Australian government has developed stringent laws that give authorities extraterritorial jurisdiction over crimes committed abroad by Australian citizens. However, most of the current anti-trafficking measures that have been introduced by regional governments focus on sex trafficking with little reference to forced labour.

In October 2003, the Australian government announced additional anti-trafficking measures with a $20 million package, targeting sex trafficking in particular. The package included the amendment of the legislation in line with the requirements of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. The Criminal Code Amendment (Trafficking in Persons Offences) Act 2005 is the result of this decision.

Slavery and Trafficking Offences are set out in divisions 270 and 271 of the Australian Commonwealth Criminal Code. The penalty for slavery is up to 25 years of imprisonment; the penalty for sexual servitude is up to 15 years of imprisonment; the penalty for deceptive recruitment is up to seven years of imprisonment. Slavery and Trafficking offences against children attract higher terms of imprisonment. Australians can also be prosecuted under the Child Sex Tourism Act for travelling abroad to engage in sex with minors under the age of 16 years.

The three main legislative amendments made in the Commonwealth Criminal Code to address the offence of human trafficking since 1999 were thus:

Slavery and sexual servitude offences

Slavery offences: These offences apply to all persons, regardless of whether the conduct occurs within or outside of Australia . The offences have a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment. It is an offence to possess a slave or exercise over a slave any or all of the other powers attached to the right of ownership, to engage in slave trading or to enter into any commercial transaction involving a slave. It is also an offence to exercise control or direction over, or to provide finance for slave trading or a commercial transaction involving a slave.

Deceptive recruiting for sexual services: It is an offence for a person to deceive another person about the fact that their employment or other engagement will involve the provision of sexual services. The offence also covers deception about the nature of the sexual services to be provided; the extent to which the person will be free to leave the place or area where the person provides sexual services; the extent to which the person will be free to cease providing sexual services; the extent to which the person will be free to leave his or her place of residence; if there is a debt owed or claimed to be owed - the existence of that debt; and the fact that the engagement to provide sexual services will involve exploitation, debt bondage or the confiscation of the person’s travel or identity documents. The penalty for this offence is seven years. It is an aggravated offence if the offence was committed against a child under the age of 18 years and the maximum penalty in these cases is nine years of imprisonment.

Sexual servitude: It is an offence for a person to cause another person to enter into or remain in sexual servitude. Sexual servitude is defined as the condition of a person who provides sexual services and who, because of the threat or use of force is not free to cease providing these services or leave the place or area where the person provides sexual services. The offence is punishable by a maximum penalty of 15 years of imprisonment. If the offence is committed against a person under 18 years, it is an aggravated offence and the maximum penalty is 20 years of imprisonment.

Trafficking in Persons offences

These offences are not limited to trafficking that involves sexual slavery or sexual servitude. The trafficking in persons offences have a maximum penalty of 12 years of imprisonment, or for aggravated offences 20 years of imprisonment. The trafficking in children offences have a maximum penalty of 25 years of imprisonment. The offences apply to trafficking of people into and out of Australia .

Key offences include:
Where the trafficker uses force or threats which result in obtaining the victim’s compliance to enter or exit Australia .

Where the trafficker is reckless about whether the person will be exploited.

Where the trafficker deceives the person about: whether the person will provide sexual services, whether the person will be exploited (i.e. forced labour, sexual servitude, organ removal), subject to debt bondage and confiscation of travel and of identity documents.

Where there is an arrangement that the person provides sexual services, and the trafficker deceives the person about some of the conditions of service they are providing (i.e. the nature of the sexual services, the extent to which the person will be free to stop providing services, etc).

Where aggravated offences include subjecting victims to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or recklessness as to the danger of death or serious harm to the victim.

Debt bondage offences

The Criminal Code Amendment Act also inserted a new debt bondage offence. This prevents traffickers from using unfair debt contracts and other similar arrangements to coerce victims into providing personal services to pay off large ‘debts’, supposedly incurred because the trafficker has arranged the victim’s travel to a country or has organised employment and accommodation for the victim following their entry into the country. The debt bondage offence has a maximum penalty of 12 months of imprisonment or two years of imprisonment where the victim is under 18 years of age. The debt bondage offence provides an alternative offence in cases where it may be difficult to prove the commission of one of the more serious offences.