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In August of 2008, the High Court considered a provision of the Criminal Code covering "offences against humanity", in particular "slavery, sexual servitude and deceptive recruiting". This was an interesting decision of the court, as it specifically looks at whether a woman was being kept in slavery by her employer.
The definition of slavery in the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth) is very similar to the definition contained in Article 1(1) of the International Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery [1927] ATS 11.
In R v Tang [2008] HCA 39, the respondent, the owner of a licensed brothel, was found guilty in the Victorian County Court of a number of charges of "possessing" and "using" a slave contrary to section 270 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth). The charges related to five women who were recruited from Thailand to work in brothels in Australia. The women were not kept locked up, but had entered Australia on illegal obtained visas, their passports and return air tickets were kept by the respondent, and they had limited English and no money.
The respondent appealed to the Victorian Court of Appeal, which ordered a retrial. The DPP appealed to the High Court, which allowed the appeal, confirming the original guilty verdict.
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2. Journal articles on AGIS Plus, available remotely to registered clients of the State Library of NSW. Including:
You will find other articles. Type in slavery and tang
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