Sustainability

People are the core of our business - our customers, team members, suppliers and the workers in our global supply chains. Our purpose is to create better experiences together for a better tomorrow and we are deeply committed to upholding respect for human rights. 

It is our ambition to integrate human rights into the way we go about our business everyday, so that every decision has our purpose at its heart - ‘We create better experiences together for a better tomorrow’. 

We bring this ambition to life through our human rights strategy, which is underpinned by the following principles:

  • No global retailer is immune to human rights and modern slavery risk in their operations and supply chain.

  • We adopt a human rights-based approach in our modern slavery strategy. That means that we consider risks to people alongside risks to the business.

  • Identifying actual or potential situations of modern slavery demonstrates our program is effective. It means we are better placed to provide remedy to affected workers and address root causes.

  • Where potential situations of modern slavery are identified, we will always do the right thing, which means acting in the best interests of potentially affected workers.

  • Modern slavery can only be ended by working with others. We will work collaboratively to drive change that addresses the root causes of modern slavery. 

You can read more about our approach to identifying, mitigating and remedying modern slavery in our most recent - and previous - Modern Slavery Statements.

 

Identifying and preventing human rights risks has always been a cornerstone of our approach to our own operations and supplier social compliance. We began our journey in 2009, when we launched our first Ethical Sourcing Policy and became signatories to the UN Global Compact. Since then, we have remained attuned to human rights risks in our supply chain and in 2018, we implemented our Responsible Sourcing Program and introduced associated policy and supplier requirements.

Since launching our Responsible Sourcing Program in 2018, we have sought to identify, mitigate and remediate risks of modern slavery and worker exploitation, prioritising labour rights in our supply chain. Whilst labour rights remains our most material risk, our program has steadily matured, alongside evolving stakeholder expectations and legislation.

Our Human Rights Program is the overarching way we address human rights and modern slavery in our operations and supply chains and comprises four operational pillars:

1. Responsible Sourcing Program 

Our Responsible Sourcing Program is the foundational pillar of our Human Rights Program. It is framed by two main documents - the Responsible Sourcing Policy and the Responsible Sourcing Standards - and operationalised by taking a risk-based approach to supplier segmentation. You can read more about our Responsible Sourcing Program here.

We utilise social compliance audits as a key tool for how we verify in scope suppliers’ compliance with labour rights standards. Acknowledging that a ‘one size fits all approach’ is not appropriate for our diverse supply chain, our Responsible Sourcing Program is further supported with “beyond audit” controls such as worker voice, supply chain traceability and tools.

2. Bespoke Interventions to target specific modern slavery risks

The level of modern slavery risk depends on a range of intersecting contextual factors. Where multiple high level risk factors exist, there is a higher likelihood that actual harm is being experienced. Whilst our Responsible Sourcing audit program has coverage of our direct own brand and fresh suppliers, we understand that modern slavery risks are also present in lower supply chain tiers. Our work to address the most extreme risks in seafood, cotton and key commodities, such as rice and coconuts, is addressed under this pillar of our Human Rights Program. You can read more about our approach to identifying and mitigating modern slavery risks in our Modern Slavery Statement.

3. Maintaining effective grievance mechanisms

We are committed to providing access to channels through which adversely affected people or communities can raise complaints or concerns without fear of retaliation, intimidation, harassment, discrimination or victimisation.You can read more about our grievance mechanisms here. 

4. Partnerships and advocacy

Woolworths Group continues to evolve to ensure we are our customers preferred food and everyday needs retailer. This means there is a diversity of entities in the Group, and we use the Australian Accounting Standards definition of ‘control’ to determine the level of influence we have over these entities to determine how we can lean in and assist our partners in mitigating the risk of modern slavery in their operations and supply chain.

Our program has matured over time to reflect evolving best practices, including due diligence approaches outlined in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We continue to strengthen our program to manage emerging risks, and seek to work with, and learn from, potentially affected communities as they, too, have a genuine stake in program design and implementation.

