Regulating Transparency and Disclosures on Modern Slavery in Global Supply Chains: A "Conversation Starter" or a "Tick-Box Exercise"?

Abstract

The global economy relies on corporate sourcing and procurement practices along complex transnational supply chains. Some goods and services that find their way to the consumer public are sourced in contexts tainted by modern slavery, including forced labour and human trafficking. Mandatory reporting and disclosure schemes have long been used to manage risk and impact across various aspects of corporate and market activity. It is only more recently that some governments have begun to use such mechanisms in the context of human rights, including specifically to address modern slavery risks in supply chains. Based on experiences in other countries, Australia's Modern Slavery Act (2018) (Cth) is the most recent example of an emerging global regulatory initiative of using domestic legislative models to increase transparency and associated stakeholder engagement to address modern slavery risks in supply chains.