Australia anti-slavery commissioner calls for tougher laws amid forced labour concerns 

CANBERRA, Australia (MNTV) — Australia’s anti-slavery commissioner has warned the country risks falling behind global efforts to combat forced labor, pointing to growing concerns from the Uyghur community and calling for tougher laws to hold companies accountable, reports ABC.

Chris Evans said Australia’s modern slavery framework — which largely requires businesses to disclose risks rather than actively eliminate them — has proven too weak. “There’s a vast difference between the best and the worst,” he said. “Some just give us one page … saying, ‘Our company has a very strong policy, we’re opposed to slavery, thank you very much.’

“That’s not what the law was about.” 

Evans argues that disclosure-only rules have allowed too many companies to adopt what he describes as a “tick-a-box” approach to compliance, without meaningful investigation into supply chains. “Effectively, the current law is voluntary,” he said.

“People are asked to report but they don’t actually have any penalties if they don’t report and there’s no measurement of the quality of what’s done.”

His warning comes amid legal action involving Kmart, where Uyghur advocates are seeking greater transparency over sourcing practices.

The Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women’s Association (AUTWA) has taken Kmart to the Federal Court, seeking documents related to suppliers allegedly linked to Xinjiang, where widespread human rights abuses have been reported.

Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim minority group, have faced years of documented persecution, including mass detentions and labor transfer programs. U.N. experts have warned that aspects of these programs may constitute forced labor.

AUTWA president Ramila Chanisheff said the case reflects deep anxieties within Australia’s Uyghur diaspora. “Since 2017, we’ve had credible reports of millions of Uyghurs being detained and taken into concentration camps, which are later funnelled into labor camps,” she said.

“Now there’s credible evidence out there that a lot of those labor camps make the apparel or cotton products that enter the Western countries and especially here in Australia.

“We’re very concerned because we all do have families, all Australian Uyghurs have family members, who have disappeared, and there’s credible evidence of them being taken into these labor camps to work and make the very products that are entering into this country.”

The case is supported by the Human Rights Law Centre and Maurice Blackburn, who argue companies should bear a legal duty to investigate slavery risks. “It simply shouldn’t be up to members of the public to take companies to court and force them to open their books,” said Freya Dinshaw of the Human Rights Law Centre.

“Australian companies should have a duty to take steps to investigate and address … slavery in their supply chains and face hard consequences if they don’t.”

Kmart has defended its practices, stating it is “committed to upholding human rights within our operations and supply chains.”

Evans declined to comment on specific cases but stressed that Australia must move beyond reporting obligations.

“There’s pressure on us to do better anyway, particularly for those companies who trade with Europe or whose goods go to Europe,” he said. “… effectively it’s time for us to move.”

He has proposed mandatory due diligence laws requiring companies to actively identify, prevent and remediate forced labor risks — similar to obligations already imposed for anti-money laundering compliance.

Evans also wants powers to designate high-risk industries and products, forcing businesses to apply heightened scrutiny. “What we would be able to do is say, ‘Alright … the garment industry, seafood, these are high-risk areas for modern slavery.’”

Risk of becoming a dumping ground

A key concern, Evans said, is that weak enforcement could make Australia attractive to suppliers unable to access stricter markets. “I think it’s started already, but certainly I think we’re at risk of becoming seriously impacted by unlawful or poor-practice suppliers selling their goods into the Australian market because they can’t get into other markets.”

Slavery expert Fiona David said consumers should reflect on whether extremely low prices may conceal exploitation.

“I think we do have to think about what is a reasonable price range that consumers should be paying, and what are the systems and processes that we require companies to have so that consumers know that what they’re buying is not based on exploitation?”

Evans has also advocated for stronger border controls to block goods linked to forced labour, warning the problem is no longer hypothetical. “The sale of slave-made goods is already a significant issue.”