How the Property Sector is Leading on Modern Slavery and Why it Matters
The Property Council of Australia has just dropped one of the most practical, forward-thinking industry resources on human rights and modern slavery we’ve seen to date. It’s a big deal, and here at The Freedom Hub, we’re so glad to see this level of support for businesses.
Why? Because this is exactly the kind of action we need if we’re going to shift from talk to change. So far, Australia has been slow to respond and lazy in its reporting.
Let’s break down what’s happening, why it matters. And of course, how The Freedom Hub is helping business leaders translate these tools into real-world results.
The Property Industry Wakes Up to Its Risk
Let’s be real: property and construction are high-risk sectors for modern slavery. So think complex supply chains, lots of subcontracting, migrant and manual labour, and very little visibility across operations. In other words, HIGH, high risk and many loopholes.
The Property Council has stepped up. Since 2018, they’ve gathered Australia’s biggest property players to dig deep into the issue. And now they’ve launched a full-blown suite of practical tools, not just for the big end of town, but for any business that wants to do better.
Their new 10-step guide, Pathway to Respecting Human Rights and Addressing Modern Slavery Risks, is adaptable to different stages of business maturity. Therefore, it is not a lecture; it is a roadmap.
From Policy to Action: The Tools Businesses Actually Need
Too many businesses get stuck on the question: “Where do we start?” The Property Council’s working group (which includes Edge Impact and some of the best minds in ESG) has made that clearer:
- Vulnerability Indicators help teams identify and reduce worker exploitation risks.
- Modern Slavery Statement Guidance improves reporting and compliance.
- Remediation Frameworks (developed with KPMG) show how to respond when things go wrong.
- The Supplier Platform gives suppliers tools and access to training.
Impact Metrics: Measuring What Matters
In June 2025, the Council and Edge Impact released Impact Metrics for Addressing Modern Slavery in Property and Construction. This is next-level. It shifts the conversation from good intentions to real accountability.
It outlines KPIs across four key areas:
- Governance
- Supply Chain
- Grievance & Remediation
- Collaboration
It also brings in lived experience, 9 the voices of people who’ve been affected by modern slavery and using their insights to shape better outcomes.
This is something we at The Freedom Hub are deeply passionate about. Victim-survivors have a powerful lens into where systems fail. Their voice matters. We have a Survivor Advisory Board of people with lived experience to assess and comment on company policies.
How The Freedom Hub helps Businesses in Property & Construction
At The Freedom Hub, we’re not just watching from the sidelines. We’ve been actively supporting businesses in this space for 9 years.
Here’s how we’re making a difference:
1. Helping Businesses Get Started
For companies overwhelmed by risk mapping or unsure how to write a modern slavery statement, we provide one-on-one coaching, workshops and templates tailored to their industry.
2. Lived Experience Training
We bring victim-survivor insights into corporate education. Our Survivor Advisory Board helps inform our work, your work and their stories shape the way we guide businesses. This isn’t just theory, it’s grounded in lived reality.
3. Remediation Support & Policy Reviews
When businesses find potential issues, we help them develop ethical, survivor-informed responses. We also review and strengthen internal policies to align with modern slavery laws and best practice frameworks.
4. Measuring What Matters
Data is great, but context is better. We help companies interpret their metrics, benchmark progress and set meaningful goals, not just compliance checkboxes.
5. Continuous Improvement
Modern slavery risk isn’t a one-and-done deal. We coach teams through ongoing action plans, internal engagement strategies and collaborative initiatives across sectors.
6. Social Impact
We can help you engage employees, customers and demonstrate you care. From employing survivors, running Lunch and Learns, offering skilled volunteering days, ordering our ethically sourced coffee or catering. Partnering with us ensures you are directly supporting survivors of slavery in our Survivor School. 100% of profits from our work support the mission.
Why This Matters to All of Us
Modern slavery isn’t someone else’s problem. It’s happening in our supply chains, our services, our neighbourhoods. If you’re in business in Australia, you are part of this story.
We’ve seen firsthand that when business leaders take this seriously, they can shift culture, increase trust, and protect people from harm. They can create ripple effects through industries, markets and communities.
Read what Reece Group said about our work helping them move from a poor score of F to A in the Monash University statement assessment report.
During FY23 we had the benefit of engaging with The Freedom Hub, a non-profit organisation who have over 20 years experience working with survivors of slavery in Australia and collaborating with Australian businesses to promote a survivor-centred response to modern slavery. Over a number of months, The Freedom Hub helped us carry out a gap analysis on our modern slavery work in ANZ, using the Australian Modern Slavery Act 2018, providing improvement opportunities across all seven criteria. The Freedom Hub also completed a peer benchmarking using the Corporate Human Rights benchmark from the World Alliance, benchmarking 41 data points across five categories: governance, due diligence, remediation, performance and accusation.
We then held a workshop for our modern slavery working group to consider and discuss outcomes of the gap analysis and benchmarking to refine our future activity and approach. As a result, we have now established a blueprint to guide our activities from FY24 to FY27 under the categories of prevention, risk assessment, and mitigation and remediation.
Modern Slavery Statement 2022-2023
We can help you Move Forward and within your Budget.
If your business is ready to start the journey, The Freedom Hub is here to walk beside you.
We’re not about shame or blame. We’re about partnership, education, and lasting change.
Reach out to us to:
- Review your modern slavery statement with survivor guidance
- Train your leadership team on the red flags and indicators for your industry
- Design a continuous improvement plan that includes a remediation plan.
- Build survivor-informed policies with the help of our Survivor Advisory Board
Finally, if you are a small business that wants to become a PREFERRED SUPPLIER to larger companies, download our SME Ebook here: bit.ly/TFH-SME-Ebook
Contact The Freedom Hub – We’re ready when you are.
thefreedomhub.org/ethical-business | ethicalbusiness@thefreedomhub.org
