On 14 October 2021, the government introduced the Modern Slavery Amendment Bill 2021 (Bill) in the NSW Legislative Council and had its second reading.
If passed, the Bill will repeal the provisions of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (NSW) (NSW Act), which require companies to prepare modern slavery statements under a parallel supply chain reporting scheme to the scheme provided for under the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) (Commonwealth Act).
This obligation was removed to remove the regulatory burden on the New South Wales private sector and businesses of complying with two schemes.
Background – Modern Slavery Act 2018 (NSW)
The NSW Parliament passed the Act in June 2018. The NSW Act establishes a regime requiring companies that meet the relevant thresholds to report on the risks of modern slavery within their operations and supply chains. As the NSW Act has not commenced, its directions are not currently in force.
On 1 January 2019, the Commonwealth Act established a national modern slavery reporting requirement.
However, the Commonwealth scheme and the reporting parts of the proposed NSW scheme overlap, with slightly different reporting requirements, application to a broader range of entities (subject to having employees in NSW) and a lower reporting threshold in NSW ($50 million annual revenue as against $100 million for the Commonwealth Act).
In its 24 September 2020 response to the Legislative Council Standing Committee on Social Issues Report 56, the NSW Government outlined its intent to engage with the Commonwealth Government and seek greater harmonisation with the Commonwealth Act.
Following these harmonisation discussions with the Commonwealth Government, the Bill was introduced in the NSW Legislative Council.
Key features of the Modern Slavery Amendment Bill 2021 (NSW)
The Bill proposes a number of amendments to the NSW Act, with key changes including:
- Confirming that the NSW Act will commence on 1 January 2022.
- Repealing provisions requiring companies to prepare modern slavery statements (although the government has encouraged NSW entities with annual turnover between $50 million and $100 million to voluntarily report under the Commonwealth Act).
- Providing further information regarding the functions and reports of the Anti-slavery Commissioner.
- Outlining that certain government agencies must work cooperatively with the Anti-slavery Commissioner.
- Clarifying the meaning of ‘government agencies’ and confirming that State owned corporations are not government agencies for the purposes of the Act.
- Providing for recognition payments under the Victims Rights and Support Act 2013 (NSW) to eligible victims of acts of modern slavery.
Please contact us for further information about your Modern Slavery Act reporting obligations.
