Human Trafficking in Oceania

An estimated 41,000 people in Australia and 8,000 in New Zealand are living in modern slavery, with prevalence rates of 1.6 per 1,000 population. In contrast, Papua New Guinea (PNG) has the highest burden in the region, with around 93,000 people—10.3 per 1,000—affected. The types of exploitation includes forced labor, sexual exploitation, forced marriage, and domestic servitude. Most victims identified in Australia and New Zealand are migrants from Asia and the Pacific, while trafficking in Melanesian countries like PNG and Solomon Islands often targets local populations, including women and children, for sexual and labor exploitation in urban centers, logging camps, and mining sites.

Women and girls account for the majority of trafficking victims, especially in sex trafficking and forced marriage cases. Forced labor among children, particularly in rural Melanesian communities, and sexual exploitation of minors in logging and coastal areas are serious concerns. Some countries have documented cases of girls as young as 13 trafficked for sex, and informal child fostering arrangements in Polynesia and Micronesia can lead to domestic servitude.

Across the Pacific, limited law enforcement, cultural taboos, and economic hardship contribute to underreporting and enforcement gaps. Labor migration schemes such as Australia and New Zealand’s seasonal worker programs have exposed some Pacific Islanders to exploitation. Climate-related displacement is also an emerging risk factor, especially in atoll nations like Tuvalu and Kiribati.