We recognise that no single entity can end modern slavery, and we seek to activate mutually beneficial partnerships through our entire value chain. You can read more about our partnerships in our Modern Slavery Statement.

While our operations and supply chains are complex, our aim is to ensure that human rights are understood, respected and upheld. We expect our business partners to adhere to ethical business conduct consistent with our own, and we are committed to working with them to fulfil this common goal, and proactively address human rights.

Our Responsible Sourcing Program provides the governance for how we manage social compliance of our own brand and fresh products. Our Responsible Sourcing Program is anchored by two main documents: 

These are supported by our Responsible Sourcing Program Guidelines (for suppliers in our Trade supply chain).

Trade

Trade products span an array of categories, including apparel, long life food, fresh food and general merchandise. During onboarding, suppliers are segmented into four risk categories with corresponding due diligence requirements. This segmentation will determine the activities suppliers are required to complete in order to verify compliance with the Standards. These include, but are not limited to: 

  • Attending training and education sessions 
  • Completing a supplier self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) 
  • Submitting an audit under our third-party social compliance ‘Mutual Recognition’ scheme 
  • Agreeing to and implementing a corrective action plan 
  • Demonstrating continuous improvement 
  • Announced and unannounced factory or site visits. 

The third party audit for moderate, priority and specialised risk-segmented suppliers includes checks on key forced labour indicators. All audits are graded against four possible outcomes – zero tolerance (ZT), critical, moderate, and minor – and forced labour indicators, among others, are considered a ZT issue. Moderate or minor non-conformances (NCs) are addressed during the audit cycle as part of the scheme follow-up, while our team prioritises ZT and critical NCs for follow up.

Non-Trade

Human rights risks are dynamic, and we continue to review our program to make sure our interventions remain fit for purpose. We source products, equipment and services from a number of non-trade suppliers. Examples of non-trade products include those that may feature a Woolworths Group brand, such as shopping baskets, trolleys or uniforms. It also includes products that are not branded such as packaging materials, IT equipment and construction materials. 

The majority of non-trade services operate in facilities that are owned and operated by the Group across Australia and New Zealand including our retail stores, DCs and CFCs. Examples of non-trade services include cleaning, trolley collection, security services, warehousing and logistics.

In F23 the Group identified an opportunity for a programmatic uplift to our Responsible Sourcing Program to provide a consistent approach to managing labour rights risk across our trade and non‑trade supply chain. 

In F24, we developed a risk segmentation approach for non‑trade suppliers to determine which suppliers will be in scope of the Responsible Sourcing Program, and how to further risk‑segment in‑scope suppliers. The Human Rights team partnered with third party human rights experts LRQA to identify inherently extreme and high risk non‑trade categories based on our F23 forced labour risk assessment and LRQA’s social risk scores. Non‑trade suppliers in these categories have then been assessed to determine their connection to the Group. Consistent with our approach to in‑scope trade suppliers, in‑scope non‑trade suppliers will be subject to further risk segmentation, with proportionate human rights due diligence depending on their risk segment. In F25, we have developed proportionate human rights due diligence for in-scope non-trade suppliers, and will pilot this due diligence in F26.

The Policy and Standards

The Responsible Sourcing Policy outlines our overarching commitment to upholding respect for the human rights of the workers in our supply chain. The Policy applies to all of our suppliers globally and is a part of doing business with the Group. 

The Responsible Sourcing Standards are a key way that we implement our Policy commitments and they outline our expectations for suppliers in scope of the Responsible Sourcing Program. They include comprehensive criteria on business integrity, labour rights, fair and safe working conditions and environmental compliance.

As part of the rollout and ongoing due diligence, we are committed to supporting suppliers with relevant information sessions, guidance documents, training materials and, in higher-risk categories, establishing communities of practice.

