Many Australian companies are failing to comply with modern slavery laws. 

A new report by the Human Rights Law Centre shows many companies are failing to identify obvious risks of forced labour in their supply chains or take action to address them. 

The report covers 102 companies sourcing from four sectors with known risks of modern slavery: garments from China, rubber gloves from Malaysia, seafood from Thailand and fresh produce from Australia.

It found that 77 per cent of companies reviewed had failed to comply with the basic reporting requirements mandated by the legislation.

Fifty-two per cent of the companies had failed to identify obvious modern slavery risks in their operations or supply chains. 

Only one in four garment companies sourcing from China, for instance, made any mention of the risk of Uyghur forced labour in their supply chains;  

Just 27 per cent of companies appeared to be taking some form of effective action to address modern slavery risks. 

The lowest scoring companies included Lite & Easy, Drakes Supermarkets and Clifford Hallam Healthcare, while the highest included Woolworths, Coles and Kathmandu. 

The experts call for a range of measures to strengthen the regime, including the addition of penalties for companies that fail to comply with the law, mandatory due diligence requirements, improved access to justice for workers and better guidance for companies sourcing from high-risk sectors.  

The full report is accessible here.