Former senator and human rights official Chris Evans has been appointed as Australia's first anti-slavery commissioner.
The background: Chris Evans, a Labor senator between 1993 and 2013, will start the role in December and shape reforms laid out in a recent review of modern slavery laws.
The commissioner will work with the government to crack down on exploitative practices such as human trafficking, forced labour and forced marriages.
Other practices include deceptive recruiting and debt bondage.
The key quote: "The Anti-Slavery Commissioner will further strengthen the work undertaken across government, business and civil society to prevent and respond to modern slavery by supporting victims and survivors, raising community awareness, and helping businesses address the risk of modern slavery practices in their operations and supply chains." — Mark Dreyfus, Attorney-General.
What else to know: After his time in parliament, Evans worked as chief executive for the Global Freedom Network, an arm of the human rights group Walk Free which works to tackle modern slavery.
Dreyfus said Evans led a merit-based selection process to win the role, which drew an $8 million commitment over four years in the 2023-24 budget.
The state's anti-slavery commissioner, into the practice after identifying risks for temporary migrant workers in rural and regional NSW.
