Modern Slavery Statement December 2020

Threshold

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is an Australian Entity.

Threshold

AMSA has consolidated revenue in excess of $100m in the reporting period.

1. Identification

Identify the reporting entity

AMSA is a corporate Commonwealth entity, operating under the Public Governance Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
It was established by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Act 1990.
It is part of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development Portfolio of the Australian Government.

2. Organisation

Describe the reporting entity’s structure, operations and supply chains

A. Structure

General Structure

AMSA’s organisational structure is made up of:

1. the AMSA Board appointed by the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development and consisting of a:
   1. Chairperson,
   2. Deputy Chairperson
   3. Chief Executive Officer
   4. person occupying an office in the portfolio department
   5. five other members,
2. the Executive team, and
3. four operational and service areas:
   1. Operations
   2. Response
   3. Standards
   4. Corporate Services.

Australian Business Number

AMSA’s hold the ABN 65 377 938 320 number on the Australian Business Register.

AMSA does not own or control any other entities.

Registered office and locations

AMSA’s head office is 18 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra, ACT, 2601 AMSA has a total of 21office locations across Australia.

B. Operations

Primary Role

AMSA is Australia’s national agency responsible for maritime safety, protection of the marine environment and maritime aviation search and rescue.

AMSA’s primary role is to:

• promote maritime safety and protection of the marine environment
• prevent and combat ship-sourced pollution in the marine environment
• provide infrastructure to support safe navigation in Australian waters
• provide a national search and rescue service to the maritime and aviation sectors
• provide, on request, services to the maritime industry on a commercial basis
• provide, on request, services of a maritime nature on a commercial basis to the Commonwealth and/or states and territories.

AMSA has a role in ensuring international conventions such as to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) are maintained while international vessels are in Australian waters.

Employees and representatives

AMSA employees approximately 415 staff, including a permanent representative in London, United Kingdom.

AMSA also uses delegated officials within relevant State maritime agencies and police forces to enable compliance activities.

Countries of operation

While AMSA is primarily based in Australia and servicing Australia’s territorial waters, it also:

• conducts education and training campaigns within the pacific region,
• assists in regional search and rescue activities where requested,
• is responsible for conducting flag state control inspections (Australian ships) in overseas ports, and
• has a representative in London attending International Maritime Organization (IMO) meetings.

Investments

AMSA has a single investment fund with Commonwealth Bank Australia which is to provide a ready source of income in the event of a major pollution incident.

AMSA’s Stakeholders

AMSA’s stakeholders include, but are not limited to:

• our regulated community—domestic commercial vessel industry, shipping industry and seafarers,
• maritime service providers and partners—including navigation, pollution response and maritime and aviation search and rescue,
• Australian Government, state and territory governments and their agencies,
• the International maritime community, and
• the Australian community.

C. Supply chain

Types of supply chains

AMSA supply chains are with various suppliers and specialists from Australia and internationally, including those with: expertise in search and rescue, environmental emergencies, regulating domestic commercial vessels and international vessels entering Australian waters.

Control of supply chains

Supply chains are controlled with strict contracting arrangements as defined by the Commonwealth Procurement Rules.

Suppliers to AMSA are required to comply with any laws, statutes, regulations, by-laws, ordinances or subordinate legislation in force from time to time, including in particular but not limited to the:

• Auditor-General Act 1997
• Crimes Act 1914
• Criminal Code Act 1995
• Disability Discrimination Act 1992
• Freedom of Information Act 1982
• Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
• Privacy Act 1988
• Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013
• Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013
• Racial Discrimination Act 1975
• Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988
• Sex Discrimination Act 1984
• Trade Practices Act 1974
• Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012
• Work Health and Safety Act 2011

Disclosures

AMSA contracts valued at or above the relevant reporting threshold value of AUD$400,000 (GST inclusive) are reported on AusTender.

AMSA contracts valued at or above AUD$100,000 (GST inclusive) are published on the AMSA website biannually as required under the Murray Motion.

Major Suppliers

AMSA’s major suppliers provide services that are listed in the table below. These provide long term and stable supply to enable AMSA to achieve its objectives.

