What Are The Forms Of Modern Slavery

The forms of modern slavery recognised in Australia are human trafficking, slavery, servitude, forced labour, debt bondage, deceptive recruitment for labour or services, forced marriage, and the worst forms of child labour. They are not tidy categories. One situation commonly involves several at once, which is the part most explanations leave out.

A worker recruited on false promises, held by a debt they cannot clear, and afraid to leave is experiencing deceptive recruitment, debt bondage and forced labour at the same time. Australian Red Cross, which delivers the Support for Trafficked People Program, puts the practical consequence plainly. Modern slavery is difficult to identify precisely because it takes so many different forms.

Two things follow for anyone who might encounter it through work.

Violence is not the marker. Coercion, threats or deception are enough on their own, and control is usually quieter than people expect. Someone whose passport is held by an employer, whose accommodation is tied to the job, or whose family is being contacted, may never be touched.

You also do not need to name the form correctly before you act, though the form does affect where a person is referred. Forced marriage is now supported through a specialist programme delivered by Life Without Barriers, while the other forms are supported through the Support for Trafficked People Program after a referral from the Australian Federal Police or the Additional Referral Pathway. Suspected modern slavery can be raised with the AFP on 131 237, and that contact can be made anonymously.

Posts tagged here work through how Australian organisations recognise these forms, raise a concern through incident reporting, and build a workplace culture where someone feels able to speak up early. Definitions and support pathways change over time, so treat this as general information rather than legal advice. Current details of the support programme sit with Australian Red Cross.

Sentrient’s modern slavery course covers these forms for a workplace audience, within the wider compliance training courses.