World Vision joined by 2,500 New Zealanders in calling on Parliament to strengthen the Modern Slavery Bill
"That person sitting on their shared mattress on the ground, working 12 hours a day and getting only a few cents a day, could have very well been me. That immigrant who was promised a better life but got exploited instead could have been my mum, and that shatters my heart. Treat humans like humans, not machines."
They are the words of a young New Zealander, one of nearly 1,000 children who submitted on the Modern Slavery Bill. No jargon. No footnotes. Just the plain, uncomfortable truth about what connects our everyday lives to the lives of people living in modern slavery.
Over 2,500 New Zealanders, including young people aged 10 to 18 from across Aotearoa, added their names and voices to the call for stronger legislation. Together, they called for people to be safe at work, treated with dignity, and paid fairly. Scarlet from Glen Eden Intermediate wrote: "Child labour shouldn't be supported. Modern slavery is horrible and it is not fair."
Karthik from Marina View School wrote: "We deserve to know if the things we buy are made fairly and deserve to be free from exploitation. I don't want my products made by someone who is suffering."
More than 50 million people are living in modern slavery today. 12 million of them are children. They pick the cocoa in our chocolate, stitch the clothes in our wardrobes, and wire the electronics on our desks. Their labour reaches into our homes and our everyday lives, in conditions that businesses operating in New Zealand have, until now, had no legal obligation to address.
That is what this Bill is about. And that is why World Vision submitted on it and presented the voices of thousands of New Zealanders to the Select Committee.
World Vision supports the Modern Slavery Bill
We are proud of the cross-party collaboration that got it to this point, and proud of the movement of New Zealanders whose sustained pressure made that possible. It is the result of five years of advocacy, thousands of emails to MPs, petitions, open letters, and public submissions that kept this issue on the parliamentary agenda.
The Bill is a meaningful step forward. It would require businesses operating in New Zealand to identify and address modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains, bringing greater transparency and accountability to the goods and services connected to our economy.
And yet, in a world where conflict, displacement, and economic instability are pushing more people into situations of vulnerability, we believe New Zealand must go further.
World Vision and thousands of New Zealanders call on Parliament to strengthen the Bill in three ways
1. Action on modern slavery risks
World Vision's submission calls on Parliament to include mandatory modern slavery due diligence requirements in the final legislation. This means businesses must actively look for, prevent, and respond to modern slavery risks within their operations and supply chains, not just transparently disclose them.
The direction of international regulation is increasingly toward mandatory due diligence. The European Union, Germany, France, Norway, and others are already moving in this direction. New Zealand has the opportunity to create a framework that is strong from the outset, rather than one that requires reform later.
2. Identification of high-risk sectors and supply chains
World Vision's Risky Goods research found that New Zealand households spent an estimated $77 per week on products at high risk of forced labour. Our Risky Business research showed that modern slavery risk is not necessarily proportional to company size. Small businesses were often as likely as medium or large businesses to source goods at high risk of modern slavery, and most of them lack knowledge about where their products are being made, the people involved, and the conditions they are working in.
This is why our submission calls for a dedicated government function to identify high-risk sectors and supply chains, and to provide businesses with the practical tools and guidance they need to take meaningful action on the modern slavery risks they find in their operations and supply chains.
3. Stronger support for victim-survivors
And then there is the question that sits at the heart of all of this: who is this law actually for? It is for the victim-survivors of modern slavery. Their stories, their expertise, and their voices must be at the centre of how this law is designed and how it operates. A law that treats modern slavery as a corporate reporting issue, rather than a serious human rights violation, misses the point entirely.
World Vision is calling on Parliament to ensure victim-survivors and people with lived experience are genuinely embedded in how the Modern Slavery framework is implemented, overseen, and reviewed. That means referral systems, victim support pathways, and operational guidance that are trauma-informed, survivor-led, and culturally appropriate. It also means stronger coordination across government and better policy coherence so that people affected by modern slavery can actually access the protection, justice, and support they need, without falling through the cracks.
Because the success of modern slavery legislation should ultimately be measured by whether it reduces exploitation and improves outcomes for people who have experienced harm.
What happens now?
The Select Committee will work through every submission received, including the thousands submitted through World Vision's campaign, before recommending changes to the Bill. There are still several stages before it becomes law. World Vision will continue to advocate for stronger law at every stage. To every New Zealander who submitted, who signed a petition, who shared this campaign: thank you. You showed that people, including children, can help shape the laws of this country.