Major source required

Source country (where known)

Aerial Search and Rescue services

Australia based

Emergency Towage capability and Aid to Navigation maintenance through a dedicated vessel

Australia based

Travel Services

Australia and international using whole of Government travel arrangements

Labour hire for call centre, ICT and other services

Australian and international recruitment suppliers used for Australian based positions

Contractors for the construction and maintenance of Aids to Navigation (AtoN)

Australia based

Material suppliers to contractors for construction of AtoNs

Australian and international including the Netherlands, Singapore, Japan, China and United Kingdom

Provision of office services and supplies, such as cleaning and office furniture

Australia based (WINC is the primary supplier for office supplies)

Provision of corporate clothing

Australian based contractor, with potential international supply chains

Provision of IT equipment and supplies

Australian distributors using international companies (Dell, Apple, CISCO, HP, Polycom)

3. Risks

Describe the risks of modern slavery practices in the operations and supply chains of the reporting entity and any entities it owns or controls. 

Identified in the risk and control table below.

4. Controls

Describe the actions taken by the reporting entity and any entities it owns or controls to assess and address these risks, including due diligence and remediation processes

AMSA primarily addresses the risks of modern slavery practices occurring in its operations and supply chains through strict procurement and operational procedures, in line with standard overarching Commonwealth policy.

To assist with identification of additional risks, all appropriate AMSA staff will complete the ‘Modern Slavery Training for Procurement Officers’ when the platform is available. This training, produced by the Australian Government, will assist AMSA in addressing modern slavery Risks by educating staff on:

• what modern slavery is,
• what modern slavery looks like in Government supply chains,
• what AMSA can do to further address modern slavery risks, and
• how to report concerns about modern slavery practices.

These practices have been identified in the risk and control table below.

5. Evaluation

Describe how the reporting entity assesses the effectiveness of actions being taken to assess and address modern slavery risks

The incorporation of specific processes and checklists to assess and address risks of modern slavery is a relatively new undertaking for AMSA. To assess the effectiveness of these processes, applied to the entire procurement lifecycle, AMSA will undertake a three-phase effectiveness assessment:

1. Assess the number of overall contracts that have completed the initial risk assessment. Note: an initial risk assessment will be incorporated into all future approaches to market. Full compliance will be deemed to be effective.
2. Where higher risks are identified in an approach to market, AMSA’s future treatments (as below) will be used to assess the effectiveness of our actions and controls.
3. A qualitative assessment of the impacts of these treatments will be undertaken.
4. AMSA can include statistics on compliance with these requirements in future Modern Slavery Statements.

AMSA will continue to assess potential impacts of modern slavery on AMSA business, and to identify areas of concern.

6. Consultation

Describe how the reporting entity consulted on its statement with any entities it owns or controls

AMSA does not own or control any other entities, and will not be responding to this criterion.

7. Relevant information

Provide information that you think is relevant

AMSA has identified our work with the Maritime Labour Convention in the risk assessment below.

Sector and industry risks

Product and services risks

Consider whether there is a high prevalence of modern slavery in the particular industry or sector.

Certain sectors and industries may have high modern slavery risks because of their characteristics, products and processes. Typically if the sector or industry that you will be dealing with is informal and unregulated, with little visibility over lower tier suppliers, it will be considered a high risk. Further, industries or sectors that involve seasonal, low-paying, low-skilled or dangerous/hazardous work may also carry a higher risk.

For example, industries that are recognised as high-risk gloablly include extractives, textiles and fashion, fishing, electronics, cleaning and agriculture.

Consider whether there is a high prevalence of modern slavery associated with the particular good or service.

Certain products and services may have high modern slavery risks because of the way they are produced, provided or used. For example, bricks, cobalt, cotton and rubber are recognised as high risk products gloablly. Similarly, services such as cleaning that involve lower wages and manual labour may have high modern slavery risks.

The Global slavery index provides a list of the top 15 products imported by G20 countries that have a high risk of modern slavery. 

Geographic risks

Supply chain model risks

Consider whether there is a high prevalence of modern slavery in the location that the production or service is sources or produced from.

