South Pacific: Modern Slavery in Australia
The hidden crisis of modern slavery in Australia reveals a troubling reality of migrant exploitation, inadequate worker protections, and systemic underreporting. The severity of this issue has led to the appointment of an Anti-Slavery Commissioner at both the Federal and state levels of Government. The introduction of the Modern Slavery Act in 2018, which focused on compliance of businesses to address slavery within the supply chain, signified the growing prevalence and problematic nature of the issue.
Modern slavery is a global issue with limited frameworks and definitions to understand and combat the problem. Across the Asia-Pacific region, an estimated 29 million people are trapped in modern slavery. In Australia, the Human Rights Law Centre estimated 41,000 victims, with many of these cases being underreported due to fear of retribution from employers.
As a definition, modern slavery is an umbrella term referring to an overlap of concepts including forced labour, trafficking for labour and sexual exploitation, and slavery and slave-like practices. Under Article 8 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states the following:
No one shall be held in slavery; slavery and the slave trade in all their forms shall be prohibited
No one shall be held in servitude
No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour
Horrifically, the view of human beings as a commodity remains a lucrative business model for transnational organised syndicates. According to Australian Federal Police Human Exploitation Commander Helen Schneider, "Criminal syndicates will use deceptive recruitment tactics to target and force vulnerable individuals into these appalling situations, and trap them into endless cycles of debt, forced labour, or domestic servitude."
The scope of Modern Slavery in Australia
The introduction of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme (2022) was the chance to offer labor mobility for nine Pacific Island countries to access opportunities in the Australian job market. Moreover, the nine participating countries across Micronesia and Melanesia strengthened diplomatic ties with Australia through the scheme. The scheme is intended to address local worker shortages, seeking to provide employers with workers to address shortages in critical sectors such as agriculture and construction.
Personal stories of forced labor and inhumane conditions are widespread, including Moe Turaga’s account of enduring two years on an Australian farm. Mr Turaga sought to provide financial support to his Mother in Fiji, as the offer to work and study in Australia was attractive, and might improve his family's economic security. Mr Turaga said, "We were good workers — we picked lettuces, watermelons, grapes and rockmelons. All our effort was towards our families' betterment”. Fear, isolation, and coercion kept Moe Turaga and six others trapped on a remote farm along the New South Wales-Victorian border for two years until their escape. Moreover, the recent death of Fijian worker Christine Lewaillagi prompted the Fijian government to send a delegation to investigate the scheme, straining diplomatic relations between Australia and Fiji.
The alignment of business and government to address the severity of the problem and to strengthen the worker's rights of migrants has been ongoing since 2018. However, Government campaigns that have targeted workers rather than employers have been criticised. The Pacific Labour Scheme introduced a campaign based on the theme of absconding, with messaging directly targeting cultural identity and family values. A campaign slogan read, “You may damage the relationship between your country and the employer, and you may bring shame to your family’s reputation”. Contrast this with advocates and survivors arguing that “workers don’t run away from good employers”.
The Albanese Government appointed the CEO of the Global Freedom Network of Walk Free, Chris Evans, as the Federal Anti-Slavery Commissioner in December 2024. A responsibility of this position is to support businesses in identifying modern slavery practices within their business supply chain and to raise national awareness of modern slavery. Legal Director of the Human Rights Law Centre welcomed the appointment and offered support “to working with his office to tackle entrenched issues of modern slavery in the supply chains of Australian companies”. Aligning this appointment with assessments by the Australian Federal Police highlights that Australia serves as a key migration corridor for the Asia-Pacific region. Criminal syndicates exploit vulnerable individuals seeking a better life in Australia.
The Path Forward
Recent Government decisions to improve the PALM Scheme and provide better rights for workers suggest a path forward in addressing modern slavery in Australia. The PALM Scheme was established to fill labor shortages across multiple industries while strengthening Australia’s relations with Pacific Island Countries through labor mobility and skill development. Workers on the PALM scheme would receive 30 hours of work per week to address the pay security of unpaid workers. Australian Minister for Workplace Relations, Murray Watt, announced that the Federal Government “has invested $440 million to expand and improve PALM, including to better protect and support workers while in Australia, such as strengthening scheme settings including pay, accommodation, worker welfare and wellbeing, and safeguarding against worker exploitation”. Farmers argue that a knock-on effect would occur with the reduction of hours to 30 per week. Thereby, de-incentivizing interests in the scheme among the Pacific Island Countries, and creating a greater labour shortage. Additionally, Professor Justine Nolan is skeptical of the Anti-Slavery Commissioner position. Suggesting that “a well-resourced Anti-Slavery Commissioner will need to be a key part of the government’s future strategy if we are to show the world we are serious about helping end this scourge”.
