Justice Project: Pro Bono Tool
People who have been trafficked and exploited

Priorities Identified in the Justice Project Final Report[i]:

• Introduce a national statutory compensation scheme for victims of human trafficking and slavery in Australia, which recognises psychological harm suffered by victims, is not dependent on cooperation with authorities, and which allows victims who are not permanent residents/citizens to remain in Australia until their applications are processed.
• Strengthen local responses to trafficking and exploitation through improving identification of victims and referring identified victims to appropriate support. This should include:
  • engaging in further research on the barriers to identification of victims of trafficking and exploitation in Australia, and addressing these barriers; and
  • delivering effective training on the indicia of trafficking and exploitation and referral pathways to frontline officers of government agencies. This training should be compulsory and ongoing for child protection workers, police and health workers, and also available as required to community lawyers, non-government organisations and relevant third-party stakeholders.
• Revise the threshold for access to the Support Program (Program) and the Human Trafficking Visa Framework (Framework), which requires a victim to make a ‘significant contribution to an investigation’ to reflect a human rights-based approach. Preferably, access to the Program and Framework should be de-linked from cooperation with law enforcement in any investigation.  If that is not possible, then at a minimum:
  • In cases of forced marriage, participation or willingness to participate in any investigation should not be required in order to access the Program and Framework.
  • In all other cases, access to the Program and Framework should be granted based on the willingness of the victim to contribute to an investigation, rather than a ‘significant contribution’.
• Improve data collection on trafficking and exploitation in Australia to ensure evidence-based policy development and service delivery, including through:
  • developing and implementing a consistent approach to data collection as between relevant Commonwealth agencies and state and territory agencies;
  • filling gaps in existing data through coordination between referral agencies and support services; and
  • creating a national reporting mechanism for forced marriage, including instances in which a successful intervention has prevented a forced marriage.
• Engage with community stakeholders to improve education and awareness raising campaigns to prevent forced marriage, with a particular focus on targeting young people in schools, including in regional, rural and remote areas.
• Introduce forced marriage protection orders, which should provide a pathway for access to the Family Law Watchlist, where there is a concern that a victim or potential victim of a forced marriage will be unlawfully removed from the country (regardless of their age). These orders should be included on a national database.
• Engage with vulnerable communities and employers in high-risk industries to raise awareness about labour exploitation, especially outside urban centres, and improve oversight of employers in high-risk industries.
• Undertake independent evaluations of the efficacy of government and non-government programs that address human trafficking and slavery, from a human rights-based perspective.
• Continue funding the Australian Institute of Criminology’s ongoing research series on human trafficking, including the development of a monitoring program on human trafficking in order to better understand the incidence of human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices in Australia.
• Improve coordination between Commonwealth, state and territory governments and civil society to strengthen response to trafficking and exploitation, including through incorporating responsibilities for state and territory governments into the National Action Plan (‘NAP’).
• Ensure dedicated and continuous funding for the NAP, including stable funding for programs operated by civil society that form part of Australia’s response to human trafficking.
• Improve integration of programs operated by civil society that form part of Australia’s response to human trafficking with the NAP, including through articulating the role of civil society and linking the programs to the outcomes of the NAP.

[i] The Justice Project Final Report published by the Law Council of Australia (Aug 2018) can be found here.

• Justice Project Report infographic