Some countries may have higher risks of modern slavery due to poor governance, weak rule of law, conflict, corruption, displacement, state failure to protect human rights, migration flows and socio-economic factors like poverty or widespread discrimination.

The Global slavery index and the Freedom House list provide information on higher-risk countries.

Consider whether the nature of the supplu chain model likely to be involved carries a greater risk of modern slavery.

Generally, the larger and more complex the supply chain is, the harder it can be for a supplier to identify and monitor modern slavery practices.

Sub-contracting and the use of labour recruiters in the supply chain will also increase the risks of modern slavery, especially where recruitment fees are charged.

AMSA’s direct operations

AMSA has eliminated the risks from our direct employment contracts and agreements

AMSA’s Enterprise Agreement is negotiated with workers and is assessed against the Australian Government requirement of the Fair Work Act 2009.

AMSA has a dispute resolution processes for staff.

 Travel Services

AMSA has eliminated the direct risk of modern slavery through travel arrangement services.

A remote risk remains, caused by suppliers to the whole of Government travel arrangement that have not been fully assessed.

They include: 

• QBT (Australian owned). QBT belongs to the GlobalStar group - an international travel management company.
• 18 airlines.
• AOT Group – a subsidiary of HelloWorld Travel. Helloworld has a Corporate Responsibility Statement which includes upholding the UN Global Compact. 
• Hertz is subsidiary of Hertz Global Holding, an American company. It includes the brands Hertz, dollar car rental, Thrifty, Firefly and Donlen. Hertz has a Corporate Social Responsibility report available, but does not specifically look at modern slavery.  
• Diners Club is a subsidiary of Citigroup family of companies. Citigroup has a commitment to respect human rights, including identifying labour risks, risks related to resettlement and indigenous peoples.

Use of whole of Australian Government travel arrangements (agreed by AMSA in 2020).

Aerial Search and Rescue
Services

There is no risk that the current crew or workforce of the main contractor are subject to any risk of modern slavery.

There was a slight linked risk that the construction of the aircraft provided for AMSA’s dedicated use may have included indentured labour, servitude, or debt bondage.

AMSA has generic controls in place, and conducts regular audits and reviews on major contracts.

Emergency Towage
capability and Aid to
Navigation maintenance
through a dedicated vessel

There is no risk that the current crew are subject to any risk of modern slavery.  

There was a slight linked risk that the vessel procured and built for AMSA’s dedicated use (the Coral Knight) may have included elements of indentured labour. 

There is a slight Linked risk that items of equipment used to supply emergency towage capabilities may be manufactured using elements of indentured labour. 

There is a slight perception risk that crews on vessels which AMSA uses as secondary towage may be subject to situations which are deceptive in nature, and may appear akin to servitude.

AMSA has generic controls in place, and conducts regular audits and reviews on major contracts.

Contractors for the
construction and
maintenance of AtoN

There is no risk that the employees of AMSA primary contractor could be working under modern slavery conditions. 

There is a remote linked risk that third party contractors may be subjected to modern slavery. 

AMSA has generic controls in place, and conducts regular audits and reviews on major contracts.

The primary contractor is required to be certified to Quality, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety Standards.

Labour hire for call centre
ICT and other services

There is no risk that AMSA’s labour hire agreements could be considered modern slavery. 

AMSA has terms and conditions in place with employment agencies.

These agencies must protect the rights of their employees, including labour hire staff. 

Other contracts

There is a remote risk that that AMSA contributes to modern slavery practices through its engagement of suppliers to deliver products and services through agreed contractual arrangements.

AMSA engages suppliers through strict procurement activities compliant with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules, including strong adherence to probity principles.

Contracted suppliers are required to comply with any laws, statutes, regulations, by-laws, ordinances or subordinate legislation. 

Provision of IT equipment
and supplies

There is a moderate risk that the original manufacture of IT equipment may use indentured labour, or labour which is unable to freely leave their position, or are in debt bondage.

There is a moderate industry risk that the original source material to manufacture IT equipment used indentured labour, or labour which is unable to freely leave their position, or are in debt bondage - and may include child labour. 

