Under the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth), Australian entities or 'entities that carry on business in Australia' with a yearly consolidated revenue of at least $100 million will be required to submit a modern slavery report.
In a modern slavery report an entity must describe the nature of their structure, operations and supply chain in order to identify the risk of modern slavery practices and describe the actions that the entity is taking to control, assess and address the risks identified.
In addition to identifying and addressing the relevant modern slavery risks, a reporting entity must sign the statement and provide it to the Department of Home Affairs for publication on the online register.
If an entity fails to comply with the reporting obligations under the Act, the Minister may:
- request an explanation for the entity's failure to comply
- request further remedial action
- publish information surrounding the entity's failure to comply with the requirements.
With the Act commencing on 1 July 2019, an entity's first reporting period will begin in their annual accounting period and their first modern slavery report must be given within six months after its completion.
The New South Wales equivalent legislation, which provides similar obligations for entities with a yearly consolidated revenue of between $50-$100 million, is currently under review and is yet to commence.
Cooper Grace Ward is a leading Australian law firm based in Brisbane.
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