Increase the availability and quality of protection services – including short-term shelter, long-term housing, financial assistance, legal assistance, counseling, and medical care – for all trafficking victims, including potential trafficking victims. * Proactively identify trafficking victims by screening for trafficking indicators among vulnerable populations, including individuals in commercial sex, undocumented migrants, asylum-seekers, agricultural and hospitality industry workers, visa holders, and domestic workers, and refer them to care. * Vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes, including those involving complicit officials, and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms. * Investigate and prosecute labor trafficking under anti-trafficking laws instead of as labor or employment violations. * Further decouple the provision of services to victims from participation in the criminal justice process and increase services available to victims unable or unwilling to participate in the criminal justice process. * Amend the statutory definition of trafficking under the criminal code to not require movement of the victim as an element of the crime. * Continue to train front-line officials, including police and immigration officers, on the indicators of trafficking and victim-centered and trauma-informed approaches to law enforcement efforts, as well as the use of psychological coercion as a means of trafficking. * Establish the National Labour Hire Registration Scheme with sufficient compliance tools. * Train judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officials on the application of trafficking laws, elements of trafficking, investigative techniques, evidence collection specific to trafficking cases, and alternatives to victim testimony. * Expand efforts to raise awareness on all forms of human trafficking, particularly among rural communities, migrant workers, and among vulnerable populations, including individuals in commercial sex, international students, and individuals with disabilities. * Conduct initial screening interviews with potential victims in a safe and neutral location and in the presence of a social service professional. * Establish a national compensation scheme for trafficking victims. * Strengthen efforts to prosecute and convict Australians engaged in extraterritorial child sexual exploitation and abuse in the tourism sector. * Increase efforts to investigate and hold accountable foreign diplomats posted in Australia suspected of complicity in trafficking.

The government maintained mixed law enforcement efforts. Divisions 270 and 271 of the Commonwealth Criminal Code, when read together, criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking. Inconsistent with international law, the definition of “trafficking” under Division 271 required the element of movement of a victim. However, Division 270, which criminalized “slavery,” “servitude,” and “forced labor” crimes, could be utilized to prosecute trafficking crimes that did not involve victim movement. Division 271 prescribed penalties of up to 12 years’ imprisonment for crimes involving an adult victim and up to 25 years’ imprisonment for those involving a child victim. These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with regard to sex trafficking, commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. Division 270 prescribed penalties of up to 25 years’ imprisonment for slavery, up to 15 years’ imprisonment for servitude, and up to nine years’ imprisonment for forced labor. These penalties were all sufficiently stringent. During the reporting period, the government used Division 272.14, which criminalized “procuring a child to engage in sexual activity outside Australia,” to prosecute child sex trafficking crimes; the provision prescribed penalties of up to 15 years’ imprisonment. The government completed its review of Divisions 270 and 271, initiated in the previous reporting period, and publicly released its findings.