We regularly review our Responsible Sourcing Policy & Standards to maintain best practice and to align with our communities and customer needs, detail regarding our verification and audit framework, clarification on the role of our Guidance notes, and recognition of our extended Speak Up program for management of grievances. Our 2020 Policy enhancements included explicit endorsement of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; acknowledgement of our human rights governance via the Board Sustainability Committee; further emphasis on the expectation for suppliers to cascade requirements into their own supply base; and recognition of our internal responsibility (e.g. Responsible Purchasing Practices) as a vital factor in promoting respect for human rights. Our 2021 update was paused due to COVID-19 disruptions, and our 2022 update includes the following enhancements:

  • Language updated to clarify scope of the policy and standards 
  • Structure and narrative updated to reflect greater clarity on implications when standards are breached
  • Updated to reflect program maturity, including with reference in particular to guiding principles

Our 2023 update included changes to include non-trade suppliers and majority owned businesses in scope of the Responsible Sourcing Standards.

Additional requirements | Addendums to the Standards

A number of additional requirements are referenced within the Responsible Sourcing Standards which outline specific requirements that suppliers should be aware of. These stand alone as separate documents in addendum to the Standards but must be read in conjunction with the relevant sections in the Standards.

1. Woolworths Group Labour Hire Addendum 

In February 2019 we released an Addendum to the Standards, Requirements for Labour Providers in our Australian Supply Chain. The Addendum outlines specific requirements relating to the engagement of labour providers by participants in our horticulture supply chain.

The Addendum outlines specific requirements relating to the engagement of labour providers by participants in our horticulture supply chain. Safeguarding responsible employment practices by labour providers involved in our supply chain is a key component of Woolworth Group's responsible sourcing commitments. Our approach to responsible recruitment is aligned with industry standards and underpinned by three core principles known as the Priority Industry Principles :

  • every worker should have freedom of movement;
  • no worker should pay for a job; and
  • no worker should be indebted or coerced to work.

Information on labour providers currently used by our recognised third party programs can be found below: 

  • Queensland Government's Register of Labour Hire Licences here  
  • South Australia Register of Labour Hire Licences here
  • Victorian Register of Labour Hire Licences here
  • Seasonal Worker Program Listing of current Approved Employers here
  • The Registry of StaffSure Certified Workforce Service Providers here

For more information please read these FAQs.

2. Woolworths Group Child Labour Addendum

In July 2022 we released specific requirements for the prevention and remediation of Child Labour as an extension of guidance that previously existed on Child Labour within the Standards. These requirements must be read and understood by all suppliers and upheld in conjunction with Standard no. 6 | Child Labour. 

3. Woolworths Responsible Recruitment Addendum

In April 2022, Woolworths Group further strengthened our position on responsible recruitment when we joined the Consumer Goods Forum Human Rights Coalition (the Coalition). 

The Responsible Recruitment Requirements should be considered by all suppliers engaging foreign migrant workers either directly or indirectly in their operations. However, Woolworths Group will take a proactive, risk-based, and phased approach to rollout and supplier verification, therefore Thailand and Malaysia are prioritised for implementation. 

Our Human Rights Program sets out our Group-wide human rights framework that is operationalised by each business unit. We have developed an organisational structure and accountability framework to embed human rights management into our business. 

Governance oversight of human rights management is provided by the Board’s Sustainability Committee (SusCo). Responsible sourcing and related human rights issues are raised at the Board through papers compiled by our Group Sustainability team, who have oversight of the Group approach to human rights. 

Our Human Rights Steering Committee comprises Executive and Senior leaders from across each of the Group’s business units. This Committee meets every month, and oversees our Group-wide framework for identifying human rights risks and impacts in the supply chain, as well as setting and now monitoring our policy and minimum standards. Senior management in each business is then responsible for managing human rights issues with their suppliers.

