Modern Slavery Act 2018 No 30
[2018-30]
New South W ales New South W ales
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Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26)
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Notes—
•Note
Amending pr ovisions ar e subject to automatic r epeal pursuant to sec 30C of the Interpretation Act 1987
No 15 once the amendments have tak en effect.
Responsible Minister
•Attorney General
For full details of Ministerial r esponsibilities, see the Administrative Ar rangements (Minns
Ministry—A dministration of A cts) Or der 2023 .
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This version of the legislation is compiled and maintained in a database of legislation by the P arliamentary
Counsel's Office and published on the NSW legislation website, and is certified as the for m of that legislation that
is cor rect under section 45C of the Interpr etation A ct 1987 .
File last modified 2 January 2022
Certified by the NSW P arliamentary Counsel as being published on www .legislation.nsw .gov.au Page 1 of 27Modern Slavery Act 2018 No 30
New South W ales New South W ales
Contents
Long title .......................................................................................................................................... 5
Part 1 Preliminary ....................................................................................................................... 5
1Name of A ct....................................................................................................................................... 5
2Commencement ................................................................................................................................ 5
3Objects of A ct.................................................................................................................................... 5
4Extrater ritorial application ................................................................................................................. 6
5Definitions ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Part 2 Anti-slavery Commissioner ..................................................................................... 8
Division 1 Appointment of Commissioner ..................................................................... 8
6Appointment of Anti-slavery Commissioner ....................................................................................... 8
6AEmployment and r emuneration ......................................................................................................... 8
6BVacancy in office ............................................................................................................................... 8
6CRemoval fr om office .......................................................................................................................... 9
6DActing Commissioner ........................................................................................................................ 9
7Independence of Commissioner ...................................................................................................... 10
8Staff of Commissioner ..................................................................................................................... 10
Division 2 F unctions of Commissioner .......................................................................... 10
9General functions of Commissioner ................................................................................................. 10
10Restriction on e xercise of functions ................................................................................................. 11
11Strategic plan .................................................................................................................................. 11
12Commissioner’s public awar eness and advice functions generally ................................................. 12Moder n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 2 of 2713Referral of matters to police and other agencies in the State and elsewher e................................. 12
14Co-operation between the Commissioner and New South W ales agencies ..................................... 12
15Co-operation with other persons and or ganisations ........................................................................ 13
16Personal liability—co -operation with Commissioner ........................................................................ 13
16APersonal liability—Commissioner and others ................................................................................. 14
17Incidental powers ............................................................................................................................ 14
18Delegation ....................................................................................................................................... 14
Division 3 Reports by Commissioner ............................................................................. 14
19Annual and other r eports to P arliament ........................................................................................... 14
20Reports under Childr en and Y oung P ersons (Car e and P rotection) A ct 1998 and Crimes A ct 1900 ..15
Division 4 Modern Slavery Committee .......................................................................... 15
21Constitution of Committee ............................................................................................................... 15
22Functions of Committee ................................................................................................................... 16
23Membership of Committee .............................................................................................................. 16
Part 3 Supply chains ................................................................................................................ 16
24(Repealed) ....................................................................................................................................... 16
25Gover nment agency pr ocurement ................................................................................................... 16
25AState owned corporations must mak e voluntary moder n slavery statements if not alr eady r equir ed
............................................................................................................................................................. 16
25BState owned corporations must publish Commonwealth moder n slavery statements .................. 17
26Public r egister .................................................................................................................................. 17
27Codes of practice ............................................................................................................................. 18
28Commissioner’s public awar eness and advice functions—supply chains ........................................ 18
Part 4 (Repealed) ...................................................................................................................... 18
Part 5 Miscellaneous ............................................................................................................... 18
30Act to bind Cr own............................................................................................................................ 18
31Annual r eports ................................................................................................................................. 18
32Expenditur e under this A ct.............................................................................................................. 19
33Natur e of pr oceedings for offences .................................................................................................. 19
34Regulations ...................................................................................................................................... 19
35Commissioner of P olice to pr ovide certain infor mation ................................................................... 19Moder n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 3 of 2736Review of A ct................................................................................................................................... 20
Schedule 1 Modern Slavery Committee ....................................................................... 20
Schedule 2 Offences ................................................................................................................ 25
Schedule 3 Savings, transitional and other provisions ...................................... 26
Schedules 4, 5 (Repealed) ................................................................................................... 27Moder n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 4 of 27Modern Slavery Act 2018 No 30
New South W ales New South W ales
An Act to mak e provision with r espect to slavery, slavery -like practices and human trafficking
and to pr ovide for the appointment and functions of an Anti-slavery Commissioner; and for
other purposes.
Part 1 Preliminary
1Name of Act
This A ct is the Modern Slavery Act 2018 .
2Commencement
This A ct commences on 1 January 2022.
3Objects of Act
The objects of this A ct are as follows—
(a)to combat moder n slavery,
(b)to provide assistance and support for victims of moder n slavery,
(c)to provide for an Anti-slavery Commissioner,
(d)to provide for detection and e xposur e of moder n slavery that may have occur red or
be occur ring or that is lik ely to occur,
(e)to raise community awar eness of, and pr ovide for education and training about,
moder n slavery,
(f)to encourage collaborative action to combat moder n slavery,
(g)to provide for the assessment of the effectiveness and appr opriateness of laws
prohibiting moder n slavery and to impr ove the implementation and enfor cement of
such laws,
(h)to provide for mandatory r eporting of risks of moder n slavery occur ring in the supply
chains of gover nment agencies,Moder n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 5 of 27(i)to mak e forced mar riage of a child and certain slavery and slavery -like conduct
offences in New South W ales,
(j)to further penalise involvement in cyberse x trafficking by making it an offence to
administer a digital platfor m for the purpose of child abuse material or encourage
another person to use a digital platfor m to deal with child abuse material,
(k)to provide for education, training and guidance about identif ying and addr essing
moder n slavery taking place within supply chains of or ganisations.
