Kmart sued by Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women's Association over alleged links to forced labour from China's Xinjiang region
Class-action law-firm Maurice Blackburn has filed a suit on behalf of the Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women's Association (AUTWA) against Kmart.
The association wants the retailer to release documents that show what it knows about two suppliers with alleged links to factories in China's Xinjiang region.
Kmart has rejected these claims.
Human rights abuses in the area were the subject of a landmark report in 2022 where the United Nations recommended Beijing investigated allegations of human rights violations, 'including allegations of torture, sexual violence, ill-treatment, forced medical treatment, as well as forced labour and reports of deaths in custody'.
It also called for the Chinese government to take 'prompt steps' to release all individuals arbitrarily imprisoned.
The AUTWA is seeking the documents to determine whether Kmart has abided by its ethical sourcing procedures and if it misled consumers.
Ramila Chanisheff, president of the AUTWA, said the association was 'demanding answers from Kmart' to determine whether the retailer's actions 'live up to its words'.
'Kmart, and all companies, must ensure they are not profiting from forced labour in China,' Ms Chanisheff said in a statement.
'China's mass imprisonment, repression and forced labour of Uyghur people is well-documented.
'Our community has lost family members, friends and loved ones because of China's brutal treatment of Uyghurs.
'Kmart is a go-to store for so many people in Australia. If the company has profited in any way from this sort of systematic repression, I am sure Australians would be horrified.'
A Kmart spokesperson said the retailer was 'disappointed' by the court action and had invited AUTWA to meet and discuss the concerns on several occasions.
'Kmart has been in correspondence with the applicant's lawyers for over 12 months and has provided extensive details of our Ethical Sourcing Program,' the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson noted Kmart has had its 'ethical sourcing program' in place for 15 years which helps the company identify and mitigate modern slavery risks across its supply chains.
They noted the program takes from Kmart's 'ethical sourcing code' which adopts the standards under the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation.
'Compliance with our Ethical Sourcing Code is required under our contracts with our Suppliers,' the spokesperson said.
'Suppliers in the Kmart Ethical Sourcing Program are regularly monitored through activities including our site visits, audit programs and investigations if we receive any reports or complaints of concern.'
AUTWA is also represented by the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) alongside Maurice Blackburn.
HRLC's associate legal director Freya Dinshaw said 'alarm bells' had been 'ringing for a long time' about the risk of forced labour being used in the Chinese garment sector.
'This court case is about Kmart coming clean on whether it is really doing everything it claims to be doing to ensure that its products are slavery-free,' Ms Dinshaw said in a statement.
She stressed the case was also an opportunity to highlight 'weaknesses' in Australia's modern slavery laws.
'It shouldn't be left to members of the public to take companies to court and force them to open their books where there are suspicions of links to modern slavery,' Ms Dinshaw said.
'Australian companies should be legally required to investigate and prevent forced labour in their supply chains and face hard consequences if they don't.
'Australia should also follow the example of other countries like Canada and the US and ban imported goods made with forced labour, so they don't end up on our shop shelves.'
China rejected the claims in the UN's 2022 report. In August 2024, the UN said it has faced 'difficulties posed by limited access to information' with its investigations into the human rights abuses.
It also noted many who spoke about the abuses with the UN had 'fear of reprisals'.
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