Our Group Human Rights team, which sits within the Group Sustainability Platform, is responsible for developing our overarching human rights strategy and annual work plan, which includes our modern slavery work. Human Rights team members in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Thailand and Bangladesh are supported by cross-functional working groups for specific prioritised work programs. Our team works with a number of external program partners to provide strategic advice and support in extreme risk areas.

The Human Rights Team is led by the General Manager of Human Rights and Impact Narrative, whose performance management is linked to the human rights policy commitments of the wider Group.

Woolworths Group is an Australian company with a long-standing commitment to a large number of domestic suppliers. 

We also have a complex global supply chain and source products from many countries, including China, India and Bangladesh. 

The apparel industry carries a higher risk of child labour, forced labour and freedom of association. Our BIG W business is committed to the ongoing transparency of its supply chain by publishing the details of factories that directly produce their own brand apparel and general merchandise quarterly on our website. The latest list is available here (as at March 2025) and represents 100 percent of our direct suppliers in these categories. Further information on direct suppliers in Bangladesh is available here in CSV format (note when the CSV file is downloaded this information is uncontrolled). This represents 100% of direct suppliers in Bangladesh as at March 2025.

Similarly, Woolworths Group publishes the list of factories that directly produce our apparel and textile products here (as at March 2025).

We are working to map our suppliers beyond tier one (that is, our direct suppliers who produce the final product) to include tier two and three suppliers where possible. Tier two and three suppliers are our indirect suppliers who produce the components of a final product e.g. fabric suppliers. 

Educating our teams and our suppliers is part of our approach to continuous improvement. We take a targeted approach to training and capacity building to ensure that our teams and suppliers receive the information that is relevant to their roles.

Team

Woolworths Group's approach to human rights and modern slavery training is that relevant team members are aware of the risks and their responsibilities as appropriate to their role. In this way our training program is based on policies and procedures and our team's exposure to these. Examples of our bespoke training include: 

  • Team members: Woolworths Group’s team members are required to undergo training during onboarding including familiarising themselves with the Woolworths Group Code of Conduct. In this Code of Conduct team members are directed to, and required to familiarise themselves with, Woolworths Group’s policy commitments to responsible sourcing including the Responsible Sourcing Policy and Responsible Sourcing Standards. Both policies are available in Mandarin for the benefit of our team members based in China.

  • Culture and People business partners: We recognise that potential labour compliance risks in our own operations may be heightened for approximately 12% of our directly employed team members who are visa holders. In F21, we introduced a Right to Work Policy to clearly communicate our commitment to promoting a culturally diverse workplace where team members’ working rights are respected. This was supported by compulsory, tailored training to our managers, team members and culture and people partners who operationalise the policy. The Right to Work Policy was updated in F24 and available to all team members on the Group’s intranet.
  • Non-trade procurement: To support the Procurement team with the rollout of anti-modern slavery due diligence, in F21 we conducted multiple human rights briefing sessions. In addition to operational updates, two specific briefing sessions on modern slavery compliance were conducted  on the modern slavery legal landscape in Australia and its implications for non-trade, each attended by over 45 team members.  
  • Senior leader briefs and action tracking: Annually, we conduct in-person training delivered by our internal subject matter experts targeting the senior leaders of all Group businesses and functions. In F21, we delivered interactive training to 126 senior leaders across 12 teams resulting in 30 follow up action items, of which 24 are complete and the remaining are in progress. 
  • Own Brand sourcing: 703 commercial team members have completed the Responsible Purchasing Practices e‑learning module. The purpose of the training is to support our teams to understand how purchasing behaviours can drive both positive and negative impacts for workers in our broader supply chain. 

