Australia’s Hidden Scourge: Forced Marriages, Modern Slavery And Human Trafficking

Australian Federal Police Commander Helen Schneider. Photo: AFP

• In early 2024, Victorian police raided a Box Hill business in suburban Melbourne, where an Iranian man had been enduring 14-hour shifts, seven days a week, for two years. The factory owner— a medical practitioner—had trapped him with the promise of a visa and threats of deportation, withholding pay and cruelly doling out painkillers so the man could keep working.
  

•  A Sydney woman returned home in fear after her husband lured her out of Australia under false pretences, isolated her in Afghanistan, and tried to cut her off permanently by cancelling her visa.
  

• A young woman in regional Victoria was married off against her will in a ceremony arranged by her own mother—her tragic fate sealed when she later lost her life at the hands of her new husband.
  

• In New South Wales, two teenage siblings fled their father’s rural home to escape his coercion, after discovering he was actively trying to force them into marriages with strangers.

These aren’t scenes from distant lands or stories ripped from history books. They are recent cases—prosecuted in Australian courts within the past year—revealing an uncomfortable truth: slavery, trafficking, forced labour, even child exploitation are not relics of the past.

They’re unfolding in modern Australia, sometimes on quiet neighbourhood streets or in family homes, hidden in plain sight.

New figures released by the Australian Federal Police shine a harsh light on just how widespread the problem has become.

For the first time, reports of modern slavery and human trafficking in Australia have soared to a record 382 in the past financial year—a jump of more than 12 per cent compared to the year before.

And those are just the ones we know about: experts say that for every victim discovered, at least four more remain hidden, isolated by fear, shame, or simple unawareness that their suffering is even a crime under Australian law.

It is a confronting reality that the very crimes many Australians believe happen “somewhere else” are occurring all around us—wound into the fabric of ordinary workplaces, homes, and communities from New South Wales to South Australia.

AFP Commander Helen Schneider warns, “Human exploitation offences such as human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced marriage do happen right here in Australia—in our communities, neighbourhoods, workplaces and schools. They could be happening in your street.”

Spike In Forced Marriages In Australia

One statistic stands out: forced marriage accounted for nearly a quarter of all reports, with 91 cases—roughly one every four days. And experts caution the real figure is likely far higher.

The Australian Institute of Criminology estimates that for every detected victim, four remain hidden, their stories unknown.

Behind each police report is a complicated web of suffering and survival. Commander Schneider says exploitation crimes often overlap. “A victim of forced marriage may also be subjected to servitude or slavery. A labourer who is being exploited might be trapped by deceptive recruitment or crushing debt,” she explains. “It’s rarely clear-cut. These crimes live between the lines and thrive in silence.”

AFP Leading Senior Constable Afra Prodan is among the new frontline heroes grappling with these harsh realities. As the nation’s first Human Exploitation Community Officer (HECO) for South Australia and the Northern Territory, she describes the role as “the core of policing—working with the community to make a direct impact and potentially save someone’s life.”

In her first months as an HECO, Prodan recalls meeting a young woman who didn’t even recognise her own victimhood. “She was explaining her situation—what was being done to her, what she was being forced to do, the threats—without realising she was horrifically exploited. She was just looking for help,” Prodan remembers.

A New Frontline: The HECO Program

To address the growing threat, the AFP has implemented the HECO program nationwide, deploying officers like Prodan into at-risk communities. Their mission is to raise awareness, build trust, and ensure that victims know their rights and have a safe place to seek help.

In 2025 alone, the HECOs have conducted over 370 engagements—working alongside government agencies, non-profits, cultural organisations and directly with vulnerable populations. Their approach is as much about prevention and education as it is about investigation.

“It’s about reaching people before the crime happens. About making sure someone being pressured into a forced marriage, or tricked by a trafficking network, knows they have support and a way out,” says Prodan. “Sometimes, just knowing someone cares can break the cycle.”