In 2023, the government referred 191 cases of suspected trafficking crimes for possible investigation – 58 for sex trafficking, 79 for labor trafficking, and 54 for unspecified exploitation – compared with 193 cases the previous year. Authorities initiated 123 investigations – 31 for sex trafficking, 59 for labor trafficking, and 33 for unspecified exploitation. Authorities continued 33 trafficking case investigations – 17 for sex trafficking, 14 for labor trafficking, and two for unspecified exploitation – initiated in prior years. This was the first year the government reported on investigations. Authorities prosecuted 14 alleged traffickers, compared with 16 the previous year. Authorities continued prosecutions of 29 defendants, including 19 alleged perpetrators of potential extraterritorial commercial child sexual exploitation and abuse, initiated in prior years. Courts convicted two perpetrators of extraterritorial commercial child sexual exploitation and abuse and one labor trafficker, compared with convicting three perpetrators of extraterritorial commercial child sexual exploitation and abuse in 2022. Some of the investigations, prosecutions, and convictions may not have been trafficking crimes according to the international law definition. Courts sentenced the two child sex tourists to sentences ranging from two years, 11 months, and one days’ imprisonment to 14 years’ imprisonment. In January 2024, courts sentenced the labor trafficker to three years and six months’ imprisonment. Courts acquitted five defendants for trafficking crimes and upheld four appealed trafficking convictions. Authorities pursued labor, immigration, or employment violations in lieu of trafficking charges, which may have resulted in suspected traffickers receiving only fines and other civil penalties that were inadequate to deter trafficking crimes. The government investigated a senior government official for facilitating child sex trafficking; the government did not remove the official from his position and the investigation remained ongoing at the end of the reporting period. The government did not report any other investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees complicit in human trafficking crimes. Authorities detained and deported an alleged sex trafficker, previously convicted in the United Kingdom for sex trafficking crimes, without initiating prosecution for crimes committed in Australia.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) Human Exploitation Command was the lead national agency for trafficking investigations. The government collaborated with foreign agencies on trafficking investigations and strengthened foreign counterparts’ law enforcement capabilities to combat human trafficking crimes. The government trained police, labor inspectors, immigration officers, prosecutors, government officials, and health care and community front-line workers on various anti-trafficking topics, including human trafficking investigations, trauma informed approaches, anti-trafficking enforcement policies and laws, victim identification and referral, and victim support services. In addition, the government trained government officials to identify, assess, and mitigate modern slavery risks in procurement processes. Prosecutors relied heavily on victim-witness testimony to prosecute trafficking crimes. The government did not provide anti-trafficking training to judicial officials. Government officials and civil society representatives reported concern that law enforcement officials were not recognizing cases of human trafficking. In addition, observers reported a lack of understanding of psychological coercion among law enforcement officials. For example, survivors reported being denied support when they sought assistance because authorities believed because the victims were adults and not physically restrained, they could have just walked out of the trafficking situation. A survivor reported having to remain in the trafficking situation for another two years after seeking help because the AFP dismissed the case. Survivors reported being treated as criminals rather than victims when they sought assistance from law enforcement.

The government increased efforts to identify and protect victims. Authorities identified 59 victims, compared with identifying 13 victims the previous year. Authorities reported using a list of trafficking indicators and a referral protocol to identify and refer trafficking victims to services. Authorities identified most victims through referrals from community members, health care facilities, law enforcement agencies, and NGOs. Observers reported authorities often linked trafficking to migration and inadequately screened for trafficking indicators in the agricultural and hospitality industries and among offshore migrants. Civil society reported concern that some law enforcement officials asserted women who chose to migrate to Australia to participate in commercial sex establishments cannot be exploited in trafficking because they made the initial choice to migrate to Australia, despite international law making clear that initial consent is irrelevant in trafficking crimes. Despite persistent reports of sexual exploitation, forced labor, and multiple trafficking indicators among foreign workers in Australia under the auspices of the Working Holiday Visa scheme and the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, authorities did not report proactively screening PALM workers for trafficking indicators. The government reported proactively screening for trafficking indicators among Working Holiday Visa scheme holders at the visa processing stage. However, an ABF official reported that the ABF was not very proactive in screening individuals for trafficking indicators. The government conducted interviews with seasonal workers who left their employer and reported if the interviews showed trafficking indicators, the matter would be referred to the police. Observers reported some victims may have been reluctant to communicate with law enforcement officers because of a fear of deportation and the existence of language barriers. Civil society reported many victims remained unaware of their rights and the terms of their visas inhibiting them from coming forward when exploitation occurred.

Authorities referred formally identified trafficking victims to the government-funded and NGO-operated Support for Trafficked People Program (support program). Authorities referred 59 victims to the support program, compared with referring 13 victims in the previous year. An NGO reported if victims did not identify themselves as trafficking victims, they would not be referred to receive services under the support program; many survivors reported not understanding they were trafficking victims and were unable to self-identify as trafficking victims to law enforcement. The government also assisted 17 potential trafficking victims abroad, compared with assisting in 20 cases involving an unspecified number of potential victims the previous year; these cases may have included victims of forced marriage, kidnapping, genital mutilation, and individuals vulnerable to forced marriage. The government allocated $24.3 million Australian dollars ($16.5 million) to the support program during the 2023-2024 and 2026-2027 funding years, compared with $3.35 million Australian dollars ($2.28 million) during the 2022-2023 funding year. The government dedicated the funding to combine the assessment and intensive support stream and the extended intensive support stream into a single stream to temporarily increase the minimum number of days for assistance from 45 days to 90 days; provide support for children of victims; and provide follow-up check-ins after survivors departed the support program. In addition, the government dedicated funding to evaluating the support program for the first time since 2004 and announced funding to establish a trial referral pathway, developed and proposed by NGOs, to the support program to not require engagement with the AFP; the additional pathway was not established by the end of the reporting period. Only the police had the legal authority to refer victims to the support program; experts reported this requirement prevented some victims from accessing support services. Civil society and survivors reported victims received insufficient support after identification and that the requirement for the police to formally identify and refer victims made it extremely difficult for victims to access the support program.

