In today’s working world, transparency is not a box to tick but a new and very real workforce reality. Evolving reporting requirements, intensifying stakeholder pressure (both internally and externally) and increasing recognition of what it means to be a responsible business are shaping how organizations disclose information about – and subsequently respond to – their workforce priorities.

Australia’s Modern Slavery Act 2018 created a regime requiring large companies to report annually on what they have done to assess and address modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains. On 25 May 2023, the Federal Government tabled a report on a review of this Act. This review covered the first three years of the Act’s operation. Thirty recommendations have been made.

Baker McKenzie’s Asia Pacific Employers’ Forum took place in Singapore on Thursday, 27 April 2023. You can access a number of related resources relating to employment issues and trends.

Join us for our 19th Annual Global Trade and Supply Chain Webinar Series entitled, “International Trade Developments in a Challenging New World,” which includes the latest international trade developments. This year, in a variety of sessions, our panels of experts will cover the key developments and latest trends on sanctions, export controls and Foreign Investment Review regimes. On the inbound side, there will be sessions on opportunities and compliance challenges arising out of FTAs, hot topics on Customs valuation, trends in customs audits and supply chain compliance challenges and logistics.

On 2 December 2021, the Australian Parliament passed the Autonomous Sanctions Amendment Act 2021 (Cth) (Act) which is partly based on the United States’ Magnitsky Act, and similar laws already in place in the UK, Canada and the European Union. The Act is designed to sanction individuals and entities responsible for certain “thematic” categories of “egregious conduct”. The Act came into force on 7 December 2021.

The New South Wales Modern Slavery Act was passed by the NSW Parliament on 21 June 2018, but has not yet commenced. The NSW Government took the unusual step of indefinitely deferring its commencement. The Modern Slavery Amendment Bill 2021 was introduced to the NSW Parliament on 14 October 2021 and has progressed to its second reading speech in the NSW Parliament.

Baker McKenzie’s Duties and Liabilities of Directors of Australian Companies is a comprehensive and timely guide for directors of Australian companies. Newly launched in September 2020, it reflects key issues for directors to consider in the current corporate governance landscape, while outlining their core legal obligations. Matters covered in this guide include…

The Modern Slavery Act 2018 (NSW) (the NSW Act) seeks to combat modern slavery (serious exploitation such as slavery, forced labour and human trafficking) and provide assistance and support for victims. A key feature of the NSW Act concerns transparency of business supply chains through the implementation of a mandatory…

Let’s first deal with the “stop” in New South Wales. The NSW Government has deferred the commencement of its Modern Slavery Act. The Special Minister of State has received advice that the Act “contains a number of defects requiring urgent attention,” with some of those defects rendering “some provisions of…