4Extraterritorial application
(1)It is the intention of the P arliament that this A ct apply within the State and outside the
State to the full e xtent of the e xtrater ritorial legislative capacity of the P arliament.
(2)Without limiting subsection (1), it is the intention of the P arliament that the operation
of this A ct is, as far as possible, to include operation in r elation to the following—
(a)things situated in or outside the ter ritorial limits of this State,
(b)acts, transactions and matters done, enter ed into or occur ring in or outside the
territorial limits of this State,
(c)things, acts, transactions and matters (wher ever situated, done, enter ed into or
occur ring) that would, apart fr om this A ct, be gover ned or otherwise affected by
the law of another jurisdiction.
5Definitions
(1)In this A ct—
Commissioner means the Anti-slavery Commissioner appointed under P art 2.
Commonwealth Criminal Code means the Criminal Code set out in the Schedule to
theCriminal Code Act 1995 of the Commonwealth.
forced labour has the meaning it has in section 270.6 of the Commonwealth Criminal
Code.
function includes a power, authority or duty, and exercise a function includes
perfor m a duty .
government agency means any of the following—
(a)a gover nment sector agency (within the meaning of the Government Sector
Employment Act 2013 ),
(b)a NSW Gover nment agency,
(c), (d) (Repealed)Moder n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 6 of 27(e)a council, county council or joint or ganisation within the meaning of the Local
Government Act 1993 ,
(f)any other public or local authority that is constituted by or under an A ct or that
exercises public functions,
(g)any public or local authority that is constituted by an A ct of another jurisdiction
that e xercises public functions.
modern slavery includes the following—
(a)any conduct constituting a moder n slavery offence,
(b)any conduct involving the use of any for m of slavery, servitude or for ced labour to
exploit childr en or other persons taking place in the supply chains of or ganisations.
Modern Slavery Committee means the joint committee called the Moder n Slavery
Committee constituted under this A ct.
modern slavery offence means the following—
(a)an offence described in Schedule 2,
(b)an offence of attempting, or of incitement, to commit an offence described in
Schedule 2,
(c)conduct engaged in elsewher e than in New South W ales that, if it occur red in New
South W ales, would constitute a moder n slavery offence under paragraph (a) or
(b).
organisation includes a gover nment agency and a commer cial or ganisation.
Presiding Officer means the P resident of the L egislative Council or the Speak er of
the L egislative Assembly . However—
(a)if ther e is a vacancy in the office of P resident, the r eference to the P resident is a
reference to the Clerk of the L egislative Council, or
(b)if ther e is a vacancy in the office of Speak er, the r eference to the Speak er is a
reference to the Clerk of the L egislative Assembly .
servitude has the meaning it has in section 270.4 of the Commonwealth Criminal
Code.
slavery has the meaning it has in section 270.1 of the Commonwealth Criminal Code.
strategic plan —see section 11.
Note—Moder n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 7 of 27TheInterpretation Act 1987 contains definitions and other pr ovisions that affect the interpr etation and
application of this A ct.
(2)Notes included in this A ct do not for m part of this A ct.
(3)A reference in this A ct to a gover nment agency of the State is a r eference to a
gover nment agency other than a public or local authority constituted by an A ct of
another jurisdiction.
Part 2 Anti-slavery Commissioner
Division 1 Appointment of Commissioner
6Appointment of Anti-slavery Commissioner
(1)The Gover nor may appoint an Anti-slavery Commissioner .
(2)The Commissioner holds office for the ter m, not e xceeding 5 years, specified in the
instrument of appointment, but is eligible for r e-appointment.
(3)A person is not eligible to be appointed for mor e than 2 ter ms of office as
Commissioner, whether or not consecutive ter ms.
(4)The office of Commissioner is a full-time office and the holder of the office is r equir ed
to hold it on that basis, e xcept to the e xtent per mitted by the Minister .
6AEmployment and remuneration
(1)The employment of the Commissioner is, subject to this A ct, to be gover ned by a
contract of employment between the Commissioner and the Minister .
(2)The following pr ovisions of, or made under, the Government Sector Employment Act
2013 relating to the employment of P ublic Service senior e xecutives apply to the
Commissioner, but in the application of those pr ovisions a r eference to the employer
of a P ublic Service senior e xecutive is to be r ead as a r eference to the Minister—
(a)provisions r elating to the band in which an e xecutive is to be employed,
(b)provisions r elating to the contract of employment of an e xecutive,
(c)provisions r elating to the r emuneration, employment benefits and allowances of
an executive.
(3)The office of Commissioner is a statutory office and the pr ovisions of the Government
Sector Employment Act 2013 relating to the employment of P ublic Service employees
do not apply to that office, e xcept as pr ovided by this section.
