Australia’s National 
Science Agency

Modern Slavery 
Statement

30 June 2020



Contents

1 Introduction...........................................................................................................................................3

2 Our organisation..................................................................................................................................4

2.1 Structure...................................................................................................................................................................4

2.2 Values .......................................................................................................................................................................5

2.3 Code of conduct.......................................................................................................................................................5

3 Procurement..........................................................................................................................................6 

3.1 Risk management in procurement .........................................................................................................................6

3.2 Collaboration and engagement .............................................................................................................................7

3.3 Risk assessment of current supply chain ...............................................................................................................7

4 Future commitments.........................................................................................................................8

Copyright 

© Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research 
Organisation 2021. To the extent permitted by law, all rights 
are reserved, and no part of this publication covered by 
copyright may be reproduced or copied in any form or by 
any means except with the written permission of CSIRO.



1 Introduction

This statement sets out the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research 
Organisation’s (CSIRO)’s actions to meet its reporting obligations under the Modern 
Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) (the Act). The Act requires entities based, or operating in 
Australia, which have an annual consolidated revenue equal to or greater than $100 
million, to report annually on the risks of modern slavery in their operations and 
supply chains, and actions to manage, lessen, and where possible remove those risks. 

CSIRO acknowledges that it has a responsibility under the Act to take a 
comprehensive approach to reducing the level of slavery and human trafficking. 
As part of this statement, CSIRO is absolutely committed to the prevention 
of slavery and human trafficking in all of our activities, and to ensuring 
that our supply chains are free from slavery and human trafficking.

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2 Our organisation

CSIRO is Australia’s national science research agency. At CSIRO, we solve the 
greatest challenges using innovative science and technology. We do this by 
using science to solve real issues to unlock a better future for our community, 
our economy, our planet. 

Our purpose 

Solving the greatest challenges through 
innovative science and technology.

Our vision

Australia’s innovation catalyst, collaborating to 
boost Australia’s innovation performance.

Objectives

For over 100 years, CSIRO has been the mission-led 
national science agency, collaborating across the 
innovation system. These primary objectives from our 
Corporate Plan help us to deliver on our purpose:

• Conduct and encourage the uptake of 
world-class scientific research.
• Mobilise and develop the best talent, 
for the benefit of Australia.
• Manage national research infrastructure for the nation.
• Ensure the sustainability of CSIRO. 


2.1 Structure

CSIRO is a Corporate Commonwealth Entity which has 
a number of subsidiary entities that contribute to the 
delivery of CSIRO’s purpose, vision and objectives. 
The subsidiaries of CSIRO are the Science and Industry 
Endowment Fund (SIEF), the CSIRO Chile Research 
Fundación (Fundación), National ICT Australia (NICTA), 
the Innovation Fund and the US Office. All subsidiary 
entities are assessed for the purposes of this statement.

Subsidiary entities of CSIRO follow CSIRO Policies, 
Procedures and Standards, where applicable. CSIRO 
business units and subsidiary entities are consulted 
in collating information for the preparation of the 
CSIRO Modern Slavery Statement where required.

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2.2 Values

People first 

Our first priority is the safety and wellbeing of our 
people. We believe in, and respect, the power of 
diverse perspectives. We seek out and learn from our 
differences. We do our very best to get all this right.

Further together 

We achieve more together than we ever could 
alone. We listen and collaborate, in teams, across 
disciplines, across boundaries. We embrace ambiguity 
and use discussion and persistence to generate 
unique solutions to complex problems. 

Making it real 

We do science with real impact. We thrive when 
taking on the big challenges facing the world. 
We take educated risks and defy convention. We celebrate 
successes and failures and leverage them to learn as 
we strive to be the force for positive change. 

Trusted 

We’re driven by purpose but remain objective. 
We fight misinformation with facts. We earn trust 
everywhere through everything we do. We trust each 
other and we hold each other accountable. Together 
our actions drive Australia’s trust in CSIRO.

2.3 Code of conduct

Australia expects CSIRO to conduct its 
activities ethically and with integrity.

This expectation demands that we:

• comply with all applicable laws, regulations 
and Australian Government policies;
• maintain high standards of scientific, 
professional and business practice;
• be an impartial, authoritative and respected source of 
independent information and advice on science for the 
community and government, a trusted advisor; and
• conduct our affairs in a way which enhances 
the reputation of CSIRO and Australia.


Our conduct as an organisation is guided by our 
commitment to always act in the national interest.

Specifically, we will:

• provide leadership in Australia’s innovation system 
and be consultative in determining our priorities;
• ensure our scientific, commercial and management 
decisions are well informed, transparent 
and able to withstand public scrutiny;
• subject our science to robust peer review and be open 
about areas of uncertainty and gaps in our knowledge;
• manage and use the resources entrusted to us 
responsibly and in a manner that is efficient, 
effective, economical and ethical and promotes 
the financial sustainability of CSIRO;
• be open about our scientific, commercial, 
financial and general performance, whilst 
recognising confidentiality requirements; and
• be accountable for our actions.


The CSIRO Code of conduct sets out the standard of 
behaviour expected of CSIRO and everyone working 
in CSIRO. The CSIRO Code of conduct reflects our legal 
obligations and supports CSIRO’s policies. CSIRO is an 
Australian Government corporate entity and must comply 
with all relevant laws, regulations, Ministerial directions 
and Australian Government policy. The Code of conduct 
is consistent with the functions of CSIRO as set out in the 
Science and Industry Research Act 1949 and the general 
duties of officials as set out in the Public Governance, 
Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA).