Suppliers

Woolworths Group communicates its Responsible Sourcing Policy and related Standards, and performance expectations to its supply chain and other business partners in a number of ways:  

  • Established and documented specific Policy and Standards (including anti-slavery standards) are communicated to all suppliers and since 2018.
  • Published guidance for suppliers to assist them in implementing the Responsible Sourcing Policy and Standards, including Guidance on Addressing Overtime Hours and Guidance on Developing Grievance Mechanisms.
  • Targeted training and capacity building of suppliers related to human rights and modern slavery is carried out through annual supplier Roadshows, targeted capacity building sessions and an online supplier academy.
  • Supplier training is available and recommended by Woolworths Group's Responsible Sourcing team through third party audit scheme platforms to educate suppliers and factory managers.
  • Targeted training to some supply chain workers exists on labour rights and specific subjects such as women’s empowerment and nutrition. 
  • Suppliers are regularly engaged on key human rights and anti-modern slavery risk topics through newsletters and supplier updates etc.

Woolworths Group is committed to providing access to channels through which adversely affected people or communities, including external individuals and communities, can raise complaints or concerns without fear of retaliation, intimidation, harassment, discrimination or victimisation. This commitment extends to the work of human rights defenders, and the expectation they can operate in a safe and respectful environment across all our operations. The Group provides a Speak Up service for our team members and suppliers (and their workers) as a mechanism by which responsible sourcing and human rights concerns can be raised confidentially and, if desired, anonymously.

Supplier Speak Up can be accessed by workers in a number of different languages and we provide suppliers with communication tools to reach workers in a language they understand. The following posters have been designed for suppliers in different countries with key messages translated into the languages of key migrant worker groups. 

  • Australian suppliers can download the poster for their sites here>
  • Malaysian suppliers can download the poster for their sites here>
  • Bengali suppliers can download the poster for their sites here>
  • Thai suppliers can download the poster for their sites here>
  • Chinese suppliers can download the poster for their sites here>
  • Vietnamese suppliers can download the poster for their sites here>

We are committed to working with our suppliers to ensure appropriate grievance mechanisms are made available within their own supply chains. You can read more information on the Speak Up website and in the Supplier Speak Up FAQs.

With suppliers in many countries, we acknowledge there are different socio-cultural barriers that may prevent vulnerable workers from raising concerns, either directly with their employer (our supplier) or the Group. We know there is always more work to do to strengthen our grievance response. We will continue to review our grievance mechanisms and processes to strengthen them and improve their effectiveness. At the same time, we will continue to raise supplier awareness of the eight characteristics of an effective grievance process outlined by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (known as the UNGPs). 

It is important to us that effective remedies are available for affected people and communities where it is identified that our activities or business relationships have caused or contributed to adverse impacts. These remedies may be provided through direct engagement with affected people and communities, or in collaboration with our suppliers or other third parties.

Human rights and responsible sourcing challenges do not occur in isolation. They are embedded in complex socio-economic systems of migration, gender, under-employment, weak rule of law and low wages. Woolworths Group seeks to work in multi-stakeholder partnerships that both scale impact and promote a coordinated approach to tackling complex issues. We regularly engage with key external stakeholders to understand their expectations in relation to human rights. This includes civil society, government, workers and unions.

Communicating with our Stakeholders

We seek to make the form of the information available about our Human Rights program accessible to stakeholders across our supply chain.

We review our approach to grievance periodically, including updating our grievance mechanism Speak Up to include access to relay services for people with disability, as well as QR code access so people could scan and do online rather than call, as well as translation to multiple languages.

Where needed, we translate certain information and documents into languages other than English. These include our Responsible Sourcing Policy, Standards and some supporting documents translated into Mandarin as well as country-specific requirements such as our Responsible Recruitment Addendum which is available in Thai. To see all relevant documents visit here.

Our program requirements are communicated to new suppliers during the onboarding process, with regular updates and communications provided via emails, newsletters, in-person events.

We participate in biannual worker forums held under a MOU with the Retail Supply Chain Alliance (RCSA). The forums are held across Australia, and provide an opportunity for us to engage with workers in our horticulture supply chain. The format is unstructured, and includes a presentation on workers’ rights in Australia by the union which allows workers to freely raise questions and provide feedback.