6BVacancy in office
(1)The office of Commissioner becomes vacant if the Commissioner—Moder n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 8 of 27(a)dies, or
(b)completes a ter m of office and is not r e-appointed, or
(c)resigns the office by instrument in writing addr essed to the Minister, or
(d)is removed fr om office by the Gover nor under section 6C, or
(e)becomes bankrupt, applies to tak e the benefit of any law for the r elief of bankrupt
or insolvent debtors, compounds with the Commissioner’s cr editors or mak es an
assignment of the Commissioner’s r emuneration for their benefit, or
(f)becomes a mentally incapacitated person, or
(g)is convicted in New South W ales of an offence that is punishable by imprisonment
for 12 months or mor e or is convicted elsewher e than in New South W ales of an
offence that, if committed in New South W ales, would be an offence so punishable,
or
(h)is imprisoned in r espect of a conviction for an offence punishable in New South
Wales by imprisonment or for an offence committed elsewher e than in New South
Wales that, if committed in New South W ales, would be an offence so punishable.
(2)If the office of Commissioner becomes vacant, a person is, subject to this A ct, to be
appointed to fill the vacancy .
6CRemoval from office
(1)The Gover nor may r emove the Commissioner fr om office, but only for incompetence,
incapacity or misbehaviour .
(2)The Commissioner cannot be r emoved fr om office under the Government Sector
Employment Act 2013 , Part 6.
6DActing Commissioner
(1)The Minister may appoint a person to act as the Commissioner during the illness or
absence of the Commissioner or during a vacancy in the office of Commissioner .
(2)A person, while acting as Commissioner, has and may e xercise the functions of the
Commissioner and is tak en to be the Commissioner .
(3)The Minister may, at any time, r emove a person fr om office as acting Commissioner .
(4)An acting Commissioner is entitled to be paid the r emuneration, including travelling
and subsistence allowances, that the Minister may fr om time to time deter mine.
(5)A person must not be appointed to act as the Commissioner for a period that e xceeds
6 months or that in total e xceeds 6 months in any 12-month period.Moder n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 9 of 277Independence of Commissioner
The Commissioner is not subject to the contr ol and dir ection of the Minister in r espect of
the e xercise of the Commissioner’s functions under this A ct.
8Staff of Commissioner
(1)Persons may be employed in the P ublic Service under the Government Sector
Employment Act 2013 to enable the Commissioner to e xercise the Commissioner’s
functions.
(2)The Commissioner may ar range for the use of the services of any staff or facilities of a
gover nment agency and may, with the appr oval of the Minister, engage such
consultants or contractors as ar e necessary for the purposes of this A ct.
Division 2 Functions of Commissioner
9General functions of Commissioner
(1)The functions of the Commissioner ar e as follows—
(a)to advocate for and pr omote action to combat moder n slavery,
(b)to identif y and pr ovide assistance and support for victims of moder n slavery,
(c)to mak e recommendations and pr ovide infor mation, advice, education and training
about action to pr event, detect, investigate and pr osecute offences involving
moder n slavery,
(d)to co -operate with or work jointly with persons and or ganisations to combat
moder n slavery and pr ovide assistance and support to victims of moder n slavery,
(e)to monitor r eporting concer ning risks of moder n slavery occur ring in supply chains
of gover nment agencies,
(f)to monitor the effectiveness of legislation and gover nmental policies and action in
combating moder n slavery,
(g)to raise community awar eness of moder n slavery,
(h)to exercise such other functions as ar e confer red or imposed on the Commissioner
by or under this or any other A ct.
(2)In exercising the Commissioner’s functions, the Commissioner must encourage good
practice in—
(a)the pr evention, detection, investigation and pr osecution of moder n slavery, and
(b)the identification of victims of moder n slavery .Moder n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 10 of 27(3)Unless the contrary intention appears, the Commissioner’s functions may be
exercised with r espect to any gover nment agency, person, matter or thing (whether or
not they ar e in or of, or for, the State), so long as the function is e xercised in r elation
to a matter to which this section r elates.
10Restriction on exercise of functions
(1)The Commissioner does not generally have the function of investigating or dealing
directly with the complaints or concer ns of individual cases but may tak e them into
account and draw conclusions about them solely for the purpose of, or in the conte xt
of, considering a general issue.
(2)The Commissioner may, despite subsection (1), pr ovide individuals and their families,
friends and advocates with infor mation about and r eferral to gover nment and non-
gover nment pr ograms and services.
11Strategic plan
(1)In this section—
strategic plan means a plan setting out how the Commissioner pr oposes to e xercise
the Commissioner’s functions in the period to which the plan r elates.
(2)The Commissioner must, as soon as r easonably practicable af ter the Commissioner’s
appointment, pr epare a strategic plan.
(3)The strategic plan is to be pr epared in consultation with the Minister .
(4)A strategic plan must—
(a)state the period (not being less than one year or mor e than 3 years) to which it
relates, and
(b)outline the Commissioner’s k ey objectives and priorities for that period.
(5)In particular, and without limiting subsection (4) (b), the plan must addr ess the
following—
(a)a strategy to combat human trafficking in accor dance with the National Action
Plan to Combat Modern Slavery 2020–25 launched by the Assistant Minister for
Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs on 9 December 2020,
(b)strategies for raising public awar eness about moder n slavery and pr oviding
education and training about combating moder n slavery .
(6)A new strategic plan may be made in accor dance with this section to r eplace an
earlier strategic plan.
(7)The Commissioner is to cause a copy of the strategic plan (and any r eplacementModer n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 11 of 27strategic plan) to be published on a publicly accessible website.
