SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
Below are all Australian news items from all ESG Snapshot issues that are relevant to SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), listed with most recent items appearing first.
Week ending 24 May 2026
SDG 8 activity this week centred on weaker labour conditions, technology-driven workforce change and rising expectations for decent work in supply chains. Australia’s labour market showed signs of slack as unemployment rose and jobs contracted, while AI and automation are reshaping governance expectations for boards and large institutions. At the same time, the EU forced labour ban is turning labour rights into a trade and market-access issue. The strongest signal is that decent work is becoming a core business risk: employment quality, workforce transition, human rights due diligence and productivity pressures are now tightly linked. Proof points
• Labour market: Australian unemployment rose to 4.5% as jobs contracted by around 19,000, signalling faster-than-expected labour market slack.
• Forced labour: The EU forced labour ban will allow authorities to block imports, withdraw products and halt exports where forced labour is detected.
• Workforce transition: Major automakers have cut more than 20,000 salaried roles since 2022 while increasing AI hiring.
Week ending 17 May 2026
This week’s SDG 8 signals matter for business because growth is being tested by productivity, workforce affordability and investment confidence. Budget commentary focused on fiscal discipline, tax reform, R&D incentives and productivity rather than headline spending, while the Productivity Commission inquiry showed that regulatory barriers remain a practical constraint on business dynamism. Workforce conditions are also central: housing, fuel and cost-of-living pressures affect recruitment, retention, wage expectations and consumer demand. Investment signals were mixed, with advanced manufacturing and innovation receiving policy support, while clean-tech capital remained sensitive to policy uncertainty and execution risk. Circular economy analysis added another growth lens by treating waste, underused assets and food loss as avoidable value leakage. For business, the key question is whether growth plans are resilient to weaker productivity, workforce affordability pressure, regulatory friction, policy uncertainty and tighter capital allocation.
Issue 90, 5 May 2025
Transcript is now available from a 30 April hearing conducted by a parliamentary committee inquiry into modern slavery risks experienced by temporary migrant workers in rural and regional NSW.
Witnesses included the NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner, the Australian Anti-slavery Commissioner, and the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery.
Issue 85, 24 March 2025
The NSW government has tabled its response to a committee review of the Modern Slavery Act.
For the most part it has rejected the committee's recommendations, including the recommendations to give the state's Anti-Slavery Commissioner greater information-gathering and sanctioning powers.
Issue 63, 30 September 2024
Engineers Australia has released a report titled Making a clean transition, that provides advice for engineers moving from fossil fuel industries to the renewables sector.
Meanwhile, the Institute for Sustainable Futures and the Australian Energy Market Operator have released a report on Australian electricity workforce requirements out to 2050, based on the 2024 Integrated System Plan.
Issue 44, 20 May 2024
Statutory development - modern slavery. Parliament has passed the government's Modern Slavery Amendment (Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner) Bill.
The Bill establishes the role of Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner, as an independent statutory office-holder within the Attorney-General's portfolio.
Opposition members of a Senate committee inquiry into a Bill that would establish the Net Zero Economy Authority have recommended that the proposed legislation not be passed.
The proposed new Authority would duplicate the role of organisations such as the CEFC and ARENA, and various state bodies, the Coalition members of the committee said.
The majority of committee members have recommended that the Bill be passed.
Issue 23, 4 December 2023
Statutory development. The government has introduced the Modern Slavery Amendment (Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner) Bill 2023, which provides for the establishment of an independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner.
The ACT government has expanded its Ethical Treatment of Workers Evaluation Direction, made under the Government Procurement Act, to require more high-risk industries to consider the treatment of workers throughout their supply chains when they tender for government work.
The expansion will add agriculture, hospitality, ICT hardware, and textiles and garments procurements, expanding on the current list of cleaning, security, manufacturing, and construction procurements.
Issue 13, 18 September 2023
The NSW Parliament's Modern Slavery Committee has instigated a review of the state's Modern Slavery Act.
The committee will also examine the Ethical Clothing Extended Scheme and its potential to mitigate the risks of modern slavery in the NSW clothing manufacturing industry.