New toolkit to help universities protect students from modern slavery

"Every student in Australia deserves to feel safe, dream big and work free from exploitation," said Belle, Lived Experience Advisor to the Office of the Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner and a former international student.

A new resource launched today aims to help universities identify and support students at risk of exploitation and forced labour.

The Safeguarding Students Against Modern Slavery and Exploitation: A Toolkit was developed by the University of Sydney's Responsible Business and Human Rights team in partnership with the Office of the Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner and 81 representatives from 21 universities across Australia.

The Toolkit sets out how universities can raise students' awareness of risks at each stage of their studies, from pre-arrival to graduation, and how safeguarding can be embedded in university governance and operations.

"Too many international students are being subjected to serious workplace exploitation while studying here, and for some that exploitation reaches the threshold of forced labour," said the Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Chris Evans.

International students in Australia are being underpaid by an estimated $3.18 billion a year, according to the Migrant Justice Institute's Off the Books report. The survey of almost 10,000 temporary visa holders, most of them international students, found one in three had experienced at least one indicator of forced labour in a job in Australia.

"Universities are often the institutions that international students know best and trust most. This Toolkit gives them practical ways to identify and respond to students at risk," said the Commissioner.

"What makes this Toolkit particularly valuable is that it has been co-designed by universities, civil society organisations, and people with lived experience. It is not simply a compliance resource, it is a practical safeguarding framework to help universities to identify and support students at risk of modern slavery," said Esty Marcu, Director of Responsible Business and Human Rights at the University of Sydney.

Belle contributed to the development of the Toolkit and explained that "behind every experience of exploitation there is someone who may have experienced fear, manipulation, loss of control and trauma. This is a step towards creating a safe space for everyone, grounded in prevention, listening and protection."

The Commissioner said, "Australia's success as an international education destination depends on trust. Trust that students will be welcomed, supported and safe from exploitation while they are here. We ought to start taking this more seriously."

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