Driving Forces Of Modern Slavery

The driving forces of modern slavery are structural. Demand for low cost goods on short lead times, supply chains that run four or five tiers deep, and thin labour protection in producing countries combine so that the exploitation sits a long way from the buyer and stays out of sight. Most forced labour worldwide is now tied to global supply chains rather than to isolated bad actors.

Australia is exposed through what it buys. Analysis published by Walk Free and Fair Supply in February 2026 estimates nearly AU$100 billion of imports fall into categories at heightened risk of modern slavery, which is roughly $1 in every $5 spent on imported goods across 2024. The concentration is uneven:

• Apparel, where $11.4 billion of a $12.8 billion import spend sits in at-risk categories, close to 89%
• Telecommunications equipment, $11.5 billion of $20.2 billion, sourced mainly from China and Malaysia
• Electrical machinery and appliances, $12.9 billion of $28.3 billion
• Road vehicles and parts, $8.9 billion, including aluminium components

Those are ordinary procurement categories. Uniforms, handsets, fleet, office equipment and the contents of a stationery order. An Australian organisation with no overseas operations of its own can still carry real exposure through a local supplier importing on its behalf, and that is the gap most risk registers miss.

What separates a written policy from actual due diligence is whether anyone looks past tier one. That means asking suppliers questions they cannot answer from a template, using structured supplier questionnaires rather than an emailed assurance, recording what came back, and acting when an answer is vague. It also means staff understand why it matters, which is where awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals helps, since target 8.7 commits to ending forced labour and modern slavery. Your workplace policies should say what happens when a supplier will not answer.

Reform is live. Walk Free argues that reporting alone has done little to reduce harm and is pressing for a mandatory due diligence obligation in the Modern Slavery Act. Obligations differ by jurisdiction and are under active review, so treat this as general information rather than legal advice and take proper advice on your own exposure. The underlying data sits in Walk Free’s analysis of Australia’s trade exposure.

Sentrient’s compliance training courses cover how these risks present to the people who place orders and approve suppliers.