Australia Proposes Criminal Penalties for Major Companies Over Modern Slavery

The Australian government proposed legislation on 16 July 2026 to prosecute major companies that fail to prevent modern slavery in their supply chains, Abc reported. The criminal offence would apply to companies with annual consolidated revenue over $100 million, though firms could avoid liability by demonstrating they took reasonable steps to prevent worker exploitation.

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said the government will work closely with stakeholders to design the legislation.

"Australians rightly expect that the products they buy are not made on the back of modern slavery, which is why the Albanese Government is delivering a legislative framework with teeth," she said. According to the Global Slavery Index, an estimated 50 million people are living in modern slavery, which includes forced labour and debt bondage.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced mandatory rules for data centres as part of new legislated AI standards in a speech on 15 July 2026, Abc reported.

The standards will require data centres to minimise water usage, underwrite new electricity generation, and pay the full cost of connecting to the grid. Industry Minister Tim Ayres described the shift from AI guidelines to legislated standards as an "evolution" in Labor's approach.

He said data centre expectations are being worked through with the states and key tech firms are signing memorandums of understanding consistent with the standards.

Ayres called the Greens' proposal for a moratorium on new data centres a "pretty dopey" idea. Ayres also accused the Coalition of being "juvenile" for criticising the establishment of an Office of AI in the prime minister's department. Shadow Aged Care Minister Anne Ruston stated the government needs to admit it is getting implementation of aged care reforms wrong, citing harm identified by outgoing aged care inspector Natalie Siegel-Brown.