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Our commitment

Modern slavery exists in NSW: The NSW Anti-Slavery Commissioner (‘the Commissioner’) has estimated that 16 400 people in the State are living in modern slavery.

According to the Commissioner:

Modern slavery is when one person treats another as if they owned them. It is a term that covers a range of different legal offences. In New South Wales, there are various criminal offences that are considered ‘modern slavery offences’, including: forced marriage, forced labour, servitude, sexual servitude, trafficking in persons, debt bondage, deceptive recruiting, organ and tissue trafficking and online sexual exploitation of children.

The NSW Department of ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø acknowledges its responsibilities under the to work in co-operation with the Commissioner in the exercise of the Commissioner’s functions.

As one of the largest public education providers in Australia, serving diverse communities across NSW, we recognise the importance of our role.

This Statement of Intent represents our commitment to identifying, preventing, and mitigating risks of modern slavery within our operations and sets the foundation for ongoing actions by the department.

What we will do next

We will continue to fulfill our legislative obligations, working in co-operation with the Commissioner in the exercise of the Commissioner’s functions, including disclosing information as requested and providing reasonable assistance and support.

We will continue the process to identify, prevent and mitigate risks of modern slavery within our operations.

We will take specific actions to address our salient risks. We will also regularly review our risks and actions and update the actions required in response within a rigorous governance process.

We will continue to

• Comply with legislation and align with best practice frameworks, including the (GRS) model
• Implement five key GRS model factors—governance, risk assessment, due diligence, training, and monitoring—to strengthen our response
• Embed modern slavery considerations into procurement activities, including risk assessments, tender processes, contract management, and supplier engagement
• Collaborate with suppliers so they understand and commit to eliminating modern slavery risks within their operations and supply chains
• Provide training and awareness programs for staff to build capability and understanding
• Promote transparency through regular reporting to the NSW Anti-Slavery Commissioner and public disclosure of our modern slavery risk management efforts
• Develop and improve initiatives to raise awareness among frontline staff, to protect student welfare, including ways to identify and respond to modern slavery indicators affecting students and staff
• Continuously review and improve policies, procedures, and controls to respond effectively to emerging risks.

Our partners

We recognise that addressing modern slavery requires collective effort. We will work with:

• NSW government agencies and regulatory bodies, including the NSW Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s Office and the NSW Procurement Board
• Suppliers across all sectors, from small businesses to multinational enterprises, to promote ethical practices
• Internal stakeholders, including legal, procurement, and executive leadership teams, to ensure alignment and accountability.

We are committed to actively collaborating with government agencies and stakeholders to strengthen our collective response to modern slavery risks. This includes exploring opportunities for coordinated action on child exploitation and forced marriage, enhancing procurement controls, improving risk management within government contracts, and sharing resources and expertise to build capacity and across NSW government agencies.

NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner’s fact sheet, Office of the NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner