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Australia’s proposed overhaul of its Modern Slavery Act could strengthen protections for thousands of workers. Recent accounts from migrant workers highlight the exploitation and why these reforms are so vital.
Workers described being trapped in exploitative conditions through underpayment and labour hire contractors who control where they live and work.
With an estimated 41,000 people living in modern slavery in Australia, regulatory reforms cannot come quickly enough.
ABC Four Corners interviews with migrant workers in Australia’s agriculture sector have reinforced the risks Australia’s proposed reforms aim to prevent.
Papua New Guinean worker Gershom Isaac described the lack of control many workers experienced, telling Four Corners, “Every choice is with the contractor. They’re the ones who make all the decisions, and the fruit pickers have to say yes to everything.
“Even [when it is] 40 degrees, you’re still hanging there, picking oranges, trying to do as much as you can, and it’s not easy. Sometimes you fall from those trees.”
He says he is not paid when he is sick or injured, leaving him unable to afford food when he cannot work.
Another worker, Viona Obress, shared how filling a bin of oranges could take 3 to 4 hours, earning between $8.75 and $11.70 an hour.
“The fruit is so heavy and climbing a lot as a lady; it’s really hard too. You feel exhausted when you finish work. You feel like you can’t work another day, but what can you do? There are no options. You have to keep going,” she said.
Workers’ pay could not be independently verified because they did not receive payslips, which is a red flag linked to worker exploitation.
Working holiday visa holder Jin Lee also described overcrowded accommodation and poor living conditions they’re forced to stay in.
“The accommodation had 18 people crammed inside of that house. There were roaches everywhere. There were broken doors, broken windows. And the air-conditioning unit was broken, so it was not liveable,” she said.
The experiences show how exploitation can extend beyond the workplace when migrant workers are forced to depend on labour hire contractors.
The government has proposed a ‘duty to prevent’ model of corporate accountability, which would introduce stronger penalties and new due diligence obligations for large businesses.
Companies with an annual revenue above A$100 million would be required to take reasonable steps to identify, prevent, and address modern slavery risks.
Businesses that fail to do so could face criminal charges if they cannot demonstrate they took ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent modern slavery.
If these proposals are taken forward, they could represent the most significant development in modern slavery policy since the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act in 2018.
This means ensuring the reforms are:
The experiences of migrant workers highlight the gaps Australia’s reforms must now address. The government’s next steps will determine whether the new framework can prevent exploitation in practice.