KPMG Australia reaffirms its commitment to respect human rights with the release of our Human Rights Policy. We recognise the work and time needed to deliver on all the commitments in this policy. One area of particular focus is to mature our approach to identify and manage modern slavery risk.

KPMG Australia is committed to respecting human rights. We expect high standards of human rights performance across our operations and supply chain. This commitment aligns with the KPMG International Business and Human Rights Statement. KPMG Australia values acting with integrity and courage and fostering an ethical culture where everyone embraces a sense of responsibility for doing the right thing in the right way. Respecting human rights across all our business activities helps to uphold KPMG Australia’s core values and achieve our vision of creating long term, sustainable value for society.

KPMG Australia recognises its influence and impact as a professional services firm on the human rights of a range of stakeholders, including as a provider of professional services, employer, contractor, procurer, investor and supporter of communities. We are committed to doing what matters by working closely with our stakeholders to identify and understand our impacts, to mitigate negative impacts and enhance positive ones.

Our approach is inclusive of the internationally recognised human rights set out in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the eight ILO fundamental conventions encompassed by the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.¹ It includes a commitment to work to ensure that there is no modern slavery in our operations and supply chain, and demonstrating continuous improvement in this regard through our annual reporting under the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth).

We also recognise that in specific circumstances other international human rights law, voluntary principles and guidelines for business may support our decisions on how we best respect the rights of vulnerable populations or other rights-holders.

As part of our commitment, KPMG is a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact and supports the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights ‘Protect, Respect, Remedy’ framework.

We commit to respecting the higher standard where national law and international human rights standards differ. If there is conflict between the two, we commit to respecting international human rights to the greatest extent possible.

The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights guide the implementation of our policy commitment through our human rights due diligence processes.

The focus of our implementation is on the human rights that are most relevant to our operations and supply chain, which we have set out below. We will review our salient human rights issues on an annual basis.

We do not tolerate retaliation against human rights defenders who are acting to address human rights on behalf of individuals or groups.

KPMG Australia is committed to the continuous work to ensure that there is no modern slavery and labour related harm from our operations and supply chain.

KPMG Australia is committed to the following principles:

• No child labour or forced labour is used, and that employment is freely chosen.
• Workers have fair wages and employment agreements.
• Work hours do not exceed the maximum limit set by relevant legislation.
• All workers are free to exercise their right to form and/or join trade unions and to bargain collectively.
• Workers experience fair and equal treatment and access to opportunity, and enjoy a work environment that is free of discrimination, harassment, intimidation or coercion relating directly or indirectly to the protected attributes set out under discrimination below.
• All workers’ health and safety is protected in the workplace.
• Workers have access to fair procedures and remedies.

KPMG Australia is committed to inclusion and diversity, focusing on shared values, experiences and aspirations. Our leaders are accountable for promoting diversity and inclusiveness. In line with our Inclusion & Diversity Report  and Global Code of Conduct (PDF 752KB), we respect each other and draw strength from our differences.

We do not condone discrimination on the basis of protected attributes including, race, religion, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, political opinion, age, marital or relationship status, carer responsibilities, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, pregnancy, parental status, breastfeeding, disability, veteran status, trade union activity or other legally protected status.

We expect the same from all our business partners, clients and suppliers.

KPMG Australia is committed to creating a culture, workplace and relationships with our stakeholders where people feel like they belong. This includes continuing to improve the representation of people from diverse backgrounds across our business and working to ensure our people feel supported.

KPMG Australia is committed to respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples in line with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. As part of its Reconciliation Action Plan, KPMG Australia has committed to going beyond 'business as usual' to embed reconciliation in the delivery of core business practices and decision making at the highest level. For more information, please see our 2017-2020 Reconciliation Action Plan (PDF 3.8MB).

KPMG Australia is committed to treating the right to privacy as a fundamental human right in line with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. As part of this commitment, we collect, store, and handle personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Our Privacy Policy sets out how KPMG Australia handles personal information.

The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights set out the key elements of human rights due diligence, including assessing actual and potential human rights impacts, integrating and acting upon the findings, tracking responses, and communicating how impacts are addressed.

KPMG Australia understands that human rights due diligence is an ongoing process – one which is most effective when it is embedded in the risk and procurement processes of our business. As such, we are putting into place appropriate systems and controls to identify and assess our human rights risks and integrate those findings to manage them effectively. We are committed to enhancing our capability to track the effectiveness of our responses and to communicating our human rights progress for external stakeholders, including our annual modern slavery statement, made in accordance with the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth).

The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights fundamentally acknowledge that grievance mechanisms must be known, trusted and accessible to those who need it.

KPMG Australia is committed to addressing human rights grievances and providing appropriate avenues for affected individuals or communities to come forward. Internal grievance systems and an external hotline are in place globally, along with a whistleblower hotline.

KPMG Australia is committed to continuously improving our mechanisms and remediation processes through stakeholder engagement and dialogue, to better align with the expectations for effective mechanisms set out in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

KPMG Australia has a strong governance structure for overseeing our activities, setting policies and aligning our Strategy with out Purpose as set out in the KPMG International – Our Impact Plan. Consistent with KPMG's global policies, all personnel, including KPMG Australia Board members, are required to comply with our Global Code of Conduct, which includes specific additional responsibilities for leaders.

Our policy commitment has been approved by the Board, including the Chairperson and National Executive Committee, and is cascaded into our established procurement, compliance and risk management frameworks. A cross-functional executive-level working group oversees the approach and implementation of the human rights policy, including the assignment of responsibility across functions and divisions of the firm.

This policy was developed through KPMG Australia’s working group on human rights with input from representatives across the firm that are responsible for the related policies, statements, and frameworks, as well as specialists with human rights expertise. This policy is reviewed at least every two years, with the next review to be completed no later than May 2023.

For us, excellence means that we never stop learning and improving. KPMG Australia is committed to continuously improving our human rights policy and approach by monitoring and evaluating progress on a regular basis, and working collaboratively with affected stakeholders.
 

For more information on KPMG’s Human Rights Policy, please contact the Head of Corporate Citizenship or the Office of the Chief Financial Officer.