TFH Ethical Business Services

14/10/2026

Food workers are the "most exploited in the world" finds report exploring systemic abuse throughout global food chains.

The report describes the food industry as the largest employer and most abusive sector worldwide, wherein workers face widespread violations including impoverishment, wage theft, forced and child labour, human trafficking, discrimination, and s*xual violence.

The report also details how this abuse is systemic, enabled and exacerbated by structural features of food systems including unfair employment practices, informal work, the denial of job security, and a lack of basic government protections or enforcement.

The Freedom Hub supports workers who have escaped their situation in Australia, and helps them rebuild their life and study for sustainable and stable work. By supporting us you support them! THANKYOU 💜

You can also help by choosing carefully what you buy in the supermarket and what local cafe or business you support.

Read the full story by here:
https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/new-report-by-ipes-food-documents-exploitation-of-food-workers-worldwide/

13/10/2026

Measure what changes, not just what is purchased.

A branded gift box, a catered team lunch, or a new supplier agreement can look like a small business decision. But every purchasing decision sends money, influence, and expectations through a chain of people.

Ethical business partnerships Australia-wide allow organisations to make those decisions count not only for reputation, but for the people whose work often remains hidden behind goods and services.

Our latest article takes a deeper dive into how you can develop partnerships that benefit your company, your customers, your employees and your impact.

Read the article. Link in comments.

Build ethical business partnerships Australia can trust, with practical ways to address modern slavery risk and create meaningful survivor impact today.

13/10/2026

The cheapest catering option isn’t always the smartest catering choice. Especially when your name is attached to the event.

As an EA, PA or Office Manager, you’re not simply buying sandwiches.

You’re choosing a supplier who needs to:

* Arrive when expected.

* Handle dietary requirements.

* Feed everyone properly.

* Respond when plans change.

* And make the organisation look good.

The Freedom Hub combines professional corporate catering with something most catering companies simply can’t offer:

Real social impact. ALL Profits support survivors of modern slavery through programs designed to help them rebuild their lives.

Great catering protects your reputation. Purpose-driven catering strengthens your organisation’s.

👉 Choose both: [ORDER LINK in comments]

12/10/2026

The first principles of understanding modern slavery

To understand modern slavery, start with freedom.

Can the person genuinely refuse the work, leave the situation or ask for help without facing threats, punishment, violence, debt, deportation or harm to their family?

Modern slavery is not defined by a particular industry, nationality or type of workplace. At its core, it involves exploitation combined with control. That control may be physical, but it is often psychological, financial, social or connected to a person’s visa status.

This is why modern slavery can be difficult to recognise. A worker may receive some wages, carry a phone and appear free to move around, while still being unable to leave safely.

Poor working conditions and underpayment are not automatically modern slavery. However, they can be warning signs, particularly when combined with withheld documents, excessive hours, recruitment debt, threats, isolation or fear.

For businesses, the first question should not be, “Are we compliant?”

It should be, “Could someone be losing their freedom while creating the goods or services our organisation relies upon?”

That is where meaningful due diligence begins.

Share this with someone who needs to know. Find out more in comments.

12/10/2026

What if more of the money spent in our local economy stayed connected to social impact?

That is a big part of the thinking behind our new Makerspace opening in Waterloo in early November.

We are creating a 293sqm space where social enterprises and purpose-led businesses can be discovered, profiled and supported by customers who increasingly want to know where their money goes.

For social enterprises, ethical suppliers and values-aligned brands, this is an opportunity to become part of a physical community built around business for good.

The Makerspace will sit within the new Waterloo Collective Metro Precinct, with an estimated 19,000 people passing through the precinct each day and 400 students living directly above us.

We want to use that visibility well.

If you run a social enterprise, supply an ethical product or believe your business belongs in this community, we would love to hear from you.

Register your interest here:
https://buff.ly/i61blBy



Note: The pic is an AI image depicting how we plan the space to look.