The industry which is used to manufacture computer components has a history or indentured labour and servitude which AMSA is aware of.

AMSA itself has little control over the risk presented by mining supply chains supporting IT manufacture.

Ethical procurement at a whole of Government level is required to change industry behaviour

Corporate Clothing

There is a slight risk that this contract may contribute to modern slavery practices through arrangements with corporate clothing suppliers who may focus on minimising production costs by using indentured labour, debt bondage or servitude.

The industry which manufactures clothing is known to have a history of indentured labour and servitude.

AMSA has little control, but will continue to work with suppliers to ensure that clothing is sourced from socially responsible manufacturers.

Provision of office services
and supplies, such as cleaning and office
furniture

There is a remote risk that suppliers of cleaning services may contribute to modern slavery practices through its recruitment practices and/or the use of trafficked personnel.

There is a slight risk that AMSA uses items manufactured outside Australia that may include exploitation of people and resources.

AMSA’s contracting processes include compliance with Australian legislation with
employee rights.

We acknowledge our responsibility for the welfare of those working in our offices as a person undertaking business under the WHS Act.

AMSA’s primary supplier has committed to corporate responsibility, which includes being socially responsible and working with their suppliers to meet a supplier code of conduct and ethical sourcing requirements. 

Material suppliers to contractors for construction of AtoNs

There is a moderate risk that suppliers of AtoN materials which require unique or difficult to obtain materials are subject to modern slavery practices - specifically rare minerals mining.

The company mining and manufacture of materials is not required to be disclosed on AMSA contracts, and AMSA practically has no control over the contractors’ procurement processes. 

AMSA’s current contracts contain clauses to encourage compliance with relevant Australian legislation.

AMSA will continue to work with suppliers to ensure, where possible, materials are sourced ethically and meet corporate social requirements in relation to modern slavery. 

MLC and SOLAS requirements

Many risks associated with the international sector of the maritime industry are addressed through the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (the Convention) which identifies a basic standard and regulations for the working and living conditions of seafarers. Australia is a signatory to the Convention. 

The Convention was developed under the International Labour Organization, and came into force internationally on 20 August 2013. The
Convention consolidates existing labour conventions relating to the rights, freedoms, safety and introduces modern standards for the
employment and living conditions of seafarers at sea. 

AMSA has a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman in relation to the Convention. The
MOU establishes a system of shared responsibilities, including maritime inspections and compliance actions as required by the
Convention, ensuring that vessels in Australian waters are provided with similar conditions to Australian crewed Domestic vessels. 

AMSA has implemented and is responsible for regulating the Convention through the Navigation Act 2012 and associated delegated legislation such as Marine Order 11 (Living and working conditions on vessels) 2015 (Marine Order 11).

AMSA is satisfied that, through its operations under the Convention and the Fair Work Act, the potential risk to cause, contribute to or be directly linked to modern slavery in the maritime workforce is very low.

Sector and industry risks 

Certain sectors and industries may have high modern slavery risks because of their characteristics, products and processes.

• Use of unskilled, temporary or seasonal labour. 
• Use of short-term contracts and outsourcing. 
• Use of foreign workers or temporary or unskilled labour to carry out functions which are not immediately visible because the work is undertaken at night time or in remote locations, such as security or cleaning. 
• Use of child labour in hazardous conditions, such as underground, with dangerous machinery or tools, in unhealthy environments (including where they are exposed to physical or sexual abuse), or for long hours. 
• Recruitment strategies by suppliers, their agents or labour hire agencies target specific individuals and groups from marginalised or disadvantaged communities.
• Direct engagement with children, including through orphanage tourism and other forms of ‘voluntarism’ (including through companies’ social investment and corporate social responsibility programs).

Product and services risks 

Certain products and services may have high modern slavery risks because of the way they are produced, provided or used.

