Implement a support services model that is tailored to the specific needs of individuals impacted by or facing forced marriage, including social and accommodation support services. Ensure victims of forced labour exploitation are identified by providing training and resources to labour inspectors, law enforcement and other frontline bodies. [13] Eighty percent of North Koreans who escape into China are women.Nine out of 10 of those women become victims of human trafficking, often for sex.If the women complain, they are deported back to North Korea, where they are thrown into gulags or are executed. [9, http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/MelbULawRw/2013/5.html, http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024102/toc_pdf/HiddeninPlainSight.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf, https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bill/files/3488/Passed%20by%20both%20Houses.pdf, https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/labour-relations/ministerial-review-state-industrial-relations-system, http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/30/contents/enacted, https://www.modernslaveryregistry.org/explore?countries%5B%5D=1473&company_name=&legislation_UK+Modern+Slavery+Act=yes, https://www.judcom.nsw.gov.au/publications/benchbks/sentencing/fines.html, Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand. It is estimated the reporting requirement would therefore concern about 2,000 organisations. There are no national data reporting the number of identified victims of modern slavery.1 Currently, the Australian government provides data through several core agencies, such as the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Red Cross who is the service provider of the Support for Trafficked People Program (STPP), and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP).2 The AFP received 169 new referrals of alleged human trafficking and slavery-related offences during the 2015/16 financial year.3 Sixty-nine of these offences related to forced marriage, 39 related to sexual exploitation, 36 concerned labour exploitation, and the remainder of referrals related to other forms of human trafficking and slavery.4 Since 2004, the CDDP prosecuted 19 individuals for modern slavery offences. Design and deliver mandatory training for procurement officers which should also cover identifying the risk of modern slavery in supply chains and taking appropriate measures to address this issue where necessary. According to the inquiry report, traffickers facilitate the women's entry to Australia by a range of fraudulent means, including providing visas (usually student or holiday visas), false passports … Those that enter Australia on a formal domestic worker visa program are generally tied to their employer through their visa which can also increase risk of exploitation.58, Young people aged between 16 to 18 years are the most at risk of child, early, or forced marriage in Australia, with most cases involving family members.59 Current policy responses to forced marriage have grown out of the national anti-trafficking response in Australia, which place an emphasis on criminal justice. Of those analysed by the Modern Slavery Act Research project on the Wikirate Platform, statements by Rio Tinto96 and Westpac Banking Corporation97 are among those that include details on policies and due diligence processes that apply to their own business, as well as disclosing the geographic location or suppliers in their supply chains. Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. Establish a national Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner as part of the proposed Modern Slavery Act. There are reports that some cases of forced sexual exploitation involve partner migration visas, where female migrants are tricked into sham marriages and then forced into sexual exploitation or domestic servitude. Milligan, L 2018, ‘Domestic workers inside Canberra embassies kept in conditions likened to ‘slavery’’. Available from: Joint Standing Committee on Migration 2016. Human trafficking is notoriously underreported. It is expected that trafficking in persons will increase in times of economic recession. See https://wikirate.org/Telstra_Corporation_Limited?filter%5Bmetric_value%5D=all&filter%5Bproject%5D=UK+Modern+Slavery+Act+Research for more details. Trafficking is a serious human rights violation globally and a crime here in Australia. In March 2013, then Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced a new government strategy to revise the Commonwealth’s procurement arrangements and guidelines to ensure they assist in identifying and addressing slavery in supply chains.85 The subsequent Abbott government expressed support for this idea but to do date it is unclear what action has been taken to progress this.86 In March 2017 the Australian government published the new Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs) which replaced the 2014 version.87 One of the new amendments in the 2017 CPRs is Clause 10.18, which requires that officials must make reasonable enquiries to consider the tenderer’s practices regarding labour regulations and ethical employment practices.88 However, the new clause does not specifically mention modern slavery or human trafficking. Ten of those individuals were convicted of slavery offences, six of servitude offences, and four of human trafficking offences, two of which involved trafficking of children. See https://wikirate.org/Ashurst_LLP?filter%5Bmetric_value%5D=all&filter%5Bproject%5D=UK+Modern+Slavery+Act+Research for more details. The inquiry found that most of the women trafficked into Australia are recruited from South East Asia and China for the sex industry. There are important distinctions between people smuggling, and trafficking, with the former involving the illegal migration of people across borders. The Hon Julie Bishop MP, The Hon Peter Dutton MP & The Hon Michael Keenan MP 2016. See www.wikirate.org. Campell, K 2015, ‘Perth nursery ordered to pay back nearly $30,000 to overseas workers for unlawful rent deductions’. Australia has this week made major strides to tackle human trafficking, modern slavery, and forced labor in the region. Nearly US$ 370 million worth of fish are imported by Australia from a range of countries, with the main share of fish imports originating from Thailand (US$ 223 million). However, in WA, where the Act has limited scope, domestic workers employed