15th Ministerial Roundtable

The 15th Ministerial Roundtable on Human Trafficking and Slavery was held in Canberra in early December. The Annual National Roundtable was established as a consultative mechanism between the government and NGOs on trafficking issues.

ACRATH was invited to the first Roundtable in 2008 and has valued the open dialogue that takes place at these meetings. Over its 15 year history the Rountable has made concrete proposals for policy change thus making a difference in the lives of victim/survivors.

The December meeting was convened by Attorney General Mark Dreyfus KC MP, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Assistant Minister for Social Services Justine Elliot MP. It celebrated the achievements of the last 15 years but also recognised there is still work to be done in eliminating human trafficking and slavery and in ensuring victim/survivors are able to access their human rights. A feature of recent Roundtables has been the presence of victim/surivors. They have been able to speak from lived experience and outline the needs of victims as they rebuild their lives.