Australia’s antislavery chief, who praised Catholics as ‘national leader,’ says reforms fall short

Australiaʼs antislavery commissioner, who has hailed the Catholic sector as a national leader in fighting modern slavery, says proposed new penalties against forced labor do not go far enough.

Chris Evans demanded that large companies should be legally required to root out exploitation in their supply chains.

In a paper released Thursday, Evans estimated that Australia imports about $17.4 billion (AU$25 billion) worth of goods each year that may have been produced with forced labor, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Oct. 16.

The Catholic Church in Australia has made the issue a priority. Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher set up an antislavery task force to lead the Churchʼs response to modern slavery in Australia, according to the archdiocese. The task force works on compliance with the Modern Slavery Act across the supply chains of Catholic schools, universities, welfare, and health and aged-care agencies as well as trains parish and agency staff to identify and support possible victims.

Speaking at a Sydney Catholic Business Network luncheon on Nov. 13, 2025, Evans praised the Catholic prelate.

He said the archbishop’s “leadership on this issue has been exemplary,”…