The UN Global Compact Network Australia, in collaboration with Pillar Two, has released its 2025 edition of ‘Business Integration of Human Rights Due Diligence in Australia: Modern Slavery and Beyond’.
🔸 Are you assessing adverse human rights impacts beyond modern slavery?
This report assists Australian businesses aiming to align their operations with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and highlights the importance of assessing and addressing any adverse human rights impacts with which they may be involved, beyond the scope of modern slavery.
The report includes:
- An overview of the evolving global and domestic regulatory landscape, as well as increasing stakeholder expectations in relation to the responsibility of corporates to respect human rights.
The report notes that “Australian businesses will increasingly be expected to show they are meaningfully implementing the corporate responsibility to respect human rights across their operations and value chains, including by undertaking human rights due diligence.” Businesses following the UNGPs will be better placed to do this.
- Observations from a review of human rights-related disclosures by ASX50 companies and stakeholder consultations on the integration of respect for human rights into business risk management approaches.
While recognising there are still key areas for improvement, the most significant improvement was in relation to reporting modern slavery risks relating to downstream value chains (16% in 2023 to 28% in 2024).
- Practical guidance for businesses to support their human rights due diligence activities.
The report provides guidance on how to build internal buy-in, including integrating human rights into governance frameworks and internal reporting, building capacity through awareness raising and training, establishing cross-functional collaboration and drawing on existing internal knowledge and expertise.
The report includes useful case studies from UNGCNA participant companies, a number of which highlight the instrumental role of procurement teams in human rights work.
givvable is a UNGC participant and supports the Ten Principles of the UNGC on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Find out more about our credentials here.
givvable's Human Rights and Modern Slavery toolkit
givvable's toolkit supports organizations to strengthen their human rights and modern slavery due diligence by enabling them to:
VET: Evaluate potential suppliers' measures to respect human rights and prevent modern slavery.
SCREEN: Screen existing suppliers using givvable's dynamic Materiality Assessment which offers comprehensive examination of suppliers in relation to relevance, risk for modern slavery and action to protect human rights and prevent modern slavery.
ENGAGE: Foster supplier awareness and encourage actionable steps through givvable's free Human Rights Best Practice module.
BENCHMARK: Track progress against peer and industry groups, and benchmark suppliers on human rights and modern slavery criteria.
These tools can be accessed directly through givvable or integrated into existing software and systems via API, making it a seamless and user-friendly implementation.