Drivers Of Modern Slavery

The drivers of modern slavery are the conditions that let severe exploitation take hold. A worker who cannot afford to leave, a recruitment chain nobody has examined, and a workplace where raising a concern feels riskier than staying quiet. In Australia the pattern is consistent and it concentrates in predictable places.

Modern slavery sits at the extreme end of a spectrum. Decent work is at one end. Substandard conditions such as unpaid wages, excessive overtime and poor safety practices sit in the middle. Modern slavery is where coercion, deception or threats mean a person cannot leave. That inability to leave is the line between severe exploitation and modern slavery, and it is the distinction most commentary blurs.

Speaking to an industry conference in September 2025, the Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner set out where the risk concentrates. Migrant workers are three times more likely to experience forced labour, and those on temporary visas are the most exposed, including international students, backpackers and PALM scheme workers. Higher risk sectors named were cleaning, security, logistics, construction, horticulture, viticulture, meat processing, food manufacturing and hospitality. Opaque or unauthorised subcontracting is a driver across many of them, as is labour hire, where law-abiding providers are undercut by operators who are not.

For an Australian business, three practical questions follow:

• Do your risk assessments reach indirect workers and vulnerable migrant groups, or only direct employees?
• What due diligence sits behind each subcontracting and supply chain arrangement, and does it extend to spot checks during the contract rather than only at onboarding?
• Can a worker raise a concern without fearing the loss of a visa, a shift or a job?

The commercial case is also shifting. The European Union’s Forced Labour Regulation takes effect in December 2027 and lets EU authorities investigate any product on that market suspected of being made with forced labour, which reaches Australian exporters and their inputs. Obligations differ by jurisdiction and are under active reform, so treat this as general information rather than legal advice and take proper advice on your own exposure. The Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner is the current source on due diligence expectations.

Sentrient’s modern slavery course covers how these risks present to staff, and sits within the wider compliance training courses library.