone to enter or remain in forced labour, or running a business that involves forced labour, is a crime under the Criminal Code Act 1995. The maximum penalty is 9 years’ imprisonment, or 12 years for an aggravated offence.
The 11 ILO Indicators of Forced Labour
The International Labour Organization (ILO) lists 11 indicators of forced labour. These are the most common signs that someone may be trapped. One sign on its own may not prove forced labour, but several together are a strong warning:
- Abuse of vulnerability: taking advantage of a worker’s visa status, debts, language or lack of other options
- Deception: false promises about pay, hours, the type of work or where it will be
- Restriction of movement: locking workers in or watching them so they cannot leave the workplace or their housing
- Isolation: cutting workers off from family, the local community or outside help
- Physical and sexual violence: assault or sexual violence used to control a worker
- Intimidation and threats: threats to report a worker to immigration, harm their family or make sure they never work again
- Retention of identity documents: holding a worker’s passport or ID so they cannot leave
- Withholding of wages: delaying or keeping pay so a worker cannot afford to leave
- Debt bondage: debts for recruitment fees, travel or housing that keep growing and can never be paid off
- Abusive working and living conditions: degrading, unsafe or overcrowded work sites and accommodation
- Excessive overtime: hours far beyond legal limits, often under threat of a penalty
Forced Labour in Australia: A Real Case
Forced labour is not only an overseas problem. In 2020, a Victorian man was sentenced for a forced labour offence after keeping a woman in forced labour at restaurants in regional Victoria. It was alleged he had agreed to sponsor her permanent residency application but did not pay her agreed wage. He pleaded guilty to keeping her in forced labour for seven months.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) received 42 reports of forced labour in 2024-25. Many more cases are never reported, because workers fear losing their visa, their income or their housing.
It affects industries and sectors that include a lot of workers with little regulatory support. Some of the areas where forced labour may occur include:
- Domestic work
- Agriculture and fishing
- Mining and quarrying
- Construction
- Prostitution and sexual exploitation
The ILO estimates that 63% of forced labour happens in the private economy. For Australian businesses, the risk often sits with labour hire providers, subcontractors and overseas suppliers rather than direct employees.
Ways to prevent forced labour
Preventing forced labour is not easy and takes more than one step. It is a series of consecutive steps taken efficiently with a humanistic approach that can lead to its prevention. Some of these effective steps might include the following:
1. Awareness
Knowledge is the primary tool to fight against any form of exploitation. If people do not know how to define what others are going through, there is hardly anything that can be done. Raising awareness against forced labour is one of the best ways to help employees identify it, report it and allow victims and other people at risk to seek help. This can be done using modern slavery awareness training programs for all your employees. They can be helped to identify and report any such incidents.
2. Reporting
Spreading awareness helps employees know how to identify and report cases of forced labour or any form of exploitation. Understanding what the reporting processes are and which authorities to contact is necessary to prevent it. Through proper training, people can be made to understand the importance of reporting such cases and the resolution processes.
If you suspect forced labour, do not confront the person you suspect. Use the right channel instead:
- Emergency: call Triple Zero (000) if someone is in immediate danger.
- Australian Federal Police: call 131 AFP (131 237) or use the AFP’s confidential online form.
- Support without going to police first: the Additional Referral Pathway (1800 000 277) connects people to the Red Cross Support for Trafficked People Program.
3. Collaboration
Forced labour may or may not be an isolated event depending on the industry it occurs in. For example, domestic workers and miners may be treated differently. Sometimes it can be a group of people who are involved in exploiting and forcing their victims into labour in industry. Therefore, dealing with these cases will require more than an individual organisation. It is time organisations acted together along with their suppliers and contractors to reduce the risk to anyone in their operations or supply chains. The ILO’s handbook for employers and business has practical guidance on working with suppliers.
4. Support
The availability of resources to fight against forced labour is an important factor. Also, those who raise their voices must be provided with appropriate protection. Designing and implementing victim support during and after the resolution of an incident can go a long way in preventing it.