12Commissioner ’s public awareness and advice functions generally
The Commissioner is—
(a)to promote public awar eness of moder n slavery and its effects on its victims, and
(b)to provide advice, education and training on ways to pr event moder n slavery taking
place and assist the victims of moder n slavery, and
(c)to encourage r eporting of instances of suspected moder n slavery to appr opriate
authorities (including without limitation r eporting by se x work ers and bodies or
organisations r epresenting se x work ers), and
(d)to establish and maintain a hotline (or utilise a hotline maintained by another person
or body) for pr ovision of advice and assistance to childr en and other persons who ar e,
or may be, victims of moder n slavery .
13Referral of matters to police and other agencies in the State and elsewhere
(1)This section applies to any infor mation obtained by the Commissioner in the course of
exercising the Commissioner’s functions, being r eports or other infor mation r elating to
moder n slavery or suspected instances of moder n slavery .
(2)The Commissioner may r efer any such infor mation to the Commissioner of P olice, the
Ombudsman, the Secr etary of the Department of Communities and Justice or any
other investigative or gover nment agency (whether or not they ar e in or of the State)
that the Commissioner considers appr opriate.
(3)In exercising the Commissioner’s functions, the Commissioner may work in co -
operation with educational institutions, bodies and or ganisations r epresenting the
interests of any industry and such other persons, bodies and or ganisations as the
Commissioner thinks appr opriate.
(4)Information may be r eferred in accor dance with this section despite the Privacy and
Personal Information Protection Act 1998 and the Health Records and Information
Privacy Act 2002 but only to the e xtent that it is r elevant to the e xercise of a function
of the Commissioner under this A ct.
14Co-operation between the Commissioner and New South W ales agencies
(1)Gover nment agencies of the State and persons and bodies that pr ovide services to, or
advocate for, victims of moder n slavery in the State must work in co -operation with
the Commissioner in the e xercise of the Commissioner’s functions.
(2)The duty to co -operate includes the following duties—
(a)the duty to disclose infor mation that is lik ely to be of assistance to theModer n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 12 of 27Commissioner or an agency in the e xercise of functions imposed on the
Commissioner or agency with r espect to moder n slavery and victims of moder n
slavery,
(b)the duty to pr ovide r easonable assistance and support to the Commissioner or an
agency in connection with the e xercise by the Commissioner or an agency of
functions with r espect to moder n slavery and victims of moder n slavery .
(3)Arrangements may be made by the Minister with the Minister to whom a gover nment
agency is r esponsible to secur e such co -operation, including in connection with the
provision by the agency of infor mation (or access to documents) r equir ed by the
Commissioner in r elation to services or issues affecting the victims.
(4)A reference in this section to the pr ovision of access to documents includes a
reference to the pr ovision of copies of documents.
(5)Information must be pr ovided in accor dance with this section despite the Privacy and
Personal Information Protection Act 1998 and the Health Records and Information
Privacy Act 2002 but only to the e xtent that it is r elevant to the e xercise of a function
of the Commissioner under this A ct.
15Co-operation with other persons and organisations
(1)In exercising the Commissioner’s functions, the Commissioner may work in co -
operation with the persons and or ganisations that the Commissioner thinks
appropriate.
(2)The Commissioner may consult with, and disseminate infor mation to, the persons and
organisations that the Commissioner thinks appr opriate.
16Personal liability—co-operation with Commissioner
(1)No criminal or civil liability, apart fr om under this A ct, attaches to a person for the
following—
(a)compliance, or purported compliance in good faith, with a r equir ement made
under this A ct,
(b)providing infor mation to the Commissioner .
(2)Without limiting subsection (1), if a person pr ovides infor mation, a document or other
thing to the Commissioner, no civil liability attaches to the person for doing so,
whether the liability would arise under a contract or otherwise.
(3)If infor mation, a document or other thing is pr ovided to the Commissioner, no liability
for defamation or other civil liability is incur red because of the pr ovision of the
information, document or thing.Moder n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 13 of 2716A Personal liability—Commissioner and others
(1)A matter or thing done or omitted to be done by the Commissioner or a person acting
under the dir ection of the Commissioner does not, if the matter or thing was done or
omitted to be done in good faith for the purpose of e xercising a function under this A ct
or under another law, subject the Commissioner or person so acting personally to an
action, liability, claim or demand.
(2)However, the liability attaches instead to the Cr own.
17Incidental powers
The Commissioner has power to do all things necessary to be done for or in connection
with, or r easonably incidental to, the e xercise of the Commissioner’s functions. Any
specific powers confer red on the Commissioner by this A ct are not tak en to limit by
implication the generality of this section.
18Delegation
The Commissioner may delegate any of the Commissioner’s functions (other than this
power of delegation) to a member of the staff of the Commissioner or to a person of a
class pr escribed by the r egulations.
Division 3 Reports by Commissioner
19Annual and other reports to P arliament
(1)The Commissioner is r equir ed to pr epare, within the period of 4 months af ter 30 June
in each year, a r eport of the Commissioner’s operations during the year ended on that
30 June and fur nish the r eport to the Minister . The r eport is to be fur nished to the
Presiding Officer of each House of P arliament within 14 sitting days af ter it is given to
the Minister .
(2)A report by the Commissioner under this section must include the following—
(a)a description of the Commissioner’s activities during that year in r elation to each
of the Commissioner’s functions,
(b)a review of pr ogress on implementation of the strategic plan r elevant to the
period to which the r eport r elates,
(c)an evaluation of the r esponse of r elevant gover nment agencies to the
recommendations of the Commissioner,
(d)any r ecommendations for changes in the laws of the State, or for administrative
action, that the Commissioner considers should be made as a r esult of the
exercise of the Commissioner’s functions.