UN Global Compact Network Australia (GCNA) Modern Slavery Community of Practice 

Woolworths Group is an active member of the UN Global Compact Network Australia, with our team participating in numerous events throughout the year and contributing to the Human Rights Leadership Group. Building on our contribution, the Woolworths Group is now represented on the GCNA Modern Slavery Community of Practice. The purpose of this community of practice is to share emerging best practices to build common capability in addressing modern slavery and human rights risk management among Australian businesses. 

Action Collaboration Transformation on Living Wages

To accelerate the living standards of workers in the apparel and footwear supply chain, BIG W joined ACT in February 2020. ACT is an agreement between global brands, retailers and trade unions to achieve living wages for workers through collective bargaining at industry level linked to brands’ purchasing practises. BIG W is an active participant in ACT’s Bangladesh country group meetings, a tripartite dialogue between ACT brands, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and trade unions. After an initial two years focused on COVID response, in F22 ACT participants made progress on a number of key commitments known as the ACT Global Purchasing Practices Commitments. See the sustainability section of the BIG W website for more information on progress to date.

International Accord

Woolworths Group is a founding signatory of the Bangladesh Accord. We support ongoing efforts to ensure robust, transparent and industry-wide mechanisms to deliver safe working conditions for all factory workers in Bangladesh. 

In F22 our BIG W business signed the International Accord and joined the Brand Association along with 170 other brands and retailers globally. We continue to support the International Accord by participating in business volume surveys, attending caucus meetings and following up on factory remediation. The Bangladesh Accord is now operationalised by the Ready-Made Garment (RMG) Sustainability Council. 

In March 2023 BIG W became a signatory to the Pakistan Accord. The Pakistan Accord is more expansive than the original Bangladesh Accord; it includes the RMG sector, but also all Cut-Make-Trim (CMT) facilities, including home textiles, fabric and knit accessories suppliers (such as hats, scarves, gloves and bags). 

The program of work will include independent inspections and remediation of fire, electrical, structural and boiler safety hazards, an independent compliant mechanism, and joint capacity building with the local government. BIG W has two sites in scope of the Pakistan Accord (as of F23).

Cleaning Accountability Framework (CAF)

CAF is a labour rights assurance scheme that places cleaners at the heart of compliance certification. Woolworths Group was a founding retail partner of CAF, and has invested $100,000 to assist CAF build a retail specific framework. A multi-retailer working group has been established to conceptualise how the CAF model can be adapted for a retail environment.

Retail Supply Chain Alliance

In May 2022, Woolworths Group signed the Ethical Retail Supply Chain Memorandum of Understanding (Australian Horticulture Industry) with the Retail Supply Chain Alliance (comprising of the Australian Workers Union, Transport Workers Union and Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Union). The goal of the two-year MOU is to build on the work towards ending worker exploitation in the supply chain by running pilot programs to promote lawful employment practices. These programs will be based around worker education initiatives and research.

As part of this MOU, we participate in biannual worker forums held under a joint Retail Supply Chain Alliance (RCSA) MOU. The forums are held across Australia, and provide an opportunity for us to engage with workers in our horticulture supply chain. The format is unstructured, and includes a presentation on workers’ rights in Australia by the union which allows workers to freely raise questions and provide feedback.

Consumer Goods Forum - Human Rights Coalition

In F22, Woolworths Group joined the Consumer Goods Forum Human Rights Coalition (CGF HRC). and in F23 assumed a role as Co-Chair. The HRC is a collective of 30 global retailers and manufacturers committed to eradicating forced labour from their operations and consumer goods supply chains. HRC members commit to implement the CGF’s human rights due diligence maturity framework for operations, with the goal that all members reach the ‘Leadership’ level by 2025. We continue to work with the CGF to improve human rights due diligence in our own operations. 

In F25 we also began work with the HRC on the Ethical Recruitment Marketplace, an initiative bringing together CGF member companies with shared supply chains as well as a multitude of programs and partners in the Asia Pacific region to create a sustainable system that promotes ethical recruitment as the norm, not the exception.

