You have 0 free articles left this month.

Unpacking the proposed modern slavery criminal offences

The federal government recently flagged a new criminal offence for failing to prevent modern slavery in supply chains. Here, a BigLaw partner discusses what the proposed laws mean for businesses, boards, and legal teams, and what they say about the broader climate.

September 25, 2026 • By Robyn Tongol
Share this article on:
expand image

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Corrs Chambers Westgarth responsible business and ESG partner Kate Gill-Herdman about why legal work in ESG and modern slavery is so interesting right now, how and why the proposed new laws have come about, the implications for relevant stakeholders, the shift from reporting obligations to criminal liability, the flagged "reasonable steps" defence, how boards, GCs, and in-house teams can respond, best practice for lawyers advising clients, and the steps that must be taken moving forward.

 
 

If you like this episode, show your support by rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, X and LinkedIn.

If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you’d like to lend your voice to the show, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Plus, in case you missed them, check out our most recent episodes:

Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make Lawyers Weekly a preferred news source on Google.
Click here to add Lawyers Weekly as a preferred news source.