The support program could provide emotional and general support to survivors and referred survivors to other civil society organizations for legal support, training and education, psychological and medical care, and immigration support. The support program had five “streams” that officials tailored to the needs of the victim. The intensive support stream assisted victims for up to 90 days, irrespective of whether they were willing or able to assist with the investigation or prosecution of trafficking cases. The temporary trial support stream assisted victims providing evidence for a prosecution. The justice support stream aided victims until authorities finalized their case investigation or prosecution. The forced marriage support stream provided those in or at risk of forced marriage – who may or may not have been trafficking victims according to the international law definition – with up to 200 days of support and did not require participation in an investigation or prosecution. The transition support stream assisted survivors leaving the support program by making referrals and providing assistance to prepare for life for up to 20 days. The government offered three-, six-, and 12-month check-ins with case workers for survivors after departing the support program.

Civil society and survivors expressed concern about the lack of suitable and accessible accommodations for trafficking survivors. The government did not operate a dedicated trafficking shelter and survivors needed ongoing income and a valid visa for long-term accommodations, which an NGO reported was very difficult for survivors to receive. An NGO operated three accommodation options for trafficking survivors, including one for young people and two for general victims; a long waitlist hindered access to some survivors. The NGO reported the current housing options for victims were also not suitable; the accommodations included curfews and limited visit times, which may have retraumatized victims. An NGO reported limited services were available for survivors who departed the program and reported difficulty for survivors to find ongoing support. Some survivors reported prolonged delays in receiving assistance, and many survivors faced homelessness because of inadequate housing options furnished by the government. A survivor reported resorting to engaging in commercial sex to financially support other survivors who needed assistance to keep them from being unhoused.

NGOs reported some victim support services were contingent on participation in law enforcement investigations and the government would cease provision of services when investigations ended. If an adult victim was unable or unwilling to participate in an investigation or prosecution, once the 90-day intensive support stream ended, the government relied on the NGO service provider to refer the survivor to other nongovernmental support services. The government allowed victims to provide video-recorded testimonies; the government did not report any victims choosing to do so. The government could provide witness protection to trafficking victims. The government could provide temporary and permanent visas to eligible victims. In 2023, the government provided 17 temporary stay visas to foreign trafficking victims, compared with four victims in 2022. The government did not grant any individuals permanent “referred stay” visas, compared with fewer than five individuals in 2022; some of these cases in 2022 may have been victims of forced marriage rather than trafficking. Courts ordered an alleged trafficker, who served as a foreign diplomat in Australia, to pay $136,000 Australian dollars ($92,391) in compensation under the Fair Work Act to one labor trafficking victim exploited in 2015. In another civil case, courts ordered the Attorney General’s Department (AGD) to pay $485,411 Australian dollars ($329,763) in compensation out of seized funds from traffickers convicted in 2021 to one labor trafficking victim. The government did not order any traffickers to pay restitution to trafficking victims and did not have a national victim compensation system for crime victims; victims relied on civil proceedings to access compensation.

