With the CPD deadline looming on 31 March, members are certainly spoilt for choice when it comes to the range of CPD seminars provided by the Law Society, including last week’s informative and timely panel discussion on the introduction of new laws to prevent modern slavery in corporate and government procurement supply chains.

The Modern Slavery Act 2018 (NSW) and the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) will require Australian businesses to publish annual modern slavery statements reporting on the risks of ‘modern slavery’, most commonly forced labour, in their operations and supply chains, and actions they have taken to assess and address those risks. The NSW Act also introduces the statutory role of a state Anti-Slavery Commissioner to promote action to address modern slavery and oversee implementation of the NSW laws. And, in a world first, the NSW Act provides that financial penalties of up to $1.1 million will apply to those entities failing to prepare or publish a statement in accordance with its provisions, or those providing false or misleading information in their statement.

We were fortunate to have NSW’s first Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Professor Jennifer Burn, at the CPD panel session to share her insights on the provisions of the NSW Act and its interaction with the Commonwealth laws along with other leading experts, Amy Sinclair, Margaret Stuart, Jenny Stanger, Alexander Coward and the Law Society’s Andrew Small. 

With the NSW Act due to commence on 1 July 2019, the CPD panel session provided some valuable tips for solicitors advising companies and all tiers of government (including local councils) on procurement practices. The message was loud and clear. Solicitors need to start advising their clients now on the strong business case to combat modern slavery and the imperative to initiate immediate measures to enable them to effectively meet their new reporting obligations under these laws. The panel also provided a timely overview of the prevalence of modern slavery worldwide and the background to Australia’s legislative response to the issue.

This Wednesday 13 March 2019, the Law Society is hosting The Women's Legal Service NSW Foundation panel discussion on the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace and the current national inquiry being conducted by Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins. I am honoured to be part of this International Women’s Day event, along with former Justice Ruth McColl, Helen Campbell OAM and Larissa Andelman, President, Women Lawyers Association of NSW.

Within the legal profession we’ve been told that, globally, 25 per cent of female lawyers have been sexually harassed in the workplace (and very few of those women report this behaviour) and, in Australia, 37 per cent of lawyers have been sexually harassed. Clearly, there is still much work to do in addressing harassment and discrimination in the workplace.

Elizabeth Espinosa, Law Society President

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