Modern slavery laws in the UK and Australia are failing and need urgent reform
The UK and Australia were once seen as global leaders in combating modern slavery, with their Modern Slavery Acts introduced in 2015 and 2018. Nearly a decade later, these laws have proven insufficient in addressing the issue.
Analysis of corporate reporting highlights serious gaps in compliance, transparency, and action, exposing the urgent need for legislative reform.
Strides towards strengthening corporate accountability are being taken across Europe.
Thailand has announced the drafting of a new law that will require businesses to conduct human rights and environmental due diligence in their supply chains. Meanwhile, Australia and the UK are falling behind.
Relying on voluntary transparency is no longer enough. Legally enforceable due diligence is needed to drive real change.
Widespread corporate non-compliance exposes failures in modern slavery laws
One of the most alarming findings in Walk Free and Wikirates Beyond Compliance project is that most companies are not even meeting the minimum reporting requirements set out in the Modern Slavery Acts.
Data from the project, which has been analysing MSA statements since 2016, highlights several areas of concern. These include how:
• Only 20% of UK modern slavery statements have met the minimum reporting requirements.
• In Australia, compliance is slightly higher at 36%, but still falls well short of what is needed.
• Australian companies consistently outperform UK companies on reporting metrics, largely due to stricter legal requirements and clearer government guidance.
A key factor behind low compliance is the absence of financial penalties.
Without legal consequences for non-compliance, many companies treat modern slavery statements as a box-ticking exercise rather than a meaningful commitment to addressing exploitation.
Corporate reports show little progress in tackling modern slavery risks
Even among companies that do meet reporting requirements, many fail to demonstrate real impact.
An assessment of over 2,000 company statements from the UK and Australia reveals serious shortcomings in key areas. This includes:
• While 40% of Australian companies use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to assess modern slavery risks, only 6% include Business Performance Indicators (BPIs) to measure real-world impact.
• Despite 50 million people living in modern slavery globally, just 14% of companies report finding cases in their supply chains, suggesting there’s failure to detect or disclose exploitation.
• Only 34% of companies engage with workers or trade unions, despite this being crucial for identifying and preventing modern slavery.
• Just 15% address low and underpayment of wages, a key driver of exploitation.
Without stronger legal requirements for companies to demonstrate meaningful action, modern slavery laws will continue to fall short.
Transparency alone is not enough; mandatory due diligence is needed
The UK and Australian Modern Slavery Acts currently focus on corporate transparency rather than legal accountability.
The Australian government has acknowledged the need for stronger legislation and is holding consultations on the introduction of a due diligence framework.
However, the UK government has not yet committed to aligning its laws with international due diligence standards.
Momentum is growing for stronger laws, but political inaction risks delaying urgent reforms.
The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive sets a stronger legal precedent
The EU’s CSDDD provides a model for what meaningful legal reform could look like.
Unlike the UK and Australian Modern Slavery Acts, the directive requires companies to identify, prevent, and mitigate human rights abuses in their operations and supply chains. Companies that fail to do this face legal penalties.
The EU’s approach reinforces a growing international consensus that corporate due diligence must be at the heart of modern slavery legislation.
However, progress is not guaranteed. Recent proposals like the European Omnibus Proposal threaten to dilute corporate accountability frameworks, potentially delaying sustainability efforts and increasing exploitation risks in supply chains.
Civil society groups have warned that weakening accountability laws would undermine the very protections needed to safeguard workers.
The future of modern slavery legislation depends on urgent government action
Walk Free and WikiRate are continuing to push for stronger corporate accountability through their latest pilot project on mandatory human rights due diligence.
By analysing corporate disclosures under laws in France, Germany, and Norway, the project will assess whether stricter legal requirements lead to higher-quality reporting and greater transparency.
The UK and Australia now stand at a crossroads. If they fail to develop their modern slavery laws, they risk being left behind as the global legal landscape evolves.
To remain credible leaders in the fight against modern slavery, both countries must transition from transparency-based legislation to enforceable due diligence laws.
Without decisive action, companies will continue to prioritise optics over meaningful change, and people most at risk of exploitation will continue to pay the price.
Article written in collaboration with Wikirate and the Australian National University.
