Previous Commercial Directions articles on this topic [published on 2 April 2019 and 20 September 2018] looked at the status of modern slavery legislation in Australia. The Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act was passed earlier this year and became immediately effective. While the NSW Act was passed by Parliament in June 2018, it didn’t take immediate effect, but was proposed to take effect in July 2019.

However, last month, the NSW Government advised that the commencement of the NSW Act would be delayed while the draft regulations proposed under the Act and issues within the NSW Act itself were reviewed by the NSW Parliament.

At this point, no revised commencement date has been announced; nor have any proposed amendments to the NSW Act been formally released for comment. In early July, the Special Minister of State, Don Harwin, told NSW Parliament that the matter would be referred to the Standing Committee on Social Issues for review.

We will provide further updates on this important issue for business once the Standing Committee has finalised its review.