For Immediate Release
Ausbil Investment Management (Ausbil) is pleased to announce that we have become the first investment organisation to sign with Domus 8.7, an anti-slavery remediation charity established to help meet the UN Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 of ending modern slavery by 2030.

“We are pleased to announce the partnership with Domus 8.7 focused on the eradication of modern slavery,” says Mark Knight, Chief Executive Officer of Ausbil. “Modern slavery has long been a key focus of our ESG efforts at Ausbil, and Domus 8.7 brings another step in the practical efforts to end modern slavery and help rehabilitate those impacted.”

Domus 8.7 was inspired by Pope Francis, who was the catalyst for Target 8.7 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which calls for effective measures to end all forms of forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and child labour by 2030.

“Ausbil has been actively engaging companies on modern slavery for many years, firstly in understanding and reporting it, and then in helping identify policies and actions that can be taken to help reduce this risk in supply chains,” says Måns Carlsson, OAM, Head of ESG and Co-Portfolio Manager of the Ausbil Active Sustainable Equity Fund at Ausbil.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals have mandated a target for the eradication of forced labour worldwide by 2030. But data shows the estimated incidence of modern slavery has been rising, not falling. The number of people living and working in modern slavery conditions increased from an estimated 40.3 million in 2016 to 49.6 million in 2021 (ILO/Walk Free/IOM, 2022). This represents a compound annual growth of +4.2% across five years – more than four times the annual world population growth of +1.0% per annum for the same period (World Bank, 2024).

“Modern slavery, as well as other labour rights issues, has been a key focus for multiple field trips I have undertaken for research,” says Carlsson. These primary research field trips have included Hong Kong (2011, 2012), China (2011, 2012, 2016), Bangladesh (2014, 2022), Cambodia (2018, 2019) and Thailand (2019). “Our partnership with Domus 8.7 is a natural evolution in our work in highlighting the need to take real and immediate action on modern slavery wherever we can.”

Ausbil is currently chairing the Human Rights Working Group of RIAA, is on the steering committee of IAST-APAC and has also been on the Experts Advisory Panel on Modern Slavery, assisting the Federal Government in the implementation of the Modern Slavery Act.

“We are delighted to welcome Ausbil as partners with Domus 8.7 in helping achieve the UN SDG goal of eradicating modern slavery by 2030,” says Alison Rahill, Executive Officer and ACAN Program Manager at the Australian Catholic Antislavery Network who administer Domus 8.7 in Australia. “We look forward to actively working with Ausbil on achieving progress on modern slavery.” 
ENDS
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