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Intelligence Hub · Two-Part Webinar Series
Human Rights Due Diligence
Modern Slavery
CS3D
UFLPA
New Zealand
China
8
Named contributors
5
Key observations
2
Webinar sessions
Executive Summary
Over two months, Ethixbase360 and Norton Rose Fulbright hosted a two-part webinar series on human rights due diligence (HRDD) and modern slavery — first APAC and global developments, then Europe and the United States. Across both sessions: HRDD is no longer a reporting exercise but a risk management discipline with direct legal, operational, and trade consequences.
Five themes emerged: due diligence laws like CS3D go beyond reporting; trade enforcement (EU Forced Labour Regulation, EUDR, UFLPA) is raising the stakes; APAC — led by New Zealand's proposed bill — is a key area of change; China's new instruments create a "dual illegality dilemma"; and effective HRDD requires integration into business operations, not a parallel, reactive process.
Key Statistics
CS3D SCOPE
5,000+ employees and €1.5bn+ turnover — applying from July 2029
UFLPA ENFORCEMENT
~43,000 shipments detained since 2022 — ~57% denied entry
NZ BILL VOTE
Passed first reading 112 votes to 11, with bipartisan support
FORCED LABOUR REG. TIMELINE
30 days to respond to info requests; 9 months for a decision
EU LAW DATES
EUDR: Dec 2026 · Forced Labour Regulation: Dec 2027
Named Insights
1. Human Rights Due Diligence Is Moving Beyond Reporting
"They're now firmly at the centre of global regulatory enforcement and stakeholder expectations."
— Natasha Martin, Director of Product, Ethixbase360
Reporting laws ask companies to describe risks; due diligence laws require identifying, assessing, preventing, mitigating, and remediating impacts — illustrated by the EU's CS3D.
"CS3D retains an obligation on EU member states to ensure that existing routes to civil liability under national law provide for damages in the event of claims by rights holders relating to alleged breaches of CS3D. So in effect, the risk of civil claims against companies, as well as potential regulatory enforcement, remains."
— Stuart Neely, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
"Underlying all of this law are the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and really that should be underpinning everything. The answer — if you're looking at a pure UN Guiding Principles approach — is prioritise where the greatest harm has been or may be caused."
— Abigail McGregor, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright Australia
TakeawayTreat human rights due diligence as a risk management discipline, not a reporting exercise. Build governance and supply chain intelligence proactively, not in response to a detained shipment or inquiry.
2. Trade Enforcement Is Raising the Stakes
The EU Forced Labour Regulation (Dec 2027) covers the entire supply chain with no SME carve-out. The EU Deforestation Regulation (Dec 2026) is verified to the level of individual plots of land.
"When products are commingled or imported together, where even one of the plots is not covered, the entire batch becomes non-compliant."
— Lise Smit, Business and Human Rights Advisor, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
"That inconsistency is really a particular challenge for companies looking to navigate these laws."
— Stuart Neely, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
"The real challenge with UFLPA is that the type of information CBP expects to see to prove goods are not connected to forced labour is not typically the type that a company could really obtain prior to acting — either because its supply chain would not be in a position to provide that information, or frankly just the volume of information needed would be so vast that collecting it in advance for every shipment would be incredibly burdensome."
— William Troutman, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
TakeawayIf you export to or import into the EU, all three laws are likely relevant — CS3D compliance does not guarantee compliance with the other two. In the US, build supply chain documentation before a detention, not after.
3. APAC Is Emerging as a Key Area of Regulatory Change
New Zealand's modern slavery bill passed its first reading 112–11, extending to overseas parent companies and going further than Australia's Act on incident disclosure, supplier training, and director liability.
"Entities with supply chains or operations in New Zealand should start to consider what they should be doing between now and the end of 2027."
— Grace Do, Special Counsel, Norton Rose Fulbright Australia
"It means it's simply not going to be enough to say that I didn't know."
— Grace Do, Special Counsel, Norton Rose Fulbright Australia
TakeawayCheck whether your corporate group structure creates New Zealand reporting obligations now — preparation should begin well before enactment.
4. China Is Creating New Due Diligence Challenges
Two new Chinese regulatory instruments create a framework for countering forced labour compliance obligations imposed by other jurisdictions.
"A number of businesses will find themselves in what is called the dual illegality dilemma, where they're required to undertake specific due diligence in one market, but that due diligence is unlawful in another."
— Abigail McGregor, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright Australia
"Don't stop doing all of your due diligence because of the existence of these laws. There will be ways to manage this. But you need to get advice and work out how real this risk is for your particular organisation."
— Abigail McGregor, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright Australia
TakeawayReview supplier codes of conduct and public commitments for China-specific exposure. Physical audits now require legal review — the obligation doesn't disappear, but the method may need to adapt.
5. Effective Human Rights Due Diligence Requires Integration
"A hallmark of an appropriate approach would be one which is not reactive. What companies would be looking to demonstrate would be clear governance, allocation of responsibility, oversight at appropriate committee or board level, documented information-gathering processes."
