"Strengthening Australia's Legislative Response to Modern Slavery in Supply Chains": Analysis of the Government's Consultation Paper

On 16 July 2026, the Australian Government announced proposed reforms to the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth), including a new criminal offence for corporations that fail to prevent modern slavery in their supply chains, backed by civil penalties and strengthened enforcement.

 If enacted, the reforms would represent a significant shift in Australia’s modern slavery regime – moving beyond a framework principally focused on transparency and reporting towards one that could impose criminal liability on companies for failing to prevent modern slavery in their supply chains, alongside civil penalties and strengthened enforcement.

This briefing, prepared by Fair Supply, gives executives, risk, legal and compliance teams a first-look overview of the proposed framework and what it could mean, including:

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• the proposed new failure to prevent offence;
• the circumstances in which companies may face criminal liability;
• the proposed defence where a company can demonstrate it took reasonable steps to prevent the conduct;
• proposed civil penalties and strengthened enforcement mechanisms; and
• the consultation process and key questions that are now open for stakeholder feedback.

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Download the briefing to understand what's proposed, where the critical questions remain open, and how your business can participate in the consultation process.