You can read the full submission here.
They are the words of a young New Zealander, one of nearly 1,000 children who submitted on the Modern Slavery Bill. No jargon. No footnotes. Just the plain, uncomfortable truth about what connects our everyday lives to the lives of people living in modern slavery.
Over 2,500 New Zealanders, including young people aged 10 to 18 from across Aotearoa, added their names and voices to the call for stronger legislation. Together, they called for people to be safe at work, treated with dignity, and paid fairly. Scarlet from Glen Eden Intermediate wrote: "Child labour shouldn't be supported. Modern slavery is horrible and it is not fair."
Karthik from Marina View School wrote: "We deserve to know if the things we buy are made fairly and deserve to be free from exploitation. I don't want my products made by someone who is suffering."
More than 50 million people are living in modern slavery today. 12 million of them are children. They pick the cocoa in our chocolate, stitch the clothes in our wardrobes, and wire the electronics on our desks. Their labour reaches into our homes and our everyday lives, in conditions that businesses operating in New Zealand have, until now, had no legal obligation to address.
That is what this Bill is about. And that is why World Vision submitted on it and presented the voices of thousands of New Zealanders to the Select Committee.
World Vision supports the Modern Slavery Bill
We are proud of the cross-party collaboration that got it to this point, and proud of the movement of New Zealanders whose sustained pressure made that possible. It is the result of five years of advocacy, thousands of emails to MPs, petitions, open letters, and public submissions that kept this issue on the parliamentary agenda.
The Bill is a meaningful step forward. It would require businesses operating in New Zealand to identify and address modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains, bringing greater transparency and accountability to the goods and services connected to our economy.
And yet, in a world where conflict, displacement, and economic instability are pushing more people into situations of vulnerability, we believe New Zealand must go further.
World Vision and thousands of New Zealanders call on Parliament to strengthen the Bill in three ways
1. Action on modern slavery risks
World Vision's submission calls on Parliament to include mandatory modern slavery due diligence requirements in the final legislation. This means businesses must actively look for, prevent, and respond to modern slavery risks within their operations and supply chains, not just transparently disclose them.
The direction of international regulation is increasingly toward mandatory due diligence. The European Union, Germany, France, Norway, and others are already moving in this direction. New Zealand has the opportunity to create a framework that is strong from the outset, rather than one that requires reform later.
2. Identification of high-risk sectors and supply chains
World Vision's Risky Goods research found that New Zealand households spent an estimated $77 per week on products at high risk of forced labour. Our Risky Business research showed that modern slavery risk is not necessarily proportional to company size. Small businesses were often as likely as medium or large businesses to source goods at high risk of modern slavery, and most of them lack knowledge about where their products are being made, the people involved, and the conditions they are working in.
This is why our submission calls for a dedicated government function to identify high-risk sectors and supply chains, and to provide businesses with the practical tools and guidance they need to take meaningful action on the modern slavery risks they find in their operations and supply chains.
3. Stronger support for victim-survivors
And then there is the question that sits at the heart of all of this: who is this law actually for? It is for the victim-survivors of modern slavery. Their stories, their expertise, and their voices must be at the centre of how this law is designed and how it operates. A law that treats modern slavery as a corporate reporting issue, rather than a serious human rights violation, misses the point entirely.
World Vision is calling on Parliament to ensure victim-survivors and people with lived experience are genuinely embedded in how the Modern Slavery framework is implemented, overseen, and reviewed. That means referral systems, victim support pathways, and operational guidance that are trauma-informed, survivor-led, and culturally appropriate. It also means stronger coordination across government and better policy coherence so that people affected by modern slavery can actually access the protection, justice, and support they need, without falling through the cracks.
Because the success of modern slavery legislation should ultimately be measured by whether it reduces exploitation and improves outcomes for people who have experienced harm.
What happens now?
The Select Committee will work through every submission received, including the thousands submitted through World Vision's campaign, before recommending changes to the Bill. There are still several stages before it becomes law. World Vision will continue to advocate for stronger law at every stage. To every New Zealander who submitted, who signed a petition, who shared this campaign: thank you. You showed that people, including children, can help shape the laws of this country.
You can read the full submission here.