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Australia's Proposed Modern Slavery Reforms

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 18:00:17 -0700

Australia's Proposed Modern Slavery Reforms: From Reporting to Reasonable Steps and What This Means for Businesses

By Megan Pepper, Head of Sustainability, givvable

In July 2026, the Australian Government flagged proposed reforms that include the introduction of a new criminal offense for failing to prevent modern slavery in supply chains. The announcement itself was brief, a single-page press release, with details to follow through consultation. But the direction it signals is clear enough to start planning around now.

What's shifting

The proposal includes a new criminal offense for large companies (those with annual consolidated revenue over $100 million – the same threshold for reporting under the Modern Slavery Act) for failing to prevent modern slavery in their supply chains, with a defense available if a company can demonstrate they took “reasonable steps” to prevent it. It also proposes new civil penalties and enforcement powers for non-compliance with existing Modern Slavery Act obligations. The approach builds on the corporate liability model introduced in Australia in 2024 with the “failure to prevent” foreign bribery offense. We don't yet have details on timing, with consultation still to come.

What matters more than the detail, for now, is the shift underneath it: a move from transparency and reporting, telling stakeholders what you know, to action, demonstrating what you did. Legal commentary on the proposal has pointed to a risk-based approach as the most credible way to satisfy the reasonable steps defense, though the government itself hasn't yet confirmed what it will expect.

The ESG Intention-Execution Gap

At ProcureCon Asia in Singapore in 2026, one panel carried a title blunt enough to make people put their phones down: "Where are we now, and what’s stopping us? How do we move from ESG intention to execution to achieve tangible outcomes?"

The panel itself covered a lot of ground. What was more revealing, though, was what the audience asked afterward. Nobody in that room needed convincing that ESG matters. The questions weren't about whether to act. They were about why acting is so hard, even for people who already want to.

That's the actual gap. Not intention, execution. And looking at what was asked, the friction isn't abstract. It's mechanical, and it shows up in the same few places every time.

"Is anyone actually collaborating, or is each company still building its own process?"

The Real Cost of the ESG Supplier Questionnaire

Every year, procurement teams around the world spend the equivalent of 40,000 people working full-time, every working day, on one task: filling in and checking ESG supplier questionnaires.

That's not a rounding error. It's roughly 80 million hours a year, across an estimated 44,000 listed companies each sending sustainability surveys to thousands of suppliers, plus the time procurement teams spend chasing the ones who never reply. And after all of that effort, a lot of what comes back still isn't true.

Here’s a question that genuinely appears on one of these forms: "Are there any children working in your factory?" Take a guess at how many suppliers tick yes.

That's the problem with the ESG supplier questionnaire, and it's why we've spent the past year saying the same thing on stage in two different countries: at ProcureCon Australia in Sydney, and at ProcureCon Asia in Singapore. Different rooms, different regulatory environments, same conclusion. The form is broken, and it's been broken for longer than anyone wants to admit.

Beyond the Supplier questionnaire

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:09:40 -0700

Your Supplier Questionnaire isn't Diligence. It's a Performance.

By Nina Benders, Head of Partnerships at givvable

Last week at ProcureCon Asia, I walked on stage in front of around 200 procurement leaders, held up a supplier sustainability questionnaire, and asked one question: does anyone recognise this?

Many hands in the room went up, as well as hearing a few groans.

If you work anywhere near procurement, sustainability or supply chain, you know exactly what that form is. It's how we ask suppliers to prove they're doing the right thing — on human rights, climate, ethics and governance. We send them out by the thousand. And the uncomfortable truth is that most of them don't work.

Start with the cost: 40,000 people working full-time, every working day of the year, doing nothing but filling in and checking surveys. There are only about 44,000 listed companies in the world, and it's mostly the larger ones that run supplier questionnaire programmes. If each surveys, conservatively, a thousand suppliers a year, and each questionnaire takes an hour or two to complete — before you add the time the procurement team spends chasing and checking the responses — you...Read More

givvable Raises A$1.7 Million Pre-Series A

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 16:32:37 -0700

givvable Raises A$1.7 Million Pre-Series A to Scale Supplier Intelligence for the AI Era

givvable, a plug-in supplier data and intelligence platform used for responsible and sustainable sourcing, today announced the close of a A$1.7 million pre-Series A funding round.

