‘They Are Here Without Chains, but With Invisible Chains’: Understandings of Modern Slavery Within the New South Wales Settlement Sector

Abstract

Modern slavery is a complex and clandestine social phenomenon that is poorly understood in the Australian context. The settlement sector is integral to Australia’s counter-slavery efforts, and yet, no Australian study has explicitly sought to explore how this group identifies and navigates modern slavery. This paper draws on surveys and interviews with workers in the New South Wales settlement sector, and offers new insights into how certain forms of modern slavery are understood and addressed by professionals working with newly arrived migrants. The findings of the study uncover some of the profound challenges staff encounter in detecting and responding to different exploitative practices. Furthermore, they underscore the significant disjunctions between existing legislative provisions that aim to address modern slavery, and the experiences and understandings of workers at the frontline of the issue. The study demonstrates the need for education and greater investment into modern slavery responses within the settlement sector, and multi-sectoral collaboration to proactively address the systemic issues engendering exploitation at a community level.