Understanding New Zealand’s Modern Slavery Bill: Local and Global Implications

New Zealand’s proposed Modern Slavery Bill has bipartisan support and is progressing through Parliament following a successful first reading. This session will provide a practical overview of the Bill and its implications for businesses with operations or customers connected to New Zealand. 

The proposed regime is broadly aligned with the Australian framework but introduces more prescriptive reporting obligations and potential penalties for non-compliance, including personal liability for directors and those involved in preparing statements that are misleading or where a statement is not filed or made available. 

Importantly, the reporting obligation sits with both the New Zealand entity and its ultimate parent company in relation to the entire group, regardless of where that parent is domiciled. 

Which organisations will this be relevant for? 

The obligation to report will apply to the NZ entity and its ultimate parent, regardless of where it is domiciled, where the entity carrying on business in NZ has consolidated revenue of NZD 100 million / USD 56 million / GBP 42 million / EUR 50 million / AUD 80 million or more. In addition to New Zealand based entities, the session will have particular references for: 

• All banks and insurers operating in New Zealand via a branch mechanism 

• Organisations doing business with large businesses in New Zealand 

• Investors in New Zealand 

Who should join? 

This session will be particularly relevant for the following groups: 

• Legal and compliance 

• ESG and sustainability 

• Risk and internal audit 

• Procurement and supply chain management 

• Corporate governance and company secretariat 

This session will explore: 

• An overview of New Zealand’s proposed Modern Slavery Bill and its bipartisan path through Parliament 

• How the proposed regime compares with Australia’s existing framework, and where it goes further 

• The dual reporting obligation between the NZ entity and its global parent company 

• Personal liability provisions for directors and those preparing modern slavery statements 

• Practical steps organisations should be taking now to prepare for a more formalised compliance regime

Speakers:

• Greg Fleming, Member of Parliament for Maungakiekie, New Zealand Government
• Abigail McGregor, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright Australia
• Grace Do, Special Counsel, Norton Rose Fulbright Australia
• Ian Gallagher, Senior Business Development Manager, Ethixbase360 (Moderator)