The goal is to create a virtuous circle where ethical recruitment is supported by supply and demand principles, becoming the new standard for the entirety of the migrant recruitment journey.

The Issara Institute

Woolworths Group joined the Issara Institute Strategic Partners Programme, Issara a non-profit organisation based in Thailand in F24. As a Strategic Partner, we work with Issara towards empowered worker voice, data and analytics, and a collaborative approach to operationalise ethical supply chains. We have started engagement with suppliers in Thailand, and will look to expand to other regions where Issara has a presence. Issara conducts worker-driven monitoring through its network, which includes local experts that engage communities to identify and address emerging issues. Issara is committed to building worker-validated and community-validated ethical supply chains from the bottom up. The partnership with Issara gives us an opportunity to provide suppliers with local expertise and grassroots support to implement responsible recruitment practices.

Issara also receives worker-reported issues and identifies systemic challenges that may be difficult to identify in social compliance audits. Some examples of worker-reported issues that Issara was able to surface include:

  • Pregnant workers facing issues with workloads and working conditions

  • Poor treatment by line managers/supervisors

  • Substandard living conditions and privacy in dorm/bathrooms/living space

  • Lack of professional conduct of recruitment agency and/or employer

Issara drives remediation of these issues through their Inclusive Labor Monitoring Action Network and validates remediation with affected workers through worker voice.

Respecting Child Rights

Woolworths Group takes a proactive approach to protecting children and their rights. The following section serves to highlight examples of partnership and stakeholder engagement that support this.

We are committed to continuing to learn and innovate and one way we can do this is by regularly participating in various benchmarks. We recognise the value of a number of benchmarks in helping to promote, educate and inform, and in highlighting both opportunities and areas for growth. The Global Child Forum benchmark is one of these. 

Preventing Child Labour in our supply chain

In addition to our Responsible Sourcing Program and related Responsible Sourcing Standards, suppliers are also required to meet the requirements laid out in Woolworths Group's Child Rights Addendum. 

This Child Labour Addendum, developed in collaboration with The Centre for Child Rights and Business, outlines our approach, and aims to clarify our expectations of supplier partners for the prevention and remediation of any child labour cases should they be identified in Woolworths Group’s supply chain. We will review and update this Addendum at regular intervals to ensure it remains fit for purpose.

Caring for all Australians

Woolworths Group works to support our community, including families and children, through a number of programs from food security to disaster relief and disability. 

Find out more here.

Our Children’s charity partners

Woolworths Group has a longstanding history of working with Australian children’s charities. Some of these partnerships date back more than 30 years, and in this time millions of dollars has been raised to support our work to help children who may be sick or in need in other ways. Read more here.

Fresh Food for kids, inspiring the next generation

Our customers tell us that health is important and want us to make healthier easier for them and their families. Read more about Making Healthier Easier, and in particular about Woolworths Group’s commitment to helping kids eat healthier with our Fresh Food Kids program. 

Gender Equity and parental leave

In November 2020, we became signatories to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs). Woolworths Group, from the top down, is committed to working collaboratively within multi‑stakeholder networks to foster business practices that empower women, and their children.

Family is an important part of our team members’ lives, our customers’ lives and our community. At Woolworths Group, we want to make things better for families - including supporting our team members while they are growing their families. Read more about our paid parental leave for primary and secondary carers on our Inclusive Workplace page here.

Marketing to Children

As a member of the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA), Woolworths Group adheres to the AANA Food & Beverages Code and the Marketing to Children's Code. This outlines protections for children through advertising, and ensures a high sense of social responsibility is maintained.

Responsible Service of alcohol and tobacco, and restricted products

We take the responsibility of selling alcohol, tobacco and sharp objects seriously and want to make sure that we only sell these items to people of the proper legal age (18+). We have a range of policies complying with legislative requirements, including verifying age in-store and online. See Countdown’s Liquor and Tobacco Policy here.

