About this Statement
This Modern Slavery Statement has been prepared within the requirements of The Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth). The Act requires organisations based or operating in Australia with an annual consolidated revenue of $100 million or more, to report annually on the actions they are taking to avoid or eliminate Modern Slavery in their operations and supply chains.
Although CISaustralia is not defined as a reporting entity under the Australian Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) i.e. CISaustralia is well below Australian Government financial threshold requirements, we are committed to protecting and respecting human rights and have a zero-tolerance approach to slavery and human trafficking in all its forms.
What is Modern Slavery?
The Australian Government describes Modern Slavery as circumstances where offenders use coercion, threats or deception to exploit victims and undermine their freedom. Modern Slavery can occur in every industry and presents itself in many ways including human trafficking, slavery and forced labour.
About CISaustralia
CISaustralia was established in 2013 and has approx. 10-20 staff globally. In addition CISaustralia have approx. 30-50 on-site support staff at any one time and a multitude of additional overseas partners and host representatives. The CISaustralia global staffing complement can vary based on demand, seasonal activities, institutional programming requirements and a range of other variables. Up to and including 2023, CISaustralia has placed over 6,000+ students across the full range of its international (and domestic) programs. CISaustralia offers a diverse and comprehensive range of programs, including overseas study, domestic and virtual placements, volunteer and work integrated learning opportunities, traditional study opportunities, study tours and more. All programs are supported by dedicated, experienced and highly trained staff.
CISaustralia is dedicated to providing university students with innovative, high quality, short-term overseas study, intern and volunteer experiences for academic credit, while promoting global awareness, inspiring personal growth, and developing engaged world citizens.
Our Organisational Values are:
- We hold each other accountable to our company culture
- We value a well-balanced lifestyle and the environment
- We strive to be emotionally intelligent, respectful, genuine and supportive
- We operate with integrity and transparency
- We are socially responsible and committed to positively impacting our communities
- We strive to be progressive leaders
- We listen and we want to continually grow and learn
- We care about each customer and every relationship
- We always assume best intentions
Modern slavery is an issue of global significance and CISaustralia recognises that as a global citizen, it has a role to play in mitigating its impact. In 2023, CISaustralia is committed to further strengthening its due diligence initiatives regarding Modern Slavery.
Supply Chain
CISaustralia’s supply chain is a global one. In 2022 CISaustralia worked with over 80 global suppliers, with over 71% of those suppliers being international partners (as measured by total spend). This includes various partners who assist with the delivery of our short-term overseas study, intern and volunteer programs.
CISaustralia recognises that there may be risks attributable to its current supply chain arising from the operations of its partners or their suppliers. This may include risks that suppliers are not using ethically sourced material or supplies, providing inadequate training or conducting insufficient enquiries into labour being utilised to ensure that Modern Slavery does not take place within their operation.
What action is CISaustralia taking?
Being aware of Modern Slavery means utilising the best quality and ethically sourced resources and services to ensure that we are not contributing to an issue of global harm. CISaustralia is taking the following actions to control, assess and address the risk of Modern Slavery practices in its operations:
- In 2023 CISaustralia is committed to conducting an analysis of its suppliers based on (i) country of supply, (ii) supplier industry and (iii) type of goods of service provided by that supplier. For any supplier identified as a moderate or high risk in any of these three categories, further enquiries will be undertaken.
- Contract documentation and partner agreements will be renewed to include Modern Slavery clauses where a supplier is identified as being moderate or high risk.
- A complaints mechanism will be implemented so that staff (and students via their evaluation) can raise concerns anonymously.
Assessing Effectiveness
CISaustralia continually strives to ensure that it is managing Modern Slavery risks within its organisation. In order to assess the effectiveness of strategies to reduce any risks relating to Modern Slavery, CISaustralia will:
- annually review CISaustralia’s modern slavery risks and processes to address risks;
- include Modern Slavery discussions in our Staff Meeting agenda. Meetings attended by senior management will consider emerging or existing risks within the organisation and how to best address these risks. This includes feedback and updates by substantial overseas partners on all programs to prevent Modern Slavery risks;
- Complete ongoing reviews of all policies and procedures with relevant internal departments to ensure policies and procedures accurately reflect the business’s objectives. This includes reviewing the risk assessment procedures within CISaustralia’s operations;
- promote training and education among staff to ensure they have a good understanding of what modern slavery is and what it entails for their role in the company;
- review all substantial and key suppliers / partners assessed as having an elevated risk of human rights violations.
Related External Links
Approval of the Modern Slavery Statement
This Statement was approved by the Board of CISaustralia and is signed by the Founder and Executive Director of CISaustralia on behalf of CISaustralia.
Brad Dorahy
27 March, 2023
