PROJECT | Corporate Accountability

Communities harmed by corporate abuse should have a pathway to justice, one that doesn’t rely on costly court battles.

The Australian OECD National Contact Point (AusNCP), housed in the Treasury Department, is one of the few avenues that communities and workers have to raise human rights and environmental complaints against Australian companies operating overseas. 

From land grabs backed by Australian banks to labour exploitation in offshore detention centres, the AusNCP has received complaints about serious abuses linked to Australian corporations. The AusNCP can investigate these complaints, mediate disputes, make findings against companies, and recommend reforms. But too often, its hands are tied. 

The Human Rights Law Centre has been working for over five years to strengthen the AusNCP so it can become a truly effective human rights watchdog. In partnership with other civil society organisations, we have called for the body to have greater visibility, independence, and enforcement powers so that communities can seek justice and corporations can be held to account. 

In 2017, the Australian Government commissioned an independent review of the AusNCP, which identified critical gaps in the system. We contributed to this review and played a key role in advocating for reforms that were implemented.

These included: 

• the introduction of independent expert examiners to handle specific cases;
• the creation of an advisory committee to support the independent examiners;
• the provision of resources and professional services to the AusNCP; and
• improved outreach and visibility to ensure that affected communities are aware of how to access the system. 

Thanks to this sustained advocacy, the AusNCP has made significant strides forward. Resources to the AusNCP have increased, and it has now made a number of findings against companies, achieving meaningful outcomes, including a landmark financial settlement by ANZ with Cambodian farmers displaced by an ANZ-financed sugar plantation. 

But the work is far from over.

The AusNCP’s findings remain non-binding, and companies can still walk away without consequence. That’s why we are pushing for further reforms that would give the AusNCP the power to recommend sanctions against companies that breach their responsibilities, such as exclusion from public procurement or trade support. We’re also fighting for greater accessibility so that impacted communities can more easily raise complaints and take part in meaningful dispute resolution. 

In 2023, we made a formal submission to the Australian Government, calling for stronger powers for the AusNCP’s independent examiners, greater support for complainants, and real consequences for corporate misconduct. 

A fair and effective complaints system is essential to upholding human rights and ensuring that Australian companies respect the people and communities they impact, wherever they operate. The Human Rights Law Centre will keep working to make sure the AusNCP lives up to that promise.