2025 Australian Dialogue on Business and Human Rights
- DATE 26 August 2025
- VENUE Storey Hall Conference Centre, RMIT University City Campus, 342 Swanston Street, Melbourne Australia VIC 3000 (near corner w/ Latrobe St)
About
The 2025 Australian Dialogue on Business and Human Rights, now in its twelfth year, will bring together leaders from the business and investment communities, alongside representatives of other stakeholder groups, to discuss ways forward to strengthen responsible business practices in turbulent times.
Business leaders in Australia and our region are facing a rapidly evolving and challenging environment. Geopolitical conflict and instability, regulatory uncertainty, accelerating ecological crises and the transition to a more sustainable economy demand values-based leadership, agile decision-making and dynamic responses to complex challenges. Operating with respect for human rights in this turbulent landscape is critical – and challenging.
The 2025 Australian Dialogue on Business and Human Rights is being convened as part of the inaugural UN Business and Human Rights Regional Forum – Australia and New Zealand, which incorporates events that support discussions targeted at the needs of specific stakeholder groups as well as rich multistakeholder exchanges. In the context of this dynamic two-day offering, the 2025 Australian Dialogue on Business and Human Rights will focus in on the needs of business leaders working to strengthen responsible, rights-respecting business practices.
Through practical, interactive and thought-provoking sessions, attendees will be supported to:
- Unpack the practical implications of the interplay between the global context and human rights
- Discuss practical tools to maintain focus and traction internally while navigating a turbulent landscape
- Anticipate and prepare for the evolution of regulatory developments in Australia, New Zealand and around the world
- Build confidence incorporating meaningful engagement with affected stakeholders, including insights from lived experience
- Examine emerging frontiers of responsible business practice, including the green transition, inequality, conflict and the growing role of AI
Across these topics, attendees will be challenged to look ahead and ask: What could the business and human rights landscape look like in Australia and our immediate region in the next 5-10 years – and what is our role in achieving that vision?
The 2025 Australian Dialogue on Business and Human Rights will be held under the Chatham House rule.
About the United Nations Business and Human Rights Regional Forum: Australia and New Zealand
Now entering its 12th edition, the 2025 Australian Dialogue on Business and Human Rights is being convened as part of the inaugural UN Business and Human Rights Regional Forum – Australia and New Zealand, which incorporates events that support discussions targeted at the needs of specific stakeholder groups as well as rich multistakeholder exchanges.
The inaugural UN Business and Human Rights Regional Forum: Australia and New Zealand (the Forum) will bring together a broad range of stakeholders to strengthen business practices and connect on how businesses manage value chains across our region.
Attendees from government, business, investment, the education sector and civil society will gather to discuss key trends and developments in the business and human rights landscape in our region and globally.
Program
Tuesday 26 August
Welcome from the UN Global Compact Network Australia (UNGCNA)
Keynote address: The challenges and opportunities of our turbulent times
Leading change through turbulence and uncertainty
During this session, attendees will be invited to reflect on the impact of the turbulent and uncertain external landscape.
What challenges are we confronting and where do we feel stuck? Where do we see opportunities for progress? What is the mood within our organisations – and how is this affecting effort to progress its approach to human rights (including modern slavery)? What tools and practices can support us to maintain focus and momentum?
Leading towards mandatory due diligence and hardening expectations
(Part 1)
The regulatory landscape – particularly in the European Union – is evolving rapidly, with implications businesses in Australia and New Zealand.
During Part 1 of this two-part session, we will unpack recent developments in the EU’s ongoing efforts to ‘simplify’ sustainability due diligence and reporting requirements, discuss what these mean for businesses in our region, and consider how they may influence future regulatory developments in Australia and New Zealand.
Lunch
Leading towards mandatory due diligence and hardening expectations
(Part 2)
During Part 2 of this two-part session, we will consider how businesses in Australia and New Zealand can prepare for harder expectations, and anticipate and solve for the challenges they may bring.
In conversation: Truth, understanding and transformation
Break
Leading into emerging frontiers of business and human rights
These turbulent times present a variety of emerging challenges for businesses committed to operating with respect for human rights.
Conflict and geopolitical instability, the climate and nature crises, inequality and the transition to a more sustainable economy: to navigate each of these, businesses must expand their human rights approach and step up to meet the demands of new frontiers.
During this session, we will spotlight and discuss real-life examples of action by businesses in Australia and New Zealand. We will consider opportunities to take inspiration from this work and build on the insights these organisations have shared.
Looking towards the next decade
We will conclude with some time to discuss, as a group, our vision for the future of business and human rights in our immediate region.
What are our priorities for the coming decade, what do we want to achieve by 2035, and what action or support will be needed from business, investors, government and other stakeholder groups? What can we begin to progress now, at this inaugural Regional Forum?
Closing Remarks