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3 Procurement

The PGPA requires CSIRO as a Corporate Commonwealth Entity to have regard to 
the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs) when engaged in duties related to 
the Procurement of goods or services and Construction Services. The CPRs are 
the keystone of the Government’s procurement policy framework and reflect the 
Australian Government’s commitment to sustainable procurement practices as well as 
emphasising the importance of paying suppliers on time, particularly small businesses. 

3.1 Risk management 
in procurement

Risk is inherent in all procurement activities. A risk 
assessment is necessary to identify and reduce 
potential risks that could damage the interests 
of CSIRO or the success of the procurement.

Potential risks to the proposed procurements 
which are identified and considered throughout 
the procurement process include:

a. Potential for Modern Slavery in the market/
industry, such as human trafficking, servitude, 
forced labour, debt bondage and child labour.
b. risks that may impact the process timeframes 
or, risks that the timeframes may impact 
on the business/project outcomes.
c. risks associated with COVID-19, such as 
vulnerability of workers and supply chains to 
modern slavery and potential exploitation.
d. Risks that have dependencies with business 
processes and/or project requirements that 
may impact on the procurement activity.
e. Risks that there is insufficient market 
maturity and/or competitiveness.
f. Risks associated with potential collusive bidding.
g. Risks imposed by source constraints, 
where no local market exists.


The CSIRO Risk Standard, Risk Procedure and Risk 
Guidelines (Risk Management Framework) provide further 
details regarding the identification and management 
of risks. It is a mandatory requirement to apply CSIRO’s 
Risk Management Framework for the identification, 
assessment and treatment of risks for all procurements. 
Modern Slavery risks form a critical part of the assessment 
of risks in relation to all procurement activities, and 
through the evaluation process CSIRO is able to assess the 
effectiveness of our procurement controls on this issue.

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3.2 Collaboration and engagement

CSIRO Strategic Procurement work with the Department 
of Finance Senior Procurement Officer Reference Group 
(SPORG) and various other Commonwealth Government 
agencies to ensure we are kept up to date on matters 
relating to the combat of Modern Slavery and undertake 
procurement activities in accordance with best practise. 

3.3 Risk assessment of 
current supply chain

Analysis of current contracts awarded via an approach 
to market (486 as at 1 January 2020), shows the point 
of direct supply of CSIRO’s supply chain for goods 
and services provided consisted of 92 per cent of 
Australian supply origins. The remaining 8 per cent 
of international suppliers is sourced from low-risk 
countries, as defined by the Global Slavery index.

3.3.1 Improvements to 
procurement procedures

While CSIRO have assessed the Modern Slavery risk within 
their supply chains as low, CSIRO has implemented a 
number of improvements to its procurement procedures 
to minimise this risk. This includes the following:

• CSIRO Tendering Terms and Conditions 
have been updated in our templates to 
include in Tender Documentation:
– Definition of Modern Slavery terms
– Links to the Commonwealth Modern Slavery 
Act 2018 and compliance requirements
– Mandatory Criteria to ensure compliance with the 
Act and the Commonwealth Procurement Rules, 
for example requirement for suppliers to provide 
a Statement of Tax Record where applicable.
– Additional clauses related to Supply Chain integrity



• CSIRO Statement of Requirements have been 
updated to include sustainable procurement and 
supply chain integrity criteria related to the specific 
procurement category and potential risks.
• CSIRO Tender Response Schedules include provisions 
for suppliers to explain their supply chains and provide 
details of any policies or procedures they have in place to 
manage compliance with the Act. Suppliers are required 
to provide specific information in relation to high risk 
modern slavery categories and locations, which includes:
– details of location of manufacture of 
principal components of goods or services 
if purchased outside Australia
– providing the organisations purchasing codes 
of practice and human rights policies, if any
– providing details of what actions their organisation 
undertakes to combat modern slavery
– confirmation that the Supplier is not aware 
of any exploitation in their supply chain. 



• CSIRO Contracts have been amended to include 
legislative requirements and additional clauses related 
to combatting risks related to Modern Slavery.
• CSIRO Evaluations include specific risks 
associated with Modern Slavery. 


CSIRO’s policy is to only engage with suppliers who 
promote the highest standards of ethical behaviour 
which align to CSIRO’s core values. The evaluation 
and selection of suppliers takes into consideration 
potential risks associated with Modern Slavery.



4 Future commitments

Over the next year, our focus will be on:

• Embedding changes to procurement procedures, 
processes and standards and amend as required 
to promote continuous improvements.
• Develop measures to assess the effectiveness 
of actions and update as required
• Assessment of our third party arrangements 
contained within revenue contracts.
• Training and awareness of Modern Slavery 
Act 2018 (Cth) including our responsibilities 
and requirements to comply with the Act 
across all of our activities within CSIRO.
• Develop a CSIRO Corporate Social 
Responsibility Statement.


This statement is made pursuant to section 13 of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) and constitutes the Modern Slavery 
Statement of the CSIRO and its subsidiary entities for the financial year ended 30 June 2020. 

This statement was approved by the CSIRO Board on 11 February 2021.

Mr David Thodey AO
Board Chairman
11 February 2021

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As Australia’s national science 
agency and innovation catalyst, 
CSIRO is solving the greatest 
challenges through innovative 
science and technology.

CSIRO. Unlocking a better future 
for everyone.

Contact

1300 363 400 
csiro.au/contact
csiro.au

For further information

CSIRO Finance
procurement@csiro.au