Australia needs a better modern slavery act and other countries should be encouraged to improve their legislation to help end such abhorrent crimes, Foreign Minister Penny Wong says.
Senator Wong hosted the eighth ministerial conference of the Bali Process in Adelaide on Friday which brought together business and government representatives to tackle people smuggling, human trafficking, slavery and related crimes.
She said much had been achieved since the last gathering but it remained sobering that more people were living or working in slavery today than in 2016.
"The important point to recall is that no country can tackle these issues alone. This discussion is about partnership," the minister told reporters.
"The main thing we can do is strengthen our domestic legislation. We need a better modern slavery act in Australia than we have.
"I'd encourage other countries to improve their domestic legislation, particularly developed countries where you can use the power of business and consumers to try and ensure we create disincentives for this sort of activity."
Senator Wong said she was shocked when she first learned of the extent of the problem and believed most other Australians would be too.
She said that should put a greater onus on all people to make sure supply chains were clean and free of slavery.
"Nobody wants to make money out of slavery and no-one wants to enable profit from it by what we purchase," she said.
"That means, as consumers, we have to know that what we're buying is free from that taint, business needs to know that their supply chains are free of that taint and government needs to know that the regulations that we put in place will enable that to occur."
Mining magnate Andrew Forrest, who took part in the business forum, said there was uncommon unity among the business community recognising that all forms of modern slavery were psychopathic.
Dr Forrest said it was clear where countries or companies used forced labour and over time those nations and companies would go backwards.
"Those who free their people in every way, from bonded labour, forced marriage, child marriage, inequality of education ... those countries excel economically," he said.
"There is no precedent to object to that economic fact."
Dr Forrest said the business community was keen to work closely with every government to level the playing field and bring in modern slavery acts.
He said the region the Bali Process spoke for was the key, accounting for 70 per cent of the world's slaves, "incarcerated without bars, but true incarceration".
