This photo taken on June 11, 2024 shows workers producing garments at a textile factory that supplies clothes to fast fashion e-commerce company Shein in Guangzhou in southern China’s Guangdong province. Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images
Australia’s Anti-Slavery Commissioner Chris Evans says the federal government’s planned crackdown on modern slavery will not be enough on its own, and has called for large companies to be legally required to find and fix forced labour in their supply chains.
Evans welcomed the government’s plan for a new criminal offence for big companies that fail to prevent modern slavery, but warned in a report that the offence alone was unlikely to achieve what the government wanted.
“Criminal prosecutions are challenging and resource-intensive, and will reach only a small number of cases,” he said.
“To change how business operates every day, we also need a clear legal obligation on large companies to take reasonable steps to find and fix modern slavery risks.”
Australia imports an estimated US$17.4 billion of goods a year that are at risk of being made with forced labour, according to the commissioner’s office.
Under the current Modern Slavery Act, in force since 2018, large companies must report on those risks—sometimes considered a box-ticking exercise—but they are not required to do anything about them.
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On July 16, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland announced that companies with an annual revenue above $100 million (US$69 million) faced a new criminal offence if forced labour was found to contribute to their supply chains.
A defence exists for those found to have taken reasonable steps to limit their exposure.
“Australia has a robust legislative framework and a world-leading approach to addressing modern slavery, but we can and should do more,” Rowland said, rejecting suggestions its move was in response to U.S. tariffs.
Commissioner Evans’ proposal includes a legal duty on all companies covered by the Act, and on the federal government, to take reasonable steps to identify and deal with modern slavery; a criminal offence aimed at the most serious conduct; a right for victims to seek compensation through the courts; and annual reporting rules that match the new duty.
“A clear national framework, aligned with international standards, will help Australian businesses stay competitive and keep their access to international markets,” he said.
Trump Tariffs Against Forced Labour
On July 24, the Trump administration imposed a 12.5 percent tariff on most Australian goods after the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative found (pdf) the country had failed to ban imports made with forced labour.
The tariff followed investigations into 60 trading partners, launched in March after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s earlier tariffs.
The United States found all 60 countries did not ban or failed to enforce restrictions against forced labour in their supply chains.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles backed the cause, but stood by Australia’s current laws.
“We have laws which are amongst the strongest in the world, and we’ve been making that point to the Trump administration,” he said.
The debate over reform has already surfaced in legal action against Australian retailers.
In August 2025, an Australian Uyghur organisation sought court documents from Kmart concerning suppliers allegedly linked to forced labour in China’s Xinjiang region. Kmart denied the allegations and said it had operated an ethical-sourcing programme for more than 15 years.
Chinese Imports a Major Issue
China is Australia’s largest source of imports.
Australians bought $130.2 billion (about US$90 billion) worth of Chinese goods and services in 2025, up 12.5 percent on the year before, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
While the U.S. State Department’s 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report found the Chinese Communist Party had a policy or pattern of widespread forced labour, including detaining Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang under the guise of “vocational training.”
In turn, in June the Uyghur Human Rights Project estimated that Australia imported about US$4.82 billion worth of goods in 2024 from industries linked to Uyghur forced labour, including cotton clothing, materials used to make solar panels, aluminium and chemicals.
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