5. Compliance
Many laws and regulations require organisations to take necessary steps so they are not involved in modern slavery. For example, certain businesses and entities in Australia are required to submit annual reports on the risks of modern slavery they face and the steps they took to mitigate them. Under the Modern Slavery Act 2018, this applies to entities with annual consolidated revenue of at least $100 million. Our guide to modern slavery in Australia explains the reporting rules and the changes the government announced in July 2026. Compliance with these laws and regulations can reduce the risk of such incidents in and around organisations.
How to Prevent Forced Labour: A Practical Checklist for Employers
Use this checklist to test your own workplace and your supply chain against the ILO indicators:
| Area | What to check | Indicators it addresses |
|---|---|---|
| Recruitment | Workers pay no recruitment fees, and job offers match the real pay, hours and duties | Deception, debt bondage |
| Identity documents | Workers keep their own passports and ID | Retention of identity documents |
| Pay | Wages are paid in full and on time into the worker’s own account, with no unexplained deductions | Withholding of wages, debt bondage |
| Hours | Rosters and time records are kept, and overtime stays within legal limits | Excessive overtime |
| Accommodation | Any housing you provide or arrange is safe, and workers can come and go freely | Restriction of movement, abusive living conditions |
| Speaking up | Workers have a confidential way to raise concerns in a language they understand | Isolation, intimidation and threats |
| Labour hire and suppliers | Contracts set clear labour standards, and higher-risk suppliers are checked, including by talking with workers | All 11 indicators |
If a check turns up a problem, act on it straight away. Talk to the worker privately and safely, record what you find, and use the reporting channels above if forced labour may be involved.
How can online modern slavery training help?
Online modern slavery training is one of the simplest and time-saving ways to provide your employees with the right knowledge. It can help to define, identify, report, resolve, and prevent modern slavery in your organisation. It can be provided to all your employees, volunteers, and suppliers.
Online modern slavery training helps your employees understand the processes to follow when managing incidents in your workplace. It also helps empower them to know their rights and take appropriate actions when required. This training also establishes your reputation as a responsible employer by guiding the workforce and supporting a safe workplace for all.
Conclusion
Modern slavery in any of its forms is an unacceptable situation that must be stopped at all costs. If you find any instances of forced labour in and around your organisation, report them to the right authority and act to stop them. To spread more awareness, online training programmes can be a simple way to manage things.
Sentrient’s 15-minute online modern slavery and human rights awareness course provides all the necessary details to identify, report and prevent it. Contact us today and help your employees gain the appropriate knowledge.
Frequently Asked Questions About Forced Labour
1. What is the legal definition of forced labour in Australia?
Under the Criminal Code, forced labour is the condition of a person who provides work or services because coercion, threats or deception mean a reasonable person in their position would not feel free to stop working or to leave. Coercion can include psychological pressure, abuse of power and taking advantage of a person’s vulnerability.
2. What are the 11 indicators of forced labour?
The ILO’s 11 indicators are abuse of vulnerability, deception, restriction of movement, isolation, physical and sexual violence, intimidation and threats, retention of identity documents, withholding of wages, debt bondage, abusive working and living conditions, and excessive overtime. Several indicators together are a strong warning sign.
3. What is the penalty for forced labour in Australia?
Causing a person to enter or remain in forced labour, or conducting a business involving forced labour, carries a maximum penalty of 9 years’ imprisonment under the Criminal Code Act 1995. The maximum rises to 12 years for an aggravated offence.
4. Is underpaying a worker the same as forced labour?
Not on its own. Underpayment breaks workplace laws enforced by the Fair Work Ombudsman. It can become forced labour when coercion, threats or deception mean the worker does not feel free to stop working or leave. Withholding wages to keep someone in a job is one of the ILO indicators.
5. How many people are in forced labour worldwide?
About 27.6 million people were in forced labour on any given day in 2021, according to the Global Estimates of Modern Slavery published in 2022 by the ILO, Walk Free and the International Organization for Migration. That includes 11.8 million women and girls and 3.3 million children.
Sources
Australian Government, Forced labour
International Labour Organization, ILO indicators of forced labour
International Labour Organization, Forced labour, modern slavery and trafficking in persons
Walk Free, ILO and IOM, Global Estimates of Modern Slavery (2022)
Australian Federal Police, Victorian man sentenced for forced labour offence (June 2020)
Last reviewed: October 2026
This article is general information, not legal advice.