The government maintained efforts to prevent trafficking. The Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Branch of the AGD led the government’s domestic response to trafficking; the AGD was the chair of the Australian Interdepartmental Committee on Human Trafficking and Slavery (IDC), which coordinated the government’s anti-trafficking policy framework and led implementation of the 2020-2025 NAP. In addition, the interagency Operational Working Group, a subcommittee of the IDC, focused on operational issues and information sharing in relation to trafficking issues. The pilot survivor advisory council, which included survivors of labor exploitation, as part of the government funded NGO-led Lived Experience Engagement Program, provided guidance on government policies, including the victim and survivor engagement and empowerment strategy, and on awareness campaigns and anti-trafficking trainings. The government convened its National Roundtable on Human Trafficking and Slavery twice, which included government agencies and civil society representatives. Government officials and civil society representatives reported a need for increased communication and collaboration between state and federal government agencies, and with civil society on trafficking issues. The government dedicated $8 million Australian dollars ($5.4 million) during a four-year period to establish Australia’s first federal Anti-Slavery Commissioner; the position remained open at the end of the reporting period. The government allocated $50 million Australian dollars ($33.97 million) for the ABF to address exploitation of migrant workers. The government conducted awareness campaigns targeting government officials and the public and it awarded funding to nine NGOs to implement community prevention programs in Australia.

Observers noted many migrant workers did not know their workplace rights and observers in Pacific Island countries reported many migrant workers did not fully understand their offers or conditions of employment prior to arriving in Australia, despite reportedly receiving and reading their letter of offer and employment before arrival. The government reported it conducted pre-departure briefings in the workers’ home countries and languages. In Vanuatu, the international organization who conducted the pre-departure trainings reported the trainings did not include information on human trafficking. The government funded three academic institutions, an NGO, a religious organization, and two health care networks to research various anti-trafficking topics, including on the needs of dependents of trafficking victims, effectiveness of screening processes in emergency departments, and barriers to support for trafficking victims. The government funded an academic institution to evaluate NAP progress. The government maintained MOUs with the governments of Tonga, Papua New Guinea, and Timor-Leste on migrant worker protections and included a provision on the prevention of modern slavery in private and public sector supply chains in its Free Trade Agreement with the United Kingdom.

The Modern Slavery Act 2018 required businesses and entities with annual revenue of $100 million Australian dollars ($67.93 million) or greater to publish an annual modern slavery statement detailing their efforts to combat modern slavery in their supply chains and operations, among other provisions. The government published its fourth Modern Slavery statement, in compliance with the act, and updated the publicly available online registry of all submitted statements. The government conducted 140 educational engagements with businesses to support the understanding and completion of the act’s requirements. However, observers noted the act provided no financial or criminal penalty to companies for non-compliance and a majority of companies that submitted reports failed to fully address the mandatory reporting requirements of forced labor risks in their supply chains; in an analysis of 92 company statements published in the second reporting cycle of the Modern Slavery Act, an NGO concluded only one-third of companies took action to address modern slavery risks in their supply chains. Several NGOs urged the government to strengthen its enforcement framework of the act and require companies to take steps to prevent forced labor. The government completed its review, initiated in the previous reporting period, of the act to assess its effectiveness; in response to the findings, the government established a Modern Slavery Expert Advisory Group, which included private sector, civil society, and academic experts to advise the AGD on the modern slavery act.

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) prioritized the prevention of potential labor exploitation – including human trafficking – among migrant workers, particularly in the agriculture and horticulture industries, and conducted awareness campaigns targeting domestic workers and international students. The FWO imposed administrative fines against employers for workplace violations, including in some cases that involved trafficking indicators. Civil society reported a distrust of the FWO among migrant workers as it did not address some migrant workers’ complaints after the workers reported their exploitation. Civil society and government officials reported the FWO did not proactively identify trafficking crimes and expressed concern the FWO’s lack of adequate training on forced labor indicators may have resulted in unidentified trafficking situations. The government encouraged visa holders who breached their work-related visa conditions due to workplace exploitation to seek help from the FWO under the Assurance Protocol, who could refer them to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) to prevent their visa from being cancelled; however, the government reported if the visa holder did not want to assist in an investigation into the workplace exploitation, they would not be given a referral to the DHA for assistance. Observers reported the process was inadequate to protect workers, some of whom may have been unidentified trafficking victims, and temporary visa holders were hesitant to use it out of fear of visa cancellation and deportation; civil society representatives reported service providers told their clients they cannot rely on the Assurance Protocol. The government initiated review of the Assurance Protocol; the review was ongoing at the end of the reporting period. Authorities reported using a standard process to screen individuals for trafficking indicators prior to deportation.