(3)In particular, and without limiting subsection (2) (c), the r eport is to include a r eviewModer n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 14 of 27of the following—
(a)the e xtent to which the gover nment of NSW has pr ovided mandatory training on
moder n slavery to fr ont-line gover nment agencies and the public generally during
the year,
(b)the e xtent to which the gover nment of NSW has implemented changes in the
information and communications technology use policies applicable to
gover nment agencies to pr ohibit the viewing of child abuse material and pr ovided
clear guidelines for r esponding to failur es to comply with those policies during the
year,
(c)action by the Department of Communities and Justice during the year to develop a
system of support (including pr ovision of accommodation) for victims of for ced
under -age mar riage, ir respective of whether any offence against the victim has
been pr osecuted.
(4)The Commissioner may, at any time, mak e a report on any particular issue or general
matter r elating to the Commissioner’s functions and fur nish the r eport to the Minister
who is to fur nish the r eport to the P residing Officer of each House of P arliament.
(5)The Commissioner is to mak e a special r eport to the Minister on any particular issue
or general matter r equested by the Minister . The special r eport may be fur nished by
the Minister to the P residing Officer of each House of P arliament.
20Reports under Children and Y oung Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 andCrimes
Act 1900
(1)Information obtained by the Commissioner while e xercising the Commissioner’s
functions may be used for the following purposes—
(a)making a r eport to the Secr etary of the Department of Communities and Justice
under the Children and Y oung Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 , section 24,
(b)bringing infor mation to the attention of a member of the NSW P olice F orce that
might be of material assistance in securing the appr ehension of an offender, or the
prosecution or conviction of an offender, for a child abuse offence within the
meaning of the Crimes Act 1900 , section 316A .
(2)The Commissioner must use the infor mation for those purposes if the Commissioner
has r easonable gr ounds to suspect that a child or young person, or a class of childr en
or young persons, is at risk of significant har m.
Division 4 Modern Slavery Committee
21Constitution of Committee
(1)On the commencement of this Division and as soon as practicable af ter theModer n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 15 of 27commencement of the first session of each P arliament, a joint committee of members
of Parliament, to be known as the Moder n Slavery Committee, is to be appointed.
(2)The Moder n Slavery Committee has the functions confer red or imposed on it by or
under this or any other A ct.
22Functions of Committee
(1)The Moder n Slavery Committee has the following functions under this A ct—
(a)to inquir e into and r eport on matters r elating to moder n slavery,
(b)to report to both Houses of P arliament on matters r elating to moder n slavery .
(2)Nothing in this Division authorises the Moder n Slavery Committee to investigate a
matter r elating to particular conduct.
(3)The Commissioner may, as soon as practicable af ter a r eport of the Moder n Slavery
Committee has been tabled in a House of P arliament, mak e and fur nish to the
Presiding Officer of that House a r eport in r esponse to the r eport of the Committee.
23Membership of Committee
(1)The Moder n Slavery Committee is to consist of 8 members, of whom—
(a)4 are to be members of, and appointed by, the L egislative Council, and
(b)4 are to be members of, and appointed by, the L egislative Assembly .
(2)The appointment of members of the Committee is, as far as practicable, to be in
accor dance with the practice of P arliament with r espect to the appointment of
members to serve on joint committees of both Houses of P arliament.
(3)A person is not eligible for appointment as a member of the Moder n Slavery
Committee if the person is a Minister of the Cr own or a P arliamentary Secr etary .
(4)Schedule 1 contains pr ovisions r elating to the Moder n Slavery Committee.
Part 3 Supply chains
24(Repealed)
25Government agency procurement
The Commissioner must r egularly consult with the Auditor -General and the NSW
Procurement Boar d to monitor the effectiveness of due diligence pr ocedur es in place to
ensur e that goods and services pr ocured by gover nment agencies ar e not the pr oduct of
moder n slavery .
25A State owned corporations must mak e voluntary modern slavery statements if notModer n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 16 of 27already required
(1)This section applies to a State owned corporation that is not a r eporting entity within
the meaning of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 of the Commonwealth.
Note—
See the Modern Slavery Act 2018 of the Commonwealth, section 5 for the meaning of “ reporting entity”
under that A ct.
(2)A State owned corporation to which this section applies must volunteer to comply with
the requir ements of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 of the Commonwealth, as r eferred to
in that A ct, section 6, if it is eligible to do so .
Note—
A corporation that volunteers under the Modern Slavery Act 2018 of the Commonwealth, section 6 is a
reporting entity for the purposes of that A ct.
(3)A State owned corporation that has volunteer ed under subsection (2) must not r evoke
a notice given under the Modern Slavery Act 2018 of the Commonwealth, section 6.
25B State owned corporations must publish Commonwealth modern slavery statements
As soon as is practicable af ter giving the Minister, within the meaning of the Modern
Slavery Act 2018 of the Commonwealth, a moder n slavery statement under that A ct, a
State owned corporation must—
(a)publish a copy of the moder n slavery statement on a publicly accessible website k ept
by the corporation, and
(b)give the Commissioner written notice that the statement has been published.
