Last week, New Zealand saw National and Labour MPs unite to lodge a long-awaited Modern Slavery Bill (Bill), which has been dubbed a “pivotal moment” and “the first step toward ending modern slavery in New Zealand.”
Introduced on 29 January, the historic Bill follows many years of advocacy from institutional investors, New Zealand businesses and human rights groups, and will be introduced in Parliament on the next sitting day (10 February 2026).
Requiring large businesses with annual revenues exceeding NZ$100 million to report on how they identify and address modern slavery in their supply chains, the Bill will also impose fines of up to NZ$200,000 and civil penalties of up to NZ$600,000 on companies that fail to comply or provide false information.
It will create a public register of mandatory reports, enforce director accountability, strengthen support for victims in New Zealand and give the Human Rights Commission a formal role, which could lead to the establishment of an Anti-Slavery Commissioner in the future.
In order to lodge the Bill, the Nationals and Labour used cross-party consensus building to bypass the typical ‘biscuit tin’ ballot process – utilising Rule 61 for the first time – despite the National’s Greg Fleming and Labour’s Camilla Belich previously introducing their own individual bills.
Belich and Fleming said they hoped to have the Bill passed before the next election on 7 November, with bipartisan support making it less likely to be rescinded by future governments.
Belich said it was time New Zealand stood with other countries and took action.
“The legislation will bring New Zealand into line with key partners like the United Kingdom and the European Union. When we signed free trade agreements with these partners, we said we would act on modern slavery, and through this joint Bill, we are keeping that promise,” she said.
“I’m proud that both sides of the House have come together to stand against exploitation, and grateful to the advocates, organisations and businesses who have pushed for this change.”
This stance was reflected in Fleming’s official statement, which expressed his enthusiasm for the new Bill.
“This issue is close to my heart, and I’ve been working on this legislation since I came to Parliament,” he said.
“It’s time that New Zealand has a coordinated framework to deal with modern slavery, and this Bill does just that.
“I am looking forward to the Select Committee process, where we can engage with affected groups to create a future-proofed piece of legislation.”
Serena Grant, Director of Business and Human Rights at Walk Free, said the proposed law goes further than the Australian and UK models by including penalties and liability, as well as more robust reporting requirements, but falls short in other areas.
“In particular, asking businesses to report on complaints received as well as whether they have found any incidents of modern slavery is crucial,” she said.
“This will give investors and other stakeholders more robust data to understand how much action a company is taking to address risks.
“However, like Australia, the New Zealand Modern Slavery Bill relies on annual reporting and falls short of introducing mandatory due diligence.
“The Australian and UK experience has taught us that transparency-based reporting models fall short; we need laws with teeth to see real corporate behaviour change.”
Watch this space for updates.
