Slavery in the supply chain is in the spotlight with a federal inquiry looking at the establishment of a Modern Slavery Act in Australia.
The joint standing committee on foreign affairs and trade was asked to look at the issue by Attorney-General George Brandis, and is this week holding hearings in Melbourne, according to a Fairfax Media report.
Submissions to the joint committee have backed new laws that would force large companies to report on modern slavery in their supply chains, according to the news report.
Two thirds of all slavery victims – 30.4 million people – live in the Asia-Pacific region, Fairfax reports, with more than 4000 in Australia.
Nestle was among those to make a submission, and the company said that from time to time, its responsible sourcing audits uncovered incidents of forced labour and modern slavery along its supply chain.
Nestle's submission said: "It is our view that even with the best endeavours, no company can confidently say that they do not have modern slavery or other serious human rights abuses in their domestic or global supply chains."
"Our observation, unsupported by data, is that in the UK, as in Australia, awareness of modern slavery in supply chains is generally low among businesses, and where it might be considered, it is generally viewed as an issue in developing countries, but without domestic implications."
"Even where awareness exists, capability within businesses to understand how to approach this issue is often lacking," Nestle said.
The food giant also warned that the purpose of Australian slavery legislation must be clear, and should not be overly prescriptive.
The Business Council of Australia also warned against overly prescriptive laws. To minimise the risk of a regulatory burden on companies, or overlapping with existing laws, it said, the legislation must clearly define which companies will be required to report and what part of their supply chains they will have to report on.
