INTRODUCTION: Abuse of power, injustice, slavery and exploitation do not happen by accident. Nor do they happen in a vacuum. When workers can organise together and support each other we are stronger. But when we are isolated, and when businesses, governments, officials or others hold unchecked power over us, we can be placed in a precarious position and can become vulnerable to exploitative practices. This is especially the case when institution, organisations or individuals find they are able to evade being held accountable for their actions. The Modern Slavery Act would exacerbate and worsen existing systems and factors which leave individuals vulnerable to exploitative practices in Australia, and which see individuals left without accessible and adequate recourse to seek justice and fair working conditions. There are gaps in Australia’s current legislations regarding support for victims of slavery, trafficking and exploitation. But the UK Modern Slavery Act does not address these gaps, and in many ways, threatens to make conditions worse. For example victims of trafficking or slavery do not currently have access to unconditional support. Individuals currently risk deportation when reporting crimes committed against them. Access to support and the right to stay in Australia are conditional- based on an individual’s ability to testify and provide evidence leading to a successful prosecution. There have been successive failures to adequately protect the industrial and human rights of all people by governments since the invasion and colonisation of Australia. Governments should take action to address injustices which continue to affect Australia today- starting with the lack of treaties with Sovereign Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nations. From here, policy makers should look to take evidence based, rights based approaches to ensure effective outcomes both in terms of prevention of exploitative practices and support to those subject to exploitative conditions. 1. The nature and extent of modern slavery (including slavery, forced labour and wage exploitation, involuntary servitude, debt bondage, human trafficking, forced marriage and other slavery-like exploitation) both in Australia and globally; The history of slavery is important in understanding factors leading to modern slavery, as well as how to address modern slavery. The history of slavery is often misunderstood or misleadingly conveyed by mainstream sources. Nation states such as Britain, as well as businesses conducted in Britain and its colonies were able to extract huge profits from slavery over hundreds of years. The economic and racial injustices upon which slavery was built and perpetuated are often overlooked in dominant narratives which focus on redemption and grace, upon moral awakenings and the casting of white slaveholders as the saviours acting to end slavery. Such narratives fuel popular ideas around slavery being caused by “evil” and requiring greater police and immigration powers to end- and in doing so - obscure the more complex reality and the way in which government policies and unchecked powers of state officials can foster exploitative practices and induce reliance on exploitative third parties in order to avoid the greater evil: corrupt official authorities and the unmetered powers of state authorities to commit the acts they are given powers to prevent. (That is the powers to forcibly transport people without their consent, and the powers to extort or leave individuals in positions where they are in debt, lacking adequate resources or forced/coerced into labouring under exploitative conditions such as in prison.) When slavery officially ended in the US Civil War, it was slave holders who were paid out after incurring “losses” associated with end of slavery; not those who were subject to slavery themselves. This same period of time is when Britain looked further afield- and acted- invading Gadigal sovereign land to establish the colony of New South Wales, and later invading other sovereign nations around the continent of Australia. Former slave holders who had run their businesses in the US using slave labour looked to these new colonies as places to continue their former habits, and several made the move to colonies that would later federate to become Australia. Flush with their payouts, they established businesses in Australia, reliant on more “modern” forms of slavery: convict (prison) labour, state sanctioned “stolen wages”, “black birding" indentured labour, and other exploitative practices. The existence of these “newer” systems of slavery again relied on similar methods- systems of discrimination, dehumanisation and prejudice accompanied by unequal human rights protections, with legislation and policies which allowed individuals, the state and corporations to force or coerce some people into carrying out labour in exploitative conditions, while denying such individuals mechanisms to organise and advocate systemic change. There was a lack of mechanisms for individuals to access justice or fairly negotiate with those who were denying them fair working conditions. In addition there was a lack of other options available to individuals who faced exploitative working conditions. In many ways, very little has changed since then. Governments have played a key role in enabling slavery; governments have a critical role to play in ensuring slavery is prevented and addressed. The legislative and policy approaches of governments to a wide array of issues all impact on the prevention of slavery and exploitation, as well as the support accessible to victims of slavery. Government approaches to many policy areas, including migration, labour rights and justice have also historically and currently enabled business owners and individuals to exploit the vulnerability of workers left with inadequate rights protections or recourse for justice. There are gaps that should be addressed in Australia’s current approach, to ensure better support for victims of slavery, and to ensure more effective response- in terms of rights based prevention. However, the proposed modern slavery act would not meaningfully work towards these goals or address the areas needing action in any appropriate or effective way. The role state and federal governments have played in directly legislating the slavery of people in Australia needs to be recognised, and is a gap in the current terms of reference. Furthermore, the role played by governments in facilitating the existence of slavery and the reliance of institutions, businesses and organisations on slavery and exploitative coercive labour conditions needs to be acknowledged and addressed. Many forms of slavery and exploitation such as coercive prison labour, work for the dole and unpaid stolen wages appear to be outside the scope of the current inquiry as well as the scope of the UK Modern Slavery Act. When it comes to the extent of slavery that would be within the scope of the UK Modern Slavery Act- it is hard to make a meaningful statement. This is not an argument for greater enforcement powers or greater raid and enter powers however. To the contrary- the best course of action would to shift towards a more holistic preventative response- which enables a more transparent labour force, and enables transparent safer migration pathways. This would mean people are not forced underground, and that people are instead supported to negotiate on their own terms, without being made vulnerable by limited support and rights protections. Taking such an approach would not only be more effective in preventing slavery and supporting victims of exploitation, it would also allow a more accurate gauging of the extent and nature of exploitation- while best supporting the system to operate more transparently. Furthermore, if victims of slavery - had access to a wider range of options to address their conditions- a more nuanced understanding could be obtained as to exactly what issues are being faced and how best to remedy such situations. 2. The prevalence of modern slavery in the domestic and global supply chains of companies, businesses and organisations operating in Australia; Without greater rights based support of victims, and without a preventative approach that enables a range of mechanisms including civil avenues where appropriate to be utilised, the prevalence of modern slavery is similarly hard to accurately ascertain in supply chains of companies, businesses and organisations operating in Australia. This is in part due to the fact that under the current system, individuals may risk deportation when trying to report an incident of exploitation- and may only have support extended to them if they are able to contribute evidence and testify in a case leading to the successful prosecution of another person on slavery or trafficking charges. The prevalence of modern slavery can be understood more clearly in specific areas where more accurate, precise figures are recorded. These tend to be in government sanctioned practices such as the reliance on coercive exploitative labour conditions like work for the dole by companies, businesses and organisations in Australia. In considering the prevalence of modern slavery in the supply chain of companies, businesses and organisations, the historical presence of slavery in supply chains in a range of industries, including agriculture (farm work), domestic work (Magdelene Laundries, girls homes, domestic work on farms by workers who wages were stolen) as well as religious institutions (such as Salvation