New guidance helps businesses spot early signs of modern slavery risk

The Office of the Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Walk Free and the Migrant Justice Institute have today released new guidance warning Australian businesses that wage underpayment may be an early indicator of serious exploitation, including modern slavery.

Off the Books: Practical Guidance for Business, draws on findings from the Migrant Justice Institute's landmark Off the Books report – the largest survey of temporary migrant workers in Australia – and translates them into practical steps for business.

The research found two-thirds of temporary migrant workers were underpaid, and one in four lost at least $10 per hour. It also shows that the more severe the underpayment, the more likely workers are to experience indicators of forced labour. This includes unsafe conditions and excessive hours to feeling unable to leave their jobs.

The guidance comes as the Australian Government announces proposed reforms to modern slavery laws, including a criminal 'failure to prevent' offence, reinforcing the need for businesses to take proactive steps now.

The guidance highlights where these risks often occur in practice, including misuse of ABNs, insecure casual employment, misleading payslips, cash payments, and underpaid night or weekend work. It also emphasises the need to safely engage workers, noting many temporary visa holders fear retaliation or visa consequences if they speak up.

The guidance provides businesses with practical tools to identify exploitation risks earlier and take action before underpayments and other forms of non-compliance escalate into more serious forms of harm. In doing so, it helps businesses move beyond compliance and address the realities facing temporary migrant workers across their operations and supply chains.

Read the Off the Books: Practical Guidance for Business report.

Quotes attributed to Chris Evans, Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner 

"Underpayment is not just non-compliance. In some cases, it is the first sign of more severe risk in your business or supply chain."

"Workers are often too afraid to make a report. That means businesses need to be proactive to identify risks early, remediate impacted workers, and put in processes so it doesn't happen again."

"If you're only checking paperwork, you're missing what's really happening to workers. Businesses need to get out, cross reference records and talk to workers to test the reality on the ground."

"With the Government moving to introduce stronger enforcement, businesses that invest in understanding their risks now will be better positioned when those reforms take effect."

Quotes attributed to Jane Leibowitz, Senior Manager, Walk Free Foundation

"MJI's landmark research found that two-thirds of migrant workers in Australia are underpaid. Many of these workers also reported facing coercion, intimidation and restricted freedom, signalling potential hotspots of entrenched exploitation."

"This new guidance provides practical information for businesses to identify, address and prevent exploitation of migrant workers in their supply chains."

Quotes attributed to Bassina Farbenblum, Associate Professor, UNSW Faculty of Law & Justice and Co-Executive Director Migrant Justice Institute

"Our data shows for the first time that misuse of ABNs, falsified records and forced labour indicators can operate together as a single architecture of exploitation. Businesses that want a cost advantage on the backs of underpaid migrant workers have a ready-made toolkit, and too many are using it."

Quotes attributed to Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney, and Co-Executive Director Migrant Justice Institute

"Nearly ten thousand workers told us again and again that when an employer controls whether your visa remains intact, the power imbalance is enormous, and some unscrupulous operators exploit it."

"Nobody wants to buy goods or services produced by exploited migrants in Australia – but right now, we all almost certainly do."