In situations of modern slavery, one person uses their power over another to control or use them for their own benefit. It takes away someone’s freedom to make choices for themselves.
Modern slavery can take many forms. These include:
Someone experiencing modern slavery might be used, bought, sold or traded like property. They might be denied the freedom to decide how to live their life.
They might have no choice about:
where and when they work
what they do
how long they work for.
They may feel they are not free to stop working, or leave the place where they work.
They might not be able to choose who, when and if they marry, not fully understand what marriage means, or may have been a child under the age of 16 (in Australia) when they married.
Modern slavery includes the most serious forms of worker exploitation – where a person uses coercion, threats, or lies to make someone work for them or another person, and takes away their freedom and ability to make choices for themselves.
These are serious crimes, and they can get help by contacting the police or one of these specialist organisations.
People smuggling
People smuggling is different to human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery. People smuggling is when a person pays another person to help them travel to another country without approval, such as a visa. People smuggling is criminalised in Australia under the Migration Act and Criminal Code, separately from human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery. Find out more about people smuggling.
Need urgent help?
If you or someone you know is not safe, or it is an emergency, phone Triple Zero (000) and ask to speak to the police. You can ask for an interpreter if you need one.
What comes to mind when you think of slavery? Images of people in shackles? Slaving in a field? Small children sold at auction?
Well, sadly, slavery happens here in Australia. See, modern-day slavery isn't easily recognisable because people in slavery today could be exploited anywhere,
in domestic servitude, a restaurant, factory, or on a construction site. They are often tricked with false hopes of a good job, but instead are threatened,
coerced and controlled, and barely paid. The good news is their situation isn't hopeless, thanks to Anti-Slavery Australia, a specialist legal centre
dedicated to the abolition of slavery, forced labour, and forced marriage. Anti-Slavery Australia provides educational resources to the community and access to free legal and migration help
to individuals experiencing or at risk of slavery in Australia. To find out more, visit antislavery.org.au.
There is help and support for people experiencing or at risk of exploitation such as forced labour, forced marriage and other forms of modern slavery in Australia.