The platform covers over 8 million suppliers and 3,000 credentials, with more than 90,000 supplier searches conducted every day. givvable has over 70 enterprise clients across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and the United States, including Amazon, San Miguel, Flight Centre, Red Bull and Globe Telecom.

People at the Centre — Why the TISFD Framework Matters for Your Business

A landmark moment in sustainability disclosure has arrived. Here's what the TISFD Beta Framework means for businesses, what it asks of you, and how to engage.

A new chapter for the 'S' in ESG

For years, sustainability disclosure has been dominated by climate. Nature is catching up. But people — workers, communities, those affected across global supply chains — have been the missing piece of a coherent, mandatory reporting picture.

That's changing. The Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (TISFD) has released its Beta Framework (Version 0.1) — a globally relevant disclosure standard that puts people at the heart of business decision-making, and signals a new era of integrated reporting for corporates and governments alike.

Building your FY26/27 procurement tech budget: where supplier diligence fits

Across Australia, procurement, sustainability and risk teams are preparing business cases and budget submissions for the year ahead.

One question is coming up consistently:

How do we identify, monitor and engage suppliers on responsible procurement risks in a way that is cost effective, consistent, and comprehensive?

Modern supply chains demand visibility into:

human rights and modern slavery risk
supplier governance and compliance
environmental and climate‑related exposure
diversity and social procurement participation
evolving regulatory and disclosure requirements

Yet many organisations still rely on manual supplier checks, spreadsheets and fragmented data, creating gaps, delays and inconsistent diligence.

A growing line item in procurement budgets

The Blind Spot in the Boardroom: Unlocking the Full Value of Procurement Data in a Volatile World

At ProcureTech last week, givvable cofounder Frances Atkins spoke about an important shift underway in procurement — one that is creating both a challenge and a significant opportunity for organizations navigating today’s volatile, highly regulated environment.

Her message was not that boards are disengaged or uninterested in risk, but rather that procurement data has evolved faster than the ways organisations typically use it at the most senior levels. As a result, a gap has emerged — and within that gap sits a largely untapped source of operational insight.

A risk environment that is changing faster than governance models...Read More

Beyond the Social: Why Verified Sustainability Data Is Now Essential in Procurement

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 19:19:10 -0700

Beyond the Social: Why Verified Sustainability Data Is Now Essential in Procurement

Insights from the Social Procurement Network Panel Co‑Hosted by givvable & Unimarket

The recent Social Procurement Network (SPN) panel — Beyond the Social: Incorporating ESG into Procurement Processes & Decision‑Making, co‑hosted by givvable and Unimarket in Melbourne, highlighted a critical shift underway in procurement. As givvable’s Head of Sustainability, Megan Pepper, emphasised, every dollar spent in a supply chain is an opportunity for impact. And the evidence is compelling: as fellow panellist Shamila Gopalan shared, every $1 spent with SisterWorks generates $4.30 in social and economic value. When suppliers with verified impact credentials are embedded into procurement processes, value multiplies far beyond the initial spend.

The World Benchmarking Alliance has released new benchmark results

The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) has released its 2026 Benchmark results, assessing 2,000 of the world’s most influential companies across climate, nature and social performance. Together these firms account for ~54% of global emissions and USD 53 trillion in revenue—underscoring the pivotal role of large corporates in delivering sustainable outcomes.

Key takeaways

Most companies are not yet transition ready. Only 51 of ~1,600 companies assessed have “consequential” climate transition plans aligned with a low-carbon future. The majority lack credible targets, investment alignment or implementation pathways.
Corporate investment can materially close the climate gap. Scaling clean-energy investment to levels already demonstrated by leading companies could close up to 30% of the global clean-energy investment gap to 2030—highlighting capital allocation as a critical lever.
Social fundamentals remain weak, exposing companies to regulatory, reputational and operational risks. Basic responsible-business practices are far from mainstream:

Fewer than 5% of major companies pay a living wage
Under 10% assess human-rights risks in supply chains

Nature is a major emerging risk frontier. Only 9% of companies quantify nature-related risks and impacts. Early movers integrating biodiversity and natural-capital considerations into strategy can build resilience and competitive advantage.

While the 2026 benchmarks...Read More