by individuals are specifically excluded from industrial relations protection.75 This leaves domestic workers in WA with very limited protection76 as they are dependent on common law contracts for any legal rights.77 The Australian government has not ratified ILO Convention 189 concerning decent work for domestic workers, which, if ratified, would further strengthen protections for domestic workers and close critical gaps in Australia’s legal framework, such as those in WA.78 In the case of domestic workers in diplomatic households, employers are protected by diplomatic immunity which further hinders investigation by law enforcement.79 Following revelations of severe abuse of domestic workers by diplomats in Australia’s capital Canberra in 2018, unions urged the Australian government to revoke diplomatic immunity for foreign diplomats who exploit their domestic workers.80. ‘Protecting vulnerable migrant workers: the case of international students’. Simmons, F & Burn, J 2013. Australian Lawyers for Human Rights 2018. Vidal, L 2016, ‘Forced Marriage is happening in Australia and we need to do something about it’. This issue is currently being addressed through a Ministerial review of the Industrial Relations System in Western Australia. The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines human trafficking or trafficking in persons: 1. Berkovic, N 2015, ‘Indian cook wins $200,000, kept as slave at Sydney restaurant’. Available from: Bali Process Government and Business Forum 2017, Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of, https://wikirate.org/UK_Modern_Slavery_Act_Research, http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/rr/002/rr002.pdf. Anti-trafficking campaigners say human trafficking is thriving in Australia, with women brought from Asia forced to work in the sex industry. Permanently unlink support pathways for forced marriage victims from mandatory engagement with law enforcement. In August 2005, the relevant trafficking legislation underwent significant reform and a range of new offences were created under the Criminal Code Amendment (Trafficking in Persons Offences) Act … Human trafficking is the trade of humans at a large scale. ‘Malaysian woman living in Australia jailed for trafficking friend to work as prostitute’ 2017. This removes a critical barrier in providing support for victims of forced marriage.63, In February 2017, the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade was officially asked to conduct an inquiry into establishing a Modern Slavery Act in Australia comparable to the United Kingdom’s Modern Slavery Act 2015.64 In August 2017, the government announced they will introduce legislation that will require large businesses to report annually on their actions taken to address modern slavery.65 The government is also considering providing a free, publicly accessible central repository where all modern slavery statements would be listed, and establishing an office for an Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, similar to that of the United Kingdom. See for example: Issara Institute and International Justice Mission 2016. The National Human Trafficking Hotline maintains one of the most extensive data sets on the issue of human trafficking in the United States. Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC), https://www.afp.gov.au/what-we-do/crime-types/human-trafficking, https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about/crime/human-trafficking, https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/women/programs-services/reducing-violence/anti-human-trafficking-strategy. ACRATH is proud to be a member of this network. The Attorney-General’s Department (now Department of Home Affairs) held a national consultation process with business and civil society to refine the legislative model proposed by the government.106 The Australian government has committed to introduce a modern slavery bill to Parliament by mid-2018 with the aim to pass legislation by end of 2018.107, The 2018 New South Wales Modern Slavery Act also includes supply chain transparency provisions, requiring commercial organisations with an annual turnover of AU$50 million to release annual statements on the actions they are taking to ensure their goods and services are not a product of supply chains in which modern slavery is taking place. The Wikirate platform enables university students and the general public to access the statements and answer a series of questions assessing whether the statements meet the requirements of the Act (signed by a board member, approved by the board and hosted on the company homepage) and if they detail policies that enable the business to better respond to modern slavery. Talitha Kum is the International Network of Consecrated Life Against Trafficking in Persons. 2017. The Australian Interdepartmental Committee on Human Trafficking and Slavery coordinated the government's anti-trafficking efforts. Human trafficking not only involves sex and labor, but people are also trafficked for organ harvesting. While the scale of forced labour is difficult to determine, a few cases have come to light in the agriculture industry. However, sexual exploitation is likely the most common form of modern slavery identified to date because until 2013 the Australian legal framework only criminalised the offences of sexual servitude and deceptive recruiting for sexual services. Don't miss out on the latest ACRATH news. It is important to differentiate between highly skilled and sought after temporary migrants (who are usually less vulnerable to exploitation) and less-skilled migrants coming to Australia from countries where work opportunities may be scarce and where wages are typically low. About half of convicted human traffickers in recent years in Australia are women, with a high proportion of those having been victims of trafficking themselves, according to new research. Australia is well known as a destination country for victims of trafficking, particularly people from Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Korea. Once it has received Royal Assent, the bill will amend the Fair Work Act 2009 to impose stricter penalties on fraudulent employers and to extend the powers of the Fair Work Ombudsman to investigate and gather evidence of potential workplace breaches.71 While the Act was supported by unions and NGOs, it was regarded as falling short of adding additional protections for workers and whistle blowers, which