26Public register
(1)The Commissioner is to k eep a r egister in electr onic for m that—
(a), (b) (Repealed)
(c)identifies any gover nment agency failing to comply with dir ections of the NSW
Procurement Boar d under section 175 of the Public Works and Procurement Act
1912 concer ning pr ocurement (within the meaning of P art 11 of that A ct) of goods
and services that ar e the pr oduct of moder n slavery and whether the gover nment
agency has tak en steps to ensur e compliance in the futur e, and
(c1) identifies any State owned corporation that has failed to pr ovide the Minister,
within the meaning of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 of the Commonwealth, with a
moder n slavery statement for a r eporting period under that A ct, and
(d)includes other infor mation the Commissioner thinks appr opriate, and
(e)includes other infor mation r equir ed by the r egulations to be r ecorded on theModer n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 17 of 27register .
(2)The Commissioner is to mak e the r egister publicly available fr ee of char ge.
(3)The r egulations may—
(a)requir e gover nment agencies to give specified infor mation to the Commissioner
for inclusion on the r egister, and
(b)specif y the way the infor mation is to be given to the Commissioner .
27Codes of practice
(1)The Commissioner may develop, and mak e publicly available, codes of practice for
the purpose of pr oviding guidance in identif ying moder n slavery taking place within
the supply chains of or ganisations and steps that can be tak en to r emediate or
monitor identified risks.
(2)A code of practice may r efer to or incorporate, with or without modification, a
standar d or other document pr epared or published by a body specified in the code, as
in for ce at a particular time or fr om time to time.
28Commissioner ’s public awareness and advice functions—supply chains
(1)The Commissioner may pr omote public awar eness of and pr ovide advice on steps that
can be tak en by or ganisations to r emediate or monitor risks of moder n slavery taking
place in their supply chains, including encouraging or ganisations to develop their
capacity to avoid such risks.
(2)Without limiting subsection (1), the Commissioner may mak e infor mation available to
organisations and other persons about matters to consider in r elation to employing
persons to work in supply chains.
Part 4
29(Repealed)
Part 5 Miscellaneous
30Act to bind Crown
This A ct binds the Cr own in right of New South W ales and, in so far as the legislative
power of the P arliament of New South W ales per mits, the Cr own in all its other capacities.
31Annual reports
(1)The annual r eporting infor mation for a GSF agency under the Government Sector
Finance Act 2018 is to include the following matters—
(a)a statement of the action tak en by the agency in r elation to any issue raised byModer n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 18 of 27the Anti-slavery Commissioner during the financial year then ended concer ning
the operations of the agency and identified by the Commissioner as being a
significant issue,
(b)a statement of steps tak en to ensur e that goods and services pr ocured by and for
the agency during the financial year then ended wer e not the pr oduct of moder n
slavery within the meaning of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 .
(2)This section commences on the commencement of P art 7.3 of the Government Sector
Finance Act 2018 .
32Expenditure under this Act
Any e xpenditur e incur red in the administration or e xecution of this A ct by the State is to
be paid out of money to be pr ovided by P arliament.
33Nature of proceedings for offences
Proceedings for an offence under this A ct or the r egulations may be dealt with summarily
befor e the L ocal Court.
34Regulations
(1)The Gover nor may mak e regulations, not inconsistent with this A ct, for or with r espect
to any matter that by this A ct is r equir ed or per mitted to be pr escribed or that is
necessary or convenient to be pr escribed for car rying out or giving effect to this A ct.
(2)The r egulations may cr eate an offence punishable by a penalty not e xceeding 50
penalty units.
35Commissioner of Police to provide certain information
(1)The Commissioner of P olice is, on r equest or in accor dance with ar rangements with
the Commissioner, to pr ovide the Commissioner with infor mation r egarding moder n
slavery and victims of moder n slavery .
(2)The Commissioner is not to disclose infor mation pr ovided under this section e xcept
with the written consent of the Commissioner of P olice.
(3)The Commissioner of P olice is not r equir ed to pr ovide infor mation under this section if
the Commissioner of P olice r easonably believes that to do so would—
(a)prejudice the investigation of a contravention, or possible contravention, of a law
in a particular case, or
(b)prejudice a cor onial inquest or inquiry, or
(c)prejudice car e proceedings, orModer n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 19 of 27(d)contravene legal pr ofessional or client legal privilege, or
(e)enable the e xistence or identity of a confidential sour ce of infor mation in r elation
to the enfor cement or administration of a law to be ascertained, or
(f)endanger a person’s life or physical safety, or
(g)prejudice the effectiveness of a lawful method or pr ocedur e for pr eventing,
detecting, investigating or dealing with a contravention, or possible contravention,
of a law, or
(h)not be in the public inter est.
(4)If the Commissioner of P olice r efuses to pr ovide infor mation in accor dance with a
request or ar rangements under this section, the Commissioner of P olice must, at the
time the Commissioner of P olice notifies the Commissioner of the r efusal, pr ovide the
Commissioner with r easons in writing for the r efusal.
36Review of Act
(1)The Moder n Slavery Committee—
(a)is to r eview this A ct to deter mine whether the policy objectives of the A ct remain
valid and whether the ter ms of the A ct remain appr opriate for securing the
objectives, and
(b)while undertaking the r eview, may investigate any other r elated matter the
Committee considers appr opriate.
(2)The r eview is to be undertak en as soon as possible af ter the period of 12 months fr om
the commencement of this A ct.
(3)A report on the outcome of the r eview and r elated investigations is to be tabled in
each House of P arliament within 24 months fr om the commencement of this A ct.
Schedule 1 Modern Slavery Committee
(Section 23 (4))
1Definition
In this Schedule, Committee means the Moder n Slavery Committee.
