Case study 6: Financial Services and Modern Slavery: Practical responses to managing risks to people Following the launch of Financial Services and Modern Slavery: Practical Responses to Managing Risks to People in February 2021, the Commission has seen wide-ranging responses and dissemination. The guide has been disseminated by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA), the Australian Banking Association (ABA), the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions, and the Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking Initiative (FAST). The Commission has presented the guide at a range of conferences and webinars targeted at risk, compliance, audit, legal and financial services professionals. Notably, the guide was nominated for an RIAA ESG Research Australia Award. The Commission has also partnered with the Cleaning Accountability Framework (CAF) to tackle modern slavery and labour exploitation in the cleaning industry. Under the partnership, the Commission will provide expert human rights input into CAF’s approach to managing modern slavery risks, and the development of a resource for migrant workers. Leading by example As a small, Commonwealth Corporate Entity, the Commission is not required to report under the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth). However, in this period, the Commission has continued under its ‘Leading by example’ project to take steps to identify and address key risk areas for modern slavery in our own supply chains. The Commission’s work in this space not only reflects our organisational values, but also aligns with the Commonwealth Government’s efforts to respond to modern slavery risks in government procurement. Progress indicator 3.24 Instances of partners: • increased knowledge and application of human rights frameworks, principles, and practices to advance human rights reform • practice/policy reform relating to human rights principles, which are reviewed or developed as a result of technical cooperation activities. International Programs The Commission is funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to conduct human rights capacity-building programs in the Asian region. Over the past year, activities were delivered online due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions. 68 Australian Human Rights Commission Annual Report 2020–2021