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Civil Society Seeks Government Support on Organ Trafficking Bill

Third Sector September 12, 2024

2 min read

Australia does not collect any data about how many people entering Australia have had an organ transplant overseas.

“This Bill is an important step in understanding and preventing unlawful organ transplants that occur overseas,” said International Human Rights Barrister Madeleine Bridgett.

“Currently Australia does not collect comprehensive data of how many Australians travel overseas for an organ transplant.”

This is despite a number of recommendations made in the 2018 Parliamentary Report, Compassion, not Commerce that the Australian Government pursue measures to improve data collection on overseas organ transplants.

“This means that Australia is not monitoring overseas organ transplants for illegal activity such as the unlawful selling and buying of human organs,” added Bridgett.

“By not collecting this data, Australia is failing to meet international best practice standards.”

According to the Barrister, this Bill is a first step in the right direction and will assist the Australian Government in establishing a comprehensive organ donation data collection repository which will in turn assist in preventing and eradicating organ trafficking.

The Migration Amendment (Overseas Organ Transplant Disclosure and Other Measures) Bill 2024 aims to address some of the complex health, legal and ethical issues related to overseas organ transplants.

This legislation is straightforward – it introduces a question to the Incoming Passenger Card asking those who received an organ transplant outside Australia to declare it. This measure has the potential to provide data about the number of Australians who receive organ transplants while overseas.

“Australians who obtain a transplanted organ in countries with poor human rights records may be supporting organ trafficking, which is a form of modern slavery,” said ETAC Distinguished Professor and International Advisory Committee Chair Wendy Rogers.

“To address this problem we urgently need measures like those proposed in the Migration Amendment (Overseas Organ Transplant Disclosure and Other Measures) Bill 2024.”

The Bill has successfully passed the Senate, without Government support last month.

18 civil society organisations and individuals wrote to the Minister for Home Affairs, the Hon Tony Burke, seeking the Labor government’s support of this Bill in the House of Representatives.

“This Bill proposes the simple mechanism of adding a question to the Incoming Passenger Card. The information that will be collected is critical for preventing further involvement of Australians in organ trafficking. I urge the Government to support the Bill,” added Rogers.

“Sometimes the simplest things are the most profound. This simple proposal has the potential to shine the light needed to start to combat organ trafficking and harvesting,” said Be Slavery Free Co-Director Carolyn Kitto OAM.

Third Sector

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