Strengthening Australia’s response to modern slavery in supply chains
16 October 2026
On 6 October 2026, the Law Council provided a submission to the Attorney-General’s Department’s consultation on Strengthening Australia’s legislative response to modern slavery in supply chains.
Through this consultation, the Australian Government is liaising on:
- a proposed new criminal ‘failure to prevent’ modern slavery offence for corporations with annual consolidated revenue above $100 million;
- the possible introduction of a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) scheme, which could allow relevant matters to be resolved through a negotiated agreement between prosecutors and corporations, and
- civil remedies to enhance avenues for redress for victim-survivors.
The Law Council supports measures requiring corporations to meaningfully identify, prevent, mitigate and address modern slavery risks. The Law Council received a range of views from its constituent bodies on the merits of the proposed offence for Australia's modern slavery framework, reinforcing the need for a broad and holistic consultation process before it proceeds.
This process should also consider the proposed offence alongside existing legislative mechanisms, including under the Modern Slavery Act, and broader reforms on which the Attorney-General’s Department is consulting, including mandatory human rights due diligence and a robust civil penalty regime. Any ‘failure to prevent’ offence should promote prevention, accountability and legal certainty, and be carefully drafted with clear statutory elements and practical guidance. Importantly, the proposed offence should not be considered a substitute for mandatory human rights due diligence and should be framed in a manner that promotes meaningful due diligence.
Alternatively, the Law Council suggested the Department consider a graduated approach to reform, that could begin with civil penalties, followed by a review of their effectiveness before any criminal offence is introduced, supporting evidence-based reform and consistency with established criminal law principles.
The Law Council also supported consideration of a carefully designed DPA scheme that encourages self-reporting, cooperation and remediation, with robust safeguards, oversight and accountability. It emphasised that DPAs should not become the default response to offending or allow corporations to avoid criminal accountability. The submission also supports enhanced, victim-centric civil remedies and stresses that a DPA should not limit other avenues of redress.
Last Updated on 16/10/2026