Modern slavery risk mitigation for health services
We provide support and guidance to health services to take a proactive stance against modern slavery and to meet their reporting obligations under the Modern Slavery Act. We also offer modern slavery risk mitigation training for health services.
Community of Learning
Mandated and eligible health service employees are encouraged to sign up to HSV’s monthly modern slavery Community of Learning program by emailing modernslavery@healthsharevic.org.au.
Reporting obligations under the Modern Slavery Act
Under the Modern Slavery Act 2018, health services with an annual revenue of at least $100 million are required to prepare an annual modern slavery statement. Health services with revenue under $100 million can report voluntarily and are encouraged to do so.
How to prepare a modern slavery statement
Refer to our guide to preparing a modern slavery statement for detailed information on what should be included in your statement. The guide covers how to prepare your first statement as well as how to report your progress in subsequent statements.
To improve the quality of your annual statements, refer to our modern slavery statement review 2021 which identifies good reporting practices and facilitates continuous improvements to reporting.
For further guidance, refer to the Attorney-General’s Department modern slavery resources.
Statements are due on 31 December each year reporting on the preceding financial year and require you to report on seven mandatory criteria:
- Reporting criterion 1: identify the reporting entity.
- Reporting criterion 2: describe the reporting entity’s structure, operations, and supply chains.
- Reporting criterion 3: describe risks of modern slavery practices in operations & supply chains.
- Reporting criterion 4: describe the actions taken to assess and address risks of modern slavery (covers five aspects including policy, due diligence, remediation, contracts and training).
- Reporting criterion 5: describe how the reporting entity assesses effectiveness of actions.
- Reporting criterion 6: describe the process of consultation with related entities, if applicable.
- Reporting criterion 7: provide any other relevant information.
Your annual statement should:
- explain what is being done to assess and address modern slavery risk in your supply chains.
- address the seven criteria which require ongoing assessment, monitoring and remediation of modern slavery risk.
Approving and submitting annual statements
Annual statements must be approved by a health service’s board and signed by a board member before being submitted to the Australian Government to publish on the Australian Government’s central online register.
How to demonstrate risk mitigation progress
Refer to the following resources when preparing your annual statement. The resources will assist you to demonstrate the progress you have made in mitigating the risk of modern slavery in your supply chains:
- a guide to implementing a modern slavery framework
- a template for developing a modern slavery policy
- sample contract clauses to use for review and revision of contract terms and conditions
- a guide to establishing modern slavery remediation processes
- an example modern slavery risk register to support a risk management framework
Training
We offer modern slavery risk mitigation training for health services.
Modern slavery awareness posters
You can display our suit of four modern slavery posters in your patient waiting rooms and staff rooms to raise awareness and get conversations started.
The posters are available in PDF format to display on digital devices such as TV screens and tablets and in editable Word document format to customise the content for your specific needs.
Select a format to save the document to your device.
Patient waiting room posters
Poster A: Act for their safety
Poster B: Raise awareness save lives
Staff room posters
Poster C: Forced labour is not okay
Poster D: Make a difference - report modern slavery now
Content reviewed: June 2024