In the past, an NGO reported the government did not effectively monitor and enforce labor laws in rural parts of Australia, heightening risks of forced labor. Domestic workers in Australia – especially in the state of Western Australia or those lacking a contract – remained vulnerable to exploitation because of the lack of clear protective oversight mechanisms relevant to these populations. The government reported efforts to implement a recommendation from the February 2019 Migrant Workers Taskforce Report to create a national Labour Hire Registration Scheme requiring recruitment agencies in designated high-risk industries to register with the government and employers to use only these registered agencies. Authorities implemented similar registration schemes in Queensland and South Australia in 2018, Victoria in 2019, and the Australian Capital Territory in 2021. In the Working Holiday Visa program, the government’s requirement of completing 88 days to obtain a second-year or third-year visa remained a key driver for coercion among visa holders. The government did not implement a recommendation, from the September 2021 Select Committee on Temporary Migration in Parliament’s report, to remove the 88-day requirement with respect to farm work to be eligible for a second or third Working Holiday Visa. In June 2021, the government removed the 88-day requirement for British citizens as part of the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement; however, the requirement remained for all other nationalities.

The government amended the Fair Work Act to ensure migrant workers’ protections under the Act regardless of their migration status. In December 2023, the government announced a new Migration Strategy visa framework to increase protections for temporary workers, penalties for abusive employers, and post-arrival checks for sponsored workers; the strategy was not implemented by the end of the reporting period. Under the PALM, workers’ employment and immigration status were tied to a specific employer; observers noted this increased migrant workers’ vulnerability to forced labor. Observers reported an insufficiently regulated migration agent system and complicit migration agents enabled traffickers to circumvent the immigration system and exploit victims; in the previous reporting period, state police reported concern about the issue but noted they lacked authority to address national migration matters. In June 2023, the government finalized employer guidelines for the PALM scheme to obligate employers to take steps to identify human trafficking in its operations. The government dedicated $27.3 million Australian dollars ($18.5 million) in the 2023-2024 funding year to the FWO to expand the PALM scheme and ensure overseas workers are paid their correct wages and entitlements for the next four years.

The government expanded a specialized unit of law enforcement officials, led by the Australian Border Force, to investigate corrupt migration agents, identify vulnerabilities in the immigration system, and identify and support trafficking victims who are temporary visa holders in the commercial sex industry. The government completed a review of its visa framework to identify vulnerabilities initiated in the previous reporting period; in response to the review’s findings, the government created an action plan to implement 24 of 34 recommendations from the report. Civil society reported concern that authorities viewed sex trafficking through a labor lens, so it becomes a labor exploitation issue, which did not include victim identification and services or criminal prosecution and penalties.

The government operated a national police hotline to report various crimes, including human trafficking, but did not report the number of investigations initiated or victims identified from calls to the hotline. The government did not have a dedicated human trafficking hotline. The government funded an online reporting platform, run by an NGO, to identify labor exploitation and provide information on support services; the government reported four trafficking victims were identified through this platform. The government operated a FWO hotline and trained its operators to identify trafficking indicators; in 2023, the FWO referred an unspecified number of cases of potential trafficking indicators involving the agriculture sector to police. The government worked with foreign governments by engaging in anti-trafficking dialogue, sharing information, raising awareness, conducting trainings, funding programming and research, and providing technical assistance. The government conducted annual welfare checks on foreign domestic workers of foreign diplomats. Australia maintained policy and legislative frameworks to prevent, detect, disrupt, investigate, and prosecute child sexual abuse and exploitation, including crimes that occurred online, in Australia and overseas. The government made efforts to reduce the demand for participation in extraterritorial commercial child sexual exploitation and abuse by its citizens by publishing materials for passport applicants outlining the application of Australian child sex trafficking laws to Australians overseas. The government cancelled 54 passports and denied 12 passports to registered child sex offenders, which was the fifth year the government implemented this legal authority; compared with cancelling 59 passports and denying none in the previous year. In addition, authorities provided 257 notifications to foreign counterparts regarding traveling Australian and foreign national child sex offenders. The government did not make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts in Australia.