11/10/2026

“Bad things happen when good people do nothing.” I love this quote from Ian Chappell because it has stayed with me for years.

Bad things rarely need a room full of bad people to grow. They often grow because good people are either busy, unsure, tired (that would be me!) or hoping someone else will step in.

There have been times in my life when I have noticed something wrong and wondered if I was the right person to speak. Maybe you have felt that too.

Through The Freedom Hub, I have learnt that action does not have to be loud to count. We quietly plod on doing the best we can to help the vulnerable. Staying in our lane and helping who we can.

One small change can have a big effect.

A business leader can ask where their uniforms are made. A buyer can ask one harder question of a supplier. Someone can choose a café, catering company, or gift that helps fund recovery for survivors of modern slavery.

Those choices may seem small from the outside.

Inside the life of a survivor, they can mean safety, training, paid work experience, and the chance to rebuild confidence at their own pace.

Australia still has an estimated 41,000 people living in modern slavery. I cannot read that as a statistic anymore. It is someone’s daughter or someone’s worker. Someone sitting quietly in fear, hoping another person notices.

At The Freedom Hub, I have seen what happens when good people do something.

Survivors rebuild their lives. Businesses change and their values lead. Conversations at water coolers become action.

Guilt does not create lasting change for me. Courage does.

Where is one place you could stop walking past the problem this week?

Ask the question.
Start the conversation.
Change the supplier.
Open a door.

What is one small change you could make that might have a big effect for someone else?

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments, and please share this with a friend who believes business can do good.

10/10/2026

Modern slavery risk in business is real and human rights due diligence essential for forward thinking businesses. Stay current with a monthly newsletter from TFH Ethical Business team. It drops next week to sign up now to get it!

https://thefreedomhub.org/contact-us

10/10/2026

“Modern slavery doesn’t really happen in Australia.”

This is one of the most damaging misconceptions we still hear.

1. Modern slavery is not always visible. A person may travel to work, use a phone or appear to live an ordinary life, yet still be controlled through threats, debt, withheld wages, visa dependency, isolation or fear for their family.

2. It is also not limited to s*x trafficking. In Australia, modern slavery can include forced labour, domestic servitude, forced marriage, debt bo***ge and deceptive recruitment. It can occur in homes, farms, construction sites, hospitality businesses and other workplaces within our communities.

3. Another misconception is that exploitation only exists deep within overseas supply chains. While global supply chains carry significant risks, Australian businesses must also look closely at local contractors, labour-hire arrangements and vulnerable workers.

Modern slavery thrives when we assume we would recognise it immediately.

Awareness matters, but businesses must go further. Ask better questions, listen to workers, examine purchasing practices and make sure reporting systems are safe and accessible.

The problem is closer than many Australians realise. So is our opportunity to help end it.

Share this with someone who doesn’t know.

Learn more - link in comments

08/10/2026

Modern Slavery is fuelled by Aussies wanting more fashion.

Did you know that EVERY year Aussies buy 1.15 billion new clothes. This is contributing to the 220,000 tonnes of landfill we cause.

are lobbying government to join 80 other countries with product stewardship frameworks. We support this call, but the problem goes deeper than waste. Every cheap, disposable garment has passed through human hands, often within complex supply chains where forced labour, unsafe conditions and poverty wages can remain hidden.

We need to buy less, choose better and ask brands who made our clothes and under what conditions. Clothing should never be so cheap that another person pays the real price.

Follow or Join our community to stay informed so you can be a part of making a difference.

07/10/2026

Right now I (Sally Irwin) am overseas and fake bags and designer goods are everywhere. The temptation is real because the look real and have a great price.

But think about why they are cheap and what has happened in the supply chain to sell them at this price.

posted this great image to demonstrate what happens before a fake bag (or designer merch) reaches you.

Have a look and save this for your next trip. Share you thoughts, we have all been tempted by these fakes. Knowledge is good.