would further incentivise the reporting of workplace violations.72 The new provisions target growing concerns in the Australian community about the exploitation of vulnerable workers, particularly migrant workers and workers in the franchise sector.73 In October 2016, the Australian government established a cross-agency “Migrant Workers’ Taskforce” as part of the government’s commitment to tackle the exploitation of vulnerable migrant workers.74, In most Australian states and territories, domestic workers, including migrant domestic workers, are covered by the Fair Work Act. horticulture, meat processing and cleaning industries), similar to the schemes in Queensland, Victoria, and South Australia. For more information, please refer to the Ministerial Review of the State industrial relations system website, Available from: Knaus, C 2018, ‘Revoke diplomatic immunity if officials mistreat domestic staff – unions’. Trafficking-related legislation was first introduced in Australia in 1999 through amendments to the Criminal Code Act 1995. Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, 2017. Reilly, A 2012. 2. Human trafficking in Australia is illegal under Divisions 270 and 271 of the Criminal Code (Cth). ‘Without Consent: Forced Marriage in Australia’. This will contribute to an environment where slavery, slavery-like practices, human trafficking, debt bondage and exploitation in many industries can flourish. As above., Doherty, B. In 2019, Polaris worked on 11,500 situations of human trafficking reported to the Polaris-operated U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline. Since 1999, the Australian government has strengthened law enforcement tools to investigate and prosecute these cromes. While law enforcement has an important role to play in responding to forced marriage, policies and programs which assume that forced marriage is first and foremost a law enforcement issue can increase vulnerabilities by failing to meet the needs of victims — for example, some victims will not want to report their parents or relatives to the police.60, Australia has criminalised human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices, including servitude and forced labour, in Division 270 and 271 of the Criminal Code. National Children’s and Youth Law Centre 2013. The statistics contained on this website are based on aggregated information learned through signals -- phone calls, texts, online chats, emails, and online tip reports -- received by the Trafficking Hotline. According to the Parliament of Australia, although the number of people trafficked in Australia is currently unknown, it is estimated that 300 to 1,000 women are trafficked in Australia annually. ‘Raid on illegal workers in WA’s South West’ 2017. Visit the Talitha Kum website. According to the United Nation’s Office on Drugs and Crime 1 , people from 136 different countries were trafficked into 118 different countries between 2007 and 2010. It commonly involves one person controlling another person and exploiting them for work such as sex or forced labour. According to news reports, authorities detained about 130 foreign nationals and arrested the owners of the worksite, the brothers Michael and Cahn Le, and several co-accused on multiple offences, including harbouring unlawful citizens. Global Report on Trafficking in Persons - This is UNODC's first comprehensive report on criminal justice statistics related to human trafficking from around the world. Clarke, T 2018, ‘Long-winded Carabooda trial abandoned after eight months’. The legislation also has the potential to substantially improve the lives of the men, women and children who have experienced human trafficking and slavery in Australia. (www.antislavery.org.au). There are no national data reporting the number of identified victims of modern slavery.1 Currently, the Australian government provides data through several core agencies, such as the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Red Cross who is the service provider of the Support f… This in turn increases their vulnerability and makes prevention and identification of abuse more difficult. The new legislation will commence on 16 April 2018.83 Similarly, the South Australian government also passed the Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017, which is awaiting assent at the time of writing.84 The new state schemes clearly show the shift in prevailing attitudes about labour hire and that support for a nationally harmonised scheme has grown considerably. This was calculated using the labour force figure for “total employed persons” (11,933,4000) in June 2016, provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Available from: ‘Carabooda raids: Numerous charges after WA operation targets organised crime’ 2014.. Offer, K 2014, ‘Ten WA men charged over raids on Carabooda market garden compound’. Some of the contributing factors worldwide are increasing poverty, the impact of globalisation on developing countries, decreasing workers’ rights, demand for exploitable labour in wealthy countries, lack of legal immigration opportunities, natural disaster, war, government corruption and the lack of an effective response to these human rights violations. The statements analysed by the Modern Slavery Act Project were the most recently available statements at the time the research was conducted – in most cases, this would be the 2016 statement. Human traffickingis the physical movement of people across and within borders through deceptive means, force or coercion. The National Children’s Youth and Law Centre reported that between 2011 and 2013, 250 cases of child marriage were identified by research respondents.34 It is reported that most suspected cases of forced marriage have involved Australian citizens under the age of 18, with family members organising a marriage for them overseas without their full and free consent.35 To date, there have been no convictions under Australia’s forced marriage legislation,36 with only two cases reaching the courts in the last five years.37, While modern slavery clearly occurs within Australia, the realities of global trade and business make it inevitable that Australia, like many other countries globally, will also be exposed to the risk of modern slavery through the products it imports. And International Justice Mission 2016 businesses have subsequently updated and improved their statements, the... 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