2Vacancies
(1)A member of the Committee ceases to hold office—
(a)when the L egislative Assembly is dissolved or e xpires by the effluxion of time, or
(b)if the member becomes a Minister of the Cr own or a P arliamentary Secr etary, orModer n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 20 of 27(c)if the member ceases to be a member of the L egislative Council or L egislative
Assembly, or
(d)if, being a member of the L egislative Council, the member r esigns the office by
instrument in writing addr essed to the P resident of the L egislative Council, or
(e)if, being a member of the L egislative Assembly, the member r esigns the office by
instrument in writing addr essed to the Speak er of the L egislative Assembly, or
(f)if the member is dischar ged fr om office by the House of P arliament to which the
member belongs.
(2)Either House of P arliament may appoint one of its members to fill a vacancy among
the members of the Committee appointed by that House.
3Chair and Deputy Chair
(1)There is to be a Chair and a Deputy Chair of the Committee, who ar e to elected by
and (subject to subclause (2)) fr om the members of the Committee.
(2)The Chair must not be a member of a party that has been elected to Gover nment.
(3)A member of the Committee ceases to hold office as Chair or Deputy Chair of the
Committee if—
(a)the member ceases to be a member of the Committee, or
(b)the member r esigns the office by instrument in writing pr esented to a meeting of
the Committee, or
(c)the member is dischar ged fr om office by the Committee.
(4)At any time when the Chair is absent fr om New South W ales or is, for any r eason,
unable to perfor m the duties of Chair or ther e is a vacancy in that office, the Deputy
Chair may e xercise the functions of the Chair under this A ct or under the
Parliamentary Evidence Act 1901 .
4Procedure
(1)The pr ocedur e for the calling of meetings of the Committee and for the conduct of
business at those meetings is, subject to this A ct, to be as deter mined by the
Committee.
(2)The Clerk of the P arliaments is to call the first meeting of the Committee, and the first
meeting of the Committee in each P arliament, in such manner as the Clerk thinks fit.
(3)At a meeting of the Committee, 4 members constitute a quorum, but the Committee
must meet as a joint committee at all times.Moder n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 21 of 27(4)The Chair or, in the absence of the Chair, the Deputy Chair (or, in the absence of both
the Chair and the Deputy Chair, a member of the Committee elected to chair the
meeting by the members pr esent) is to pr eside at a meeting of the Committee.
(5)The Deputy Chair or other member pr esiding at a meeting of the Committee has, in
relation to the meeting, all the functions of the Chair .
(6)The Chair, Deputy Chair or other member pr esiding at a meeting of the Committee
has a deliberative vote and, in the event of an equality of votes, also has a casting
vote.
(7)A question arising at a meeting of the Committee is to be deter mined by a majority of
the votes of the members pr esent and voting.
(8)The Committee may sit and transact business despite any pr orogation of the Houses
of Parliament or any adjour nment of either House of P arliament.
(9)The Committee may sit and transact business on a sitting day of a House of
Parliament during the time of sitting.
(10) Except as otherwise pr ovided by this A ct, the practice and pr ocedur e of the
Committee is to be in accor dance with the Standing R ules and Or ders of the
Legislative Council r egulating the committees of the House.
5Reporting when P arliament not in session
(1)If a House of P arliament is not sitting when the Committee seeks to fur nish a r eport to
it, the Committee may pr esent copies of the r eport to the Clerk of the House.
(2)The r eport—
(a)on pr esentation and for all purposes is tak en to have been laid befor e the House,
and
(b)may be printed by authority of the Clerk, and
(c)if printed by authority of the Clerk, is for all purposes tak en to be a document
published by or under the authority of the House, and
(d)is to be r ecorded in the Minutes, or V otes and P roceedings, of the House on the
first sitting day of the House af ter receipt of the r eport by the Clerk.
6Evidence
(1)The Committee has power to send for persons, papers and r ecords.
(2)Subject to clause 7, the Committee must tak e all evidence in public.
(3)If the Committee as constituted at any time has tak en evidence in r elation to a matterModer n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 22 of 27but the Committee as so constituted has ceased to e xist befor e reporting on the
matter, the Committee as constituted at any subsequent time, whether during the
same or another P arliament, may consider that evidence as if it had tak en the
evidence.
(4)The pr oduction of documents to the Committee is to be in accor dance with the
practice of the L egislative Council with r espect to the pr oduction of documents to
committees of the L egislative Council.
7Confidentiality
(1)If any evidence pr oposed to be given befor e, or the whole or a part of a document
produced or pr oposed to be pr oduced to, the Committee r elates to a secr et or
confidential matter, the Committee may, and at the r equest of the witness giving the
evidence or the person pr oducing the document must—
(a)take the evidence in private, or
(b)direct that the document, or the part of the document, be tr eated as confidential.
(2)If a dir ection under subclause (1) applies to a document or part of a document
produced to the Committee—
(a)the contents of the document or part ar e, for the purposes of this clause, to be
regarded as evidence given by the person pr oducing the document or part and
taken by the Committee in private, and
(b)the person pr oducing the document or part is, for the purposes of this clause, to
be regarded as a witness.
(3)If, at the r equest of a witness, evidence is tak en by the Committee in private—
(a)the Committee must not, without the consent in writing of the witness, and
(b)a person (including a member of the Committee) must not, without the consent in
writing of the witness and the authority of the Committee under subclause (5),
disclose or publish the whole or a part of that evidence.
Maximum penalty—20 penalty units or imprisonment for 3 months, or both.
