Strengthening the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth)

Under subsection 6(1) of the Modern Slavery Act, an entity can volunteer to comply with the reporting requirement by providing written notice to the Minister (in a manner and form approved by the Minister) before the end of the relevant reporting period. In practice, an entity notifies us that they wish to volunteer to report by completing an online form via the Modern Slavery Statements Register. The notification process enables us to engage with voluntary reporting entities to support them to meet the reporting obligations under the Modern Slavery Act and is used to track the submission of voluntary statements. Under subsection 6(3) of the Modern Slavery Act, an entity that has volunteered to report may provide written notice of their revocation as a voluntary reporting entity before the start of the reporting period.

We are proposing to retain the requirement in subsection 6(1) for an entity to provide notice to the Minister if they want to voluntarily comply with the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act. Ongoing visibility of voluntary reporters enables the regulator to undertake targeted engagement sessions with voluntary entities to help them understand and comply with the obligations of the Modern Slavery Act. We are proposing to amend subsection 6(3) so voluntary entities would be able to provide notification that they will no longer be reporting at any time, providing more flexibility to voluntary reporters.

Under section 5 of the Modern Slavery Act, an entity which has volunteered to comply with the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act is defined as a reporting entity. Voluntary statements must therefore comply with all of the requirements for statements under the Modern Slavery Act. To maintain the integrity of the reporting scheme, it is important that entities who report voluntarily, like entities reporting under mandatory requirements, comply with all reporting requirements set out in the Modern Slavery Act.

Due to the voluntary nature of engagement with the Modern Slavery Act, it is proposed that, should new regulatory powers be introduced, the only power to apply to a voluntary reporting entity would be broad information gathering powers. 

As the number of voluntary reporting entities increases over time, we recognise the importance of guidance for these entities, including in response to any changes to the Modern Slavery Act that have a direct impact on voluntary reporting entities. In response to recommendation 5 from the review to provide tailored guidance to small and medium-size entities, the government has committed to developing guidance, in consultation with the Anti-Slavery Commissioner, to support small and medium-sized entities to comply with reporting requirements under the Modern Slavery Act.