As reported over the past five years, human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Australia, and traffickers exploit victims from Australia abroad. Traffickers exploit Australians – including Aboriginal Australians – foreign women, and a small number of children, primarily teenage Australian and foreign girls, in sex trafficking in the country, including in commercial sex establishments. Some women from Asia and, to a lesser extent, Eastern Europe and Africa migrate to Australia to work legally or illegally in a number of sectors, including commercial sex. After their arrival, traffickers compel some of these women to enter or remain in commercial sex in legal and illegal commercial sex establishments, as well as massage parlors, motels, and private apartments. Traffickers hold some foreign women – and sometimes girls – in captivity and exploit them through physical and sexual violence and intimidation, manipulate them through illegal drugs, and force them to pay off unexpected or inflated debts. Traffickers attempt to evade authorities by allowing victims to carry their passports while in commercial sex establishments and frequently moving the victims to different locations to prevent them from establishing relationships with civil society or other victims. Traffickers isolate foreign women and girls from Australian women to inhibit information sharing about rights, regulations, and work standards in commercial sex establishments; foreign women and girls are likely uninformed about legal commercial sex laws and regulations and are more vulnerable to sex trafficking. Civil society reports the prevalence of illegal commercial sex establishments is four to five times more prevalent than legal commercial sex establishments increasing individuals in commercial sex’s vulnerability to trafficking. Some women in forced marriages are vulnerable to human trafficking, including being exploited by their husbands or families in domestic servitude. Workers in fashion manufacturing sector experience indicators of labor trafficking. Individuals with disabilities face an increased vulnerability to trafficking.

Unscrupulous employers and labor agencies exploit some men and women from Asia and several Pacific Islands in forced labor in agriculture, horticulture, cleaning, construction, hospitality and tourism, and domestic service. An investigation by the FWO in a prior year found some fraudulent foreign contracting companies exploit farm workers in bonded labor. There are cases of forced labor and other forms of exploitation in the agriculture and horticulture sectors, where victims (often foreign migrants from Asia) are threatened against leaving their jobs or seeking help. Traffickers may exploit temporary migrants, including individuals on working holiday visas, individuals in the PALM scheme, and international students, in forced labor, especially when based in remote regions with limited access to support. Some identified victims are foreign citizens on student visas who pay significant placement and academic fees. Unscrupulous employers may coerce students to work in excess of the terms of their visas, making them vulnerable to trafficking by exploiting fears of deportation for immigration violations. Migrant workers may lack awareness of Australian workplace laws, access to health care, legal protections available to the domestic workforce, or available support to those experiencing volatile employment or uncertain visa conditions as well as language barriers, increasing their vulnerability to trafficking. Employers may legally discriminate against certain temporary visa holders, which limits the number of jobs available to workers and increases their vulnerability to exploitative work conditions.

Some foreign diplomats allegedly exploit domestic workers in forced labor in Australia. Changes in 2019 to entitlements for diplomats in Australia may have slightly reduced the overall number of foreign domestic workers in the country. Instances of forced labor in domestic service are sometimes undetected or unacknowledged by authorities and thus not captured in official statistics. Reports indicate some migration agents urge migrant workers to move to Australia under false visa applications, including to engage in the commercial sex industry, increasing migrant workers’ vulnerability to trafficking. Reports also indicate more than a dozen Australian education providers knowingly help South Korean women enter Australia on false student visas to work in the commercial sex industry, increasing their vulnerability to sex trafficking. Traffickers exploit men in forced labor in the fishing and maritime industries; some fishing vessels that transit or dock at Australian ports use physical abuse to force men to perform labor. Victims of domestic servitude in Australia work in extremely isolated circumstances with little to no oversight or regulation. Asylum-seekers, detained for attempting to reach Australia by sea or waiting for application decisions, may be more vulnerable to forced labor or sex trafficking because of displacement, economic instability, or lack of access to basic resources and community support networks. Reports show heightened risks of child sexual exploitation, some of which may be child sex trafficking and due to pandemic-related economic impacts. Reports show an increase of Australians engaging in the online sexual exploitation of children since the start of the pandemic, particularly involving child victims in the Philippines. A small number of Australian residents may facilitate and engage in commercial sex and extraterritorial child sexual exploitation and abuse abroad, including in Thailand.