With the introduction of a bill mandating a modern slavery reporting requirement, Australian businesses are starting preparations for publicly reporting on their own operations and supply chains. At the heart of the bill is the process of human rights due diligence: an exercise by which a business identifies, prevents, mitigates and accounts for human rights impacts.1 It is an outward-looking process that focuses not on the risk to the business, but the risk to those whose rights are, or may be, impacted.
Norton Rose Fulbright in conjunction with the British Institute of International and Comparative Law recently launched the findings of a second comprehensive study in relation to human rights due diligence. The study involved a detailed analysis of the human rights programs in ten businesses identified as leading in the arena. The findings published online demonstrate that human rights due diligence involves a multi-layered process, that is ongoing and subject to regular review.