(4)If evidence is tak en by the Committee in private otherwise than at the r equest of a
witness, a person (including a member of the Committee) must not, without the
authority of the Committee under subclause (5), disclose or publish the whole or part
of that evidence.
Maximum penalty—20 penalty units or imprisonment for 3 months, or both.
(5)The Committee may, in its discr etion, disclose or publish or, by writing under the handModer n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
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Committee, but this subclause does not operate so as to affect the necessity for the
consent of a witness under subclause (3).
(6)Nothing in this clause pr ohibits—
(a)the disclosur e or publication of evidence that has alr eady been lawfully published,
or
(b)the disclosur e or publication by a person of a matter of which the person has
become awar e otherwise than by r eason, dir ectly or indir ectly, of the giving of
evidence befor e the Committee.
(7)This clause has effect despite section 4 of the Parliamentary Papers (Supplementary
Provisions) Act 1975 .
(8)If evidence tak en by the Committee in private is disclosed or published in accor dance
with this clause, sections 5 and 6 of the Parliamentary Papers (Supplementary
Provisions) Act 1975 apply to and in r elation to the disclosur e or publication as if it
were a publication of that evidence under the authority of section 4 of that A ct.
Note—
TheDefamation Act 2005 makes pr ovision for 2 defences in r espect of the publication of defamatory matter
that is contained in evidence tak en by, or documents pr oduced to, the Committee in private, but only if the
evidence or documents have been disclosed or published in accor dance with this clause.
Section 28 of the Defamation Act 2005 (when r ead with clause 8 of Schedule 2 to that A ct) ensur es that
such documents attract the defence r elating to public documents in defamation pr oceedings.
Section 29 of the Defamation Act 2005 (when r ead with clause 17 of Schedule 3 to that A ct) ensur es that
proceedings in which such evidence is tak en or documents pr oduced attract the defences r elating to fair
reports of pr oceedings of public concer n in defamation pr oceedings.
8Application of certain Acts
For the purposes of the Parliamentary Evidence Act 1901 and the Parliamentary Papers
(Supplementary Provisions) Act 1975 and for any other purposes—
(a)the Committee is to be r egarded as a joint committee of the L egislative Council and
Legislative Assembly, and
(b)the pr oposal for the appointment of the Committee is to be r egarded as having
originated in the L egislative Council.
9Validity of certain acts or proceedings
Any act or pr oceeding of the Committee is, even though at the time when the act or
proceeding was done, tak en or commenced ther e was—
(a)a vacancy in the office of a member of the Committee, orModer n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 24 of 27(b)any defect in the appointment, or any disqualification, of a member of the Committee,
as valid as if the vacancy, defect or disqualification did not e xist and the Committee wer e
fully and pr operly constituted.
Schedule 2 Offences
(Section 5)
An offence against the following sections of the Crimes Act 1900 —
Section Description of offence
80D Causing se xual servitude
80E Conduct of business involving se xual servitude
91G (1) and (2) Childr en not to be used for pr oduction of child abuse material
91G (3) Aggravated offence of using childr en for pr oduction of child abuse material
91H Production, dissemination or possession of child abuse material
91HA A Administering a digital platfor m used to deal with child abuse material
93AA–93A C Slavery and slavery -like offences
An offence against the following section of the Human Tissue Act 1983 —
Section Description of offence
32, but only in
relation to
tissue that is
an or ganTrading in tissue pr ohibited
An offence against any of the following sections of the Commonwealth Criminal Code—
Section Description of offence
270.3 Slavery offences
270.5 Servitude offences
270.6A Forced labour offences
270.7 Deceptive r ecruiting for labour or services
270.7B Forced mar riage offences
270.7C Offence of debt bondage
270.8 Slavery -like offences—aggravated offences
271.2 Offence of trafficking in persons
271.3 Trafficking in persons—aggravated offenceModer n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 25 of 27271.4 Offence of trafficking in childr en
271.5 Offence of domestic trafficking in persons
271.6 Domestic trafficking in persons—aggravated offence
271.7 Offence of domestic trafficking in childr en
271.7B Offence of or gan trafficking—entry into and e xit from Australia
271.7C Organ trafficking—aggravated offence
271.7D Offence of domestic or gan trafficking
271.7E Domestic or gan trafficking—aggravated offence
Schedule 3 Savings, transitional and other provisions
Part 1 General
1Regulations
(1)The r egulations may contain pr ovisions of a savings or transitional natur e consequent
on the commencement of—
(a)a provision of this A ct, or
(b)a provision amending this A ct.
(2)A savings or transitional pr ovision consequent on the commencement of a pr ovision
must not be made mor e than 2 years af ter that commencement.
(3)A savings or transitional pr ovision made consequent on the commencement of a
provision is r epealed 2 years af ter that commencement.
(4)A savings or transitional pr ovision made consequent on the commencement of a
provision may tak e effect befor e that commencement but not befor e—
(a)for a pr ovision of this A ct—the date of assent to this A ct, or
(b)for a pr ovision amending this A ct—the date of assent to the amending A ct.
(5)A savings or transitional pr ovision taking effect befor e its publication on the NSW
legislation website does not—
(a)affect the rights of a person e xisting befor e the publication in a way pr ejudicial to
the person, or
(b)impose liabilities on a person for anything done or omitted to be done befor e the
publication.
(6)In this clause—Moder n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
Current version for 2 January 2022 to date (accessed 1 November 2023 at 19:26) Page 26 of 27person does not include the State or an authority of the State.
Schedules 4, 5 (Repealed)Moder n Slavery A ct 2018 No 30 [NSW]
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