Read more about our commitment to the responsible service of alcohol and tobacco here.

Future Generations

Agriculture is the backbone of our business and we are committed to working with our partners to encourage sustainable and regenerative practices for future generations to come. 

Read more about our principles, initiatives and partnerships related to the responsible stewardship of natural resources in our 2022 Sustainability report here, and follow our progress in subsequent reports as we seek to better understand the impact and dependency of our supply chains on nature.

People are the core of our business, and our commitment to respect human rights of all workers starts in our own operations. We work across the diverse entities that undertake our retail operations, e-commerce, supply chain and logistics, property development and hotel businesses to create better experiences for a better tomorrow. 

Paying our team correctly and on time

Australia’s national minimum wage is set each year by an expert panel of the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The panel invites submissions from a wide range of organisations and also commissions research to inform its decision. In addition to the national minimum wage, there are also higher minimum wage rates and significant penalty rates and allowances contained in the 121 Modern Awards that cover specific industries and occupations.

Woolworths Group follows the law and applies the required minimum wage benchmarks as required, however in the majority of cases our enterprise agreements and employment contracts provide for higher wage rates than the national minimum wage or Award minimum rates (plus penalty rates and allowances).

Woolworths Group has controls and processes in place to ensure that any changes or updates that have occured in the pay period are captured to ensure accuracy of pay so that we can pay on time and in full. We pay our team on a weekly or monthly basis depending on the nature of the role. The pay period is in line with our obligations under the applicable Industrial Instrument/Award and/or Contract as well as our obligations, which include providing team members with payslip and ensuring pay slips have required information (including the amount paid and tax withheld), under the Fair Work Act. Further, we comply with the applicable legislation in relation to withholding tax and superannuation.

Protecting young team members

At Woolworths Group, we have a commitment to ensure that we are not using child labour in our operations or supply chain. 

We have controls in place during the recruitment process (including verifying age of candidates) to ensure that we are compliant with legislative requirements regarding the legal age of employment in each territory and state. Equally, we comply with all applicable licensing requirements, where we ensure team members who operate machinery that requires a license must provide proof that they are 18 years or older as well as be licenced to operate the Machinery (i.e. Forklift).

Communicating our human rights commitments to our team

Woolworths Group communicates its commitment to respecting human rights through our Responsible Sourcing Policy and Standards. To reflect these commitments to our team members, team members are required to complete the Code of Conduct training upon commencing in the workplace. The Code of Conduct talks to our obligations of 'never cutting corners on the implementation of our Responsible Sourcing Policy and Responsible Sourcing Standards'. The Code of Conduct also makes it clear that our procurement teams work to ensure 'that our buying and procurement processes are transparent and in line with our Fair Trading Principles'

Further, Woolworths Group clearly defines expectations through policies, of creating a respectful workplace that is free from unlawful discrimination and protectIing workers rights, including those team members who are part of a union, as precribed under the FW Act. Our Line Managers are required to monitor the workplace and raise and address any behaviour that is deemed to be inappropriate, equally our team members are made aware of their obligations and avenues to raise any behaviours that they have witnessed or have experienced, including but not limited to raising concerns in line with our Complaints Handling framework and/or raising an anonymous complaint through SpeakUp. Team Members may also choose to raise concerns through their union which is addressed in accordance with our Complaints Handling Standards.

We publish information about our grievance process in terms of the Speak Up process on our Woolworths Group website, which includes details on how team members and suppliers contact the service to raise any concerns. The business reports on the nature of complaints to the board of directors on a quarterly basis. 

For copies of Woolworths’ Responsible Sourcing Policy and related documents, please see the below links:

If you have any questions or require more information, please contact Woolworths’ Responsible Sourcing team by email at responsiblesourcing@woolworths.com.au

For our progress against this goal, see our most recent Modern Slavery Statement. For more information on our metrics, see our Reports and Data.