Australia is leaving its market exposed to goods tied to Uyghur forced labour. As the United States and European Union move to block such goods, countries with weaker import controls risk becoming destination markets for products facing tougher scrutiny elsewhere. For Australia, this risk is not theoretical; it’s happening now. In my report for the Uyghur Human Rights Project, published last month, I found that in 2024, Australia imported about US$4.82 billion (A$6.95 billion) in goods from China from high-risk sectors linked to the forced labour of Uyghurs.
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Since 2017, Chinese authorities have arbitrarily detained large numbers of Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in ‘vocational education and training’ facilities, alongside broader patterns of detention and imprisonment in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. This repression has also extended into the region’s economy through state-directed labour transfer programs and restrictions that make independent supply-chain verification extremely difficult.
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Australia should close this gap by adopting a forced-labour import ban, strengthening customs powers and requiring importers to trace goods in high-risk sectors. Australia should also work with its global trading partners, including the US, through information-sharing on high-risk sectors and importers. Disclosure can reveal exposure to forced labour. It cannot, by itself, stop it. If Australia wants to keep goods made with Uyghur forced labour out of Australian homes, businesses and supply chains, it must give border authorities the tools to act.