— Stuart Neely, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
"There is a before time where companies perhaps wear the costume of modern slavery due diligence. They have policies and procedures that are stated, they might have headcount dedicated to this issue, but as long as nothing has happened, they don't really know if any of those things work."
— William Troutman, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
"These concepts are the concepts that you should be using in terms of determining where to focus your work. And the flip side of that is… the idea that that can be tested."
— Lise Smit, Business and Human Rights Advisor, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
TakeawayDue diligence needs to be embedded in operations, not parallel to them. Severity and likelihood — not jurisdictional proximity — should determine where resources go.
Key Concepts
- CS3D (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive)
- EU law applying from July 2029 to companies with 5,000+ employees and €1.5bn+ turnover, requiring risk-based human rights and environmental due diligence across the upstream supply chain.
- EU Forced Labour Regulation
- Applying from December 2027, prohibits products made with forced labour from being placed on, imported into, or exported from the EU — no SME carve-out.
- EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)
- Applying from December 2026, requires compliance with local labour and human rights laws verified to the level of individual plots of land for cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, and wood.
- UFLPA (Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act)
- US law in effect since 2022 establishing a rebuttable presumption that goods from or connected to Xinjiang are made with forced labour.
- Dual illegality dilemma
- The situation where a business is required to undertake specific due diligence in one market, but that due diligence is unlawful in another (chiefly China).
- Severity and likelihood
- The core UN Guiding Principles concepts, now embedded in CS3D and CSRD, used to determine where due diligence resources should be focused.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between human rights reporting laws and due diligence laws?
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Reporting laws ask companies to describe their risks and actions. Due diligence laws require companies to identify, assess, prevent, mitigate, and remediate actual and potential impacts — a more substantive, ongoing obligation.
When does the EU's CS3D apply, and to which companies?
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CS3D applies from July 2029 to EU companies with 5,000+ employees and €1.5 billion+ global turnover, or €1.5 billion+ EU turnover for non-EU companies.
How do the EU's three supply chain laws conflict with each other?
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CS3D sets an obligation of means — risk-based due diligence to a reasonable standard — while the EU Forced Labour Regulation and EUDR set outcome-based prohibitions. Compliance with CS3D does not guarantee that products will clear the other two.
How is the US enforcing forced labour rules under UFLPA?
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Since UFLPA took effect in 2022, CBP has detained nearly 43,000 shipments, with approximately 57% denied entry. Electronics and metals now make up a significant majority of detentions, and Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand account for a higher value of targeted shipments than China itself.
How does New Zealand's proposed modern slavery bill go further than Australia's?
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It requires disclosure of specific incidents, extends reporting to training of supplier employees rather than just the reporting entity's own workforce, and introduces financial penalties and personal liability for directors and executives who permit or fail to prevent non-compliant reporting.
What is the "dual illegality dilemma" facing companies with China supply chains?
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It refers to businesses being required to undertake specific due diligence in one market, while that same due diligence is unlawful under Chinese regulatory instruments — meaning physical audits in China may, without specific legal advice, contravene the law.
Key Takeaways & Actions
- ✓Assess jurisdictional exposure — understand both current obligations and those arriving over the next two to three years.
- ✓Map your corporate group — regulatory reach increasingly extends through ownership and control, not just direct operations.
- ✓Look beyond Tier 1 suppliers — risk-based supply chain visibility is becoming the expected standard.
- ✓Integrate due diligence into business operations — procurement decisions, supply chain changes, and ESG processes need to be connected.
- ✓Seek specific advice on China — the dual illegality dilemma requires legal review, not a blanket policy response.
- ✓Document decisions and actions — due diligence evidence is both a regulatory compliance record and a trade compliance asset.
Citation-Ready Snippets
↗ Cite this finding
"It means it's simply not going to be enough to say that I didn't know." — Grace Do, Special Counsel, Norton Rose Fulbright Australia, on New Zealand's proposed modern slavery bill.
Source: ethixbase360.com/what-compliance-teams-need-to-know-human-rights-due-diligence-and-modern-slavery-in-2026/
↗ Cite this finding
Since the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act took effect in 2022, CBP has detained nearly 43,000 shipments, with approximately 57% denied entry.
Source: ethixbase360.com/what-compliance-teams-need-to-know-human-rights-due-diligence-and-modern-slavery-in-2026/
↗ Cite this finding
"A number of businesses will find themselves in what is called the dual illegality dilemma, where they're required to undertake specific due diligence in one market, but that due diligence is unlawful in another." — Abigail McGregor, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright Australia.
Source: ethixbase360.com/what-compliance-teams-need-to-know-human-rights-due-diligence-and-modern-slavery-in-2026/
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eBook: "From Disclosure to Enforcement: Modern Slavery and Human Rights Regulation in 2026" (forthcoming) · Webinar: "From Reporting to Defensibility: Modern Slavery Compliance in Australia and New Zealand" (July 29)
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