Modern Slavery And Human Rights

Modern slavery and human rights are related but not interchangeable. Human rights are the broad entitlements Australia has accepted under international treaties. Modern slavery sits at the severe end of that range, covering trafficking, servitude, forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage and the worst forms of child labour. Most human rights concerns in a workplace never reach that threshold.

Australia has no single national Human Rights Act, which is why the two behave differently in practice. Human rights here are protected through a patchwork of treaty commitments, anti-discrimination statutes and state and territory charters. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, established by the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011, examines every Bill and legislative instrument that comes before either House for compatibility with human rights and reports to both Houses. “Human rights” in that Act means the rights set out in the seven core treaties Australia is a party to, including the covenants on civil and political rights and on economic, social and cultural rights.

For an Australian employer the practical difference is where the obligation bites. Human rights mostly shape expected behaviour and culture, which is what training addresses:

• human rights at work
• diversity, equity and inclusion
• respect at work

Modern slavery is the point where those expectations became a statutory duty, through the reporting requirement in the Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights publishes scrutiny reports each sitting week, which is a useful window into how new law is assessed against those treaties. Obligations differ by jurisdiction and change over time, so treat this as general information rather than legal advice.

Posts tagged here sit at that intersection. For the training side, see Sentrient’s modern slavery course.