• Cost requirements or delivery timeframes might require suppliers to engage in excessive working hours, make cost savings on labour hire or rapidly increase workforce size.
• The development of the product or delivery of the services has been reported as involving labour exploitation by international organisations or Non-Government Organisations (NGO). 
• Children are often used in the development of the product or delivery of the service, such as carpet weaving. 
• The product or components of the product are made in countries where there is a high risk of labour exploitation reported by international organisations or NGOs. 
• The services are provided in countries where there is a high risk of labour exploitation reported by international organisations or NGOs. 
• The product is made from materials or using services reported to involve a high risk of labour exploitation by international organisations or NGOs.

Geographic risks 

Some countries may have higher risks of modern slavery, including due to poor governance, weak rule of law, conflict, migration flows and socio economic factors like poverty. A number of organisations issue public reports evaluating governance, corruption and rule of law in countries around the world. You can use these reports to identify higher risk countries for modern slavery.

• The country has not ratified international conventions relevant to modern slavery, such as: the International Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery (1926); ILO Convention (No. 29) concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour (1930); the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Practices similar to Slavery (1956); the Protocol to Supress, Prevent and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (2000); ILO Convention (No. 182) concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (1999). 
• The country is reported to have a high prevalence of modern slavery or labour rights violations, other human rights violations and/or child labour by international organisations or NGOs.
• The country has inadequate protections for workers, including no or weak capacity to effectively monitor workplace standards and enforce compliance with national standards. Law enforcement agencies are reported to be hostile to workers in at risk industries. 
• The country forces parts of the population to work for development purposes, for example to assist in construction or agriculture.
• The country is reported to have weak rule of law by international organisations or NGOs, including due to corruption, conflict and/or political instability. 
• The country has a high prevalence of people who are vulnerable to exploitation because they are impoverished, displaced or subject to severe discrimination

Entity risks 

Some entities may have particular modern slavery risks because they have poor
governance structures, a record of treating workers poorly or a track record of human rights violations.

Entity has previously been reported as noncompliant with human rights or labour standards, including by media or NGO sources.

• Entity’s procurement and sourcing processes appear poorly managed or inefficient.
• Entity has complex or opaque supply chains.
• Workers appear to have little information about workplace entitlements and protections and there is a general lack of information about workplace standards. 
• Audit results for the entity appear unreliable or conflict with other sources of information about the supplier, such as NGO reports. 
• Staff recruitment costs by labour hire companies or recruiters are not covered by the company, meaning that recruitment expenses such as travel may be improperly imposed on workers. 
• Entity provides residential care for children overseas.

Indicators of modern slavery 

A combination of these signs may indicate a person is in a situation of modern slavery and that further investigation and assessment is required.

You should also consider that some groups may be at higher risk of being impacted by modern slavery, such as women and migrant workers. 

For example, women can be disproportionately impacted by modern slavery due to structural disadvantages, including lack of access to education.

The suspected victim or victims are:

• living at the workplace, or another place owned/controlled by their employer
• underpaid or not paid at all
• required to work excessive hours
• confined or isolated in the workplace or only leave at odd times
• guarded at work or in their accommodation
• isolated in remote locations that are difficult to access and/or restricted from contacting or interacting with people outside the workplace (for example, their phones are confiscated or they are supervised when in public)
• managed by an intermediary or third party who ‘holds’ or ‘invests’ their money for them
• subject to different or less favourable working conditions than other workers because of their country of origin, gender or other factors
• unable to terminate their employment at any time 
• appear to be servicing a debt to an employer or a third party (such as a recruitment agent) 
• appear to be subjected to, or threatened with, violence, emotional, sexual, verbal or physical abuse and/or degrading treatment in connection with their employment 
• appear to be subjected to intimidation, such as threats to their family or close relations in connection with their employment
• appear to have false travel or personal documents and/or are not allowed access to these documents because they are being held by an employer or third party
• appear to have been deceived about the conditions of their employment 
• are not provided with contracts in a language and format that they can easily understand
• are not informed of, or do not appear able to understand the terms and conditions of their employment 
• are not provided with any protective equipment, training or means to refuse to participate in dangerous work practices, or refuse to handle known toxic materials or hazards 
• do not have permission to work because they are from another country or appear to be working in breach of visa requirements