Key Drivers Of Modern Slavery

The key drivers of modern slavery inside an Australian business are rarely dramatic. They are structural. Long subcontracting chains, layered labour hire, contract prices set too low to cover lawful wages, and workers whose income or visa depends on a single employer. Each one widens the distance between the business buying the work and the person doing it.

That distance is the risk. The Fair Work Ombudsman sets out a worked example of a manufacturer that pays a labour hire contract price it suspects is too low to cover overtime and penalty rates, says nothing, and is drawn into the resulting underpayments. Accessorial liability under section 550 of the Fair Work Act reaches directors, managers and other businesses in the chain, not only the direct employer.

Underpayment and sham contracting are not modern slavery. The Commonwealth Act reserves that term for serious exploitation such as forced labour, servitude and debt bondage. The link is escalation. Weak visibility past the first supplier, and no record of who checked what, are the same conditions in which severe exploitation goes unnoticed.

The practical controls sit in ordinary systems:

• supplier and contractor risk assessed and rated in a risk management system rather than a spreadsheet
• anti-bribery and fraud awareness, because exploitation and corruption tend to travel together
• records management that evidences which supplier was checked, by whom, and when

Obligations differ by sector and change over time, so treat this as general information rather than legal advice. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s labour hire and supply chains guidance is the practical starting point, and it points to the Modern Slavery Act reporting requirements as well. Sentrient’s modern slavery course covers what to look for.