Australian Government: Attorney-General's Department
Australian Government: Attorney-General's DepartmentAchieving a Just and Secure Society

People Trafficking

2008 Guidelines for NGOs working with trafficked people

Trafficking in persons is a serious crime. Many countries are affected by it in some way. Australia is a destination country for trafficking victims, but the number of trafficking victims in Australia remains low due to Australia’s strong border control and geographic isolation. Nonetheless, the Government is committed to combating trafficking in all its forms and to ensuring that Australia’s anti-trafficking strategy remains relevant and responsive to emerging trends and issues.

People trafficking is a complex, multi-faceted crime with no single solution. The Commonwealth’s whole-of-government strategy to combat trafficking in persons was established in 2003, with initial funding of $20 million over four years. A further $38.3 million over four years was provided in 2007-08, including $26.3 million for new initiatives. The measures implemented address the full trafficking cycle, from recruitment to reintegration, and give equal weight to the critical areas of prevention, detection and investigation, prosecution and victim support.

Australia’s response

Trafficking is a global problem and Australia acknowledges the need to address the issue not only domestically but also internationally.

Internationally

Australia has ratified the UN convention against Transnational Organised Crime Convention (UNTOC) and its Trafficking Protocol. Australia also actively engages with other countries in our region and beyond in the fight against people trafficking and participates actively in international forums such as the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and the UNTOC Conference of Parties to better address and prevent trafficking.

Regionally

Australia also takes a collaborative approach to working with other countries through forums such as the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime, which it co-chairs with Indonesia. Australia also supports a number of aid projects in the Asia region including the Asia Regional Co-operation to Prevent People Trafficking Project (ARTIP) which can be found on the AusAID website.

Domestically

Within Australia, the Federal Government takes a strong leadership role on the issue of people trafficking. The Government is committed to an open and transparent partnership with non-government organisations and industry bodies that work on people trafficking. The Minister for Home Affairs has established the National Roundtable on People Trafficking, which ensures that Government remains responsive to emerging trends in people trafficking in Australia. The Attorney-General's Department chairs an Interdepartmental Committee (IDC), comprising several Government agencies which are responsible for coordinating the Government’s efforts to combat people trafficking.

Members of the Interdepartmental Committee on People Trafficking are:

Where to from here?

Building stronger partnerships

In June 2008, the Minister for Home Affairs, the Hon Bob Debus MP, supported by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship and the Minister for the Status of Women, established and convened the National Roundtable on People Trafficking. The Roundtable brought together several government agencies across a number of ministerial portfolios with relevant non-government organisations and industry bodies. The Roundtable provides an ongoing mechanism for consulting on, testing and developing government policy on people trafficking issues. A media release can be found through this link, Government Consults on People Trafficking, which highlights the Minister for Home Affairs’ commitment to combating trafficking.

Guidelines for NGOs working with trafficked people

The Working Group of the National Roundtable on People Trafficking has developed guidelines to assist NGOs to provide services for trafficked people in a way that is safe, ethical and respects the rights of trafficked people.