Global Crime, Local Response

Commander Schneider emphasises that Australia is primarily a “destination country,” attracting traffickers and exploiters from across the globe. “Human trafficking denies victims their dignity and basic human rights. It’s a borderless crime—and Australia must be part of a global response.”

The AFP collaborates closely with international agencies, state police, and non-government groups to dismantle trafficking networks and bring perpetrators to justice. But law enforcement is only part of the answer.

Pathways to Protection: Victims at the Centre

Survivors now have more places to turn. In addition to direct police avenues, a new Additional Referral Pathway (ARP) allows victims to seek confidential support through trusted NGOs such as Anti-Slavery Australia and the Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights.

Programs like the Red Cross’s Support for Trafficked People and Life Without Barriers Forced Marriage Specialist Support Program offer practical help and, crucially, a sense of hope.

“This new pathway is a game-changer,” says Commander Schneider. “Victims can approach non-government support groups directly, and don’t have to go through police. They can get legal advice, immediate care—even if those first steps are taken in total confidence.”

LSC Prodan is adamant: “The AFP may lead investigations, but it’s everyone’s responsibility to look out for the signs and stop exploitation from happening.”

The Signs: What to Watch For

Warning signs can be subtle:

• People living at their workplace, rarely seen outside

• Fearful, withdrawn behaviour or someone always insisting on answering for them

• Lack of control over personal documents or finances

• Unreasonable work hours and conditions

• Sudden, unexplained absences from school
  

If You Need Help

If you or someone you know might be a victim, the AFP urges you to call 131 AFP (237), reach out to the Red Cross via 1800 113 015, or fill out a confidential online form. In an emergency, always dial Triple Zero.

The Human Toll: More Than Just Numbers

Melbourne Man Jailed for Forced Labour

A Templestowe business owner and medical practitioner was sentenced to three years and six months’ jail after coercing an Iranian national to work 14-hour days, nearly every day, for two years in a Box Hill confectionery factory.

The victim, lured by promises of visa help and threatened with deportation, was often unpaid or underpaid and forced—along with his wife—to perform domestic work for the offender.

The man was compelled to continue through threats and even prescription painkillers. Police raids in 2017 led to the man’s arrest and conviction for both forced labour and operating a business involving forced labour.

Western Sydney Man Jailed for Exit Trafficking

A Merrylands man was jailed for over two years after deceiving his partner—a woman living in Australia on a spouse visa—into travelling to Afghanistan on a fake premise of charity work.

He booked a one-way ticket for her and, after returning to Australia alone, tried to withdraw his sponsorship for her visa, effectively stranding her overseas. The woman made it back with family help; the AFP later charged and arrested the man.

He pleaded guilty to facilitating the exit from Australia by deception—one of only a handful of such exit trafficking convictions in Australia’s history.

Victorian Woman Jailed After Australia’s First Forced Marriage Conviction

In a landmark case, a Shepparton mother was sentenced to three years’ jail for arranging her 20-year-old daughter’s forced marriage to a West Australian man, despite clear evidence the young woman did not consent.

After the wedding in Victoria, the daughter moved interstate, where she was tragically murdered by her new husband.

The case marked Australia’s first-ever forced marriage conviction, exposing the devastating consequences such abuses can have. Throughout the ordeal, the daughter was offered intervention and support by the AFP and the Red Cross, but coercion and family pressure proved overwhelming.

NSW Man Jailed Over Attempted Forced Marriages Of His Children

A New South Wales father received more than three years’ imprisonment for attempting to arrange forced marriages for his 15- and 17-year-old children, whom he’d brought to Australia from overseas.

The siblings bravely escaped their father’s control in 2022 and contacted police, triggering an AFP investigation that uncovered messaging and plans for the illicit weddings.

The children, supported by a specialist youth agency, ultimately saw their father plead guilty to two charges of attempting forced marriage, further illustrating that this form of exploitation—even of minors—remains far too common across Australia