Trafficking in persons has no borders and occurs in many different sectors - its negative impacts spread across Southeast Asia. Economic downturn across the region, coupled with an increase in online activity has placed more people at risk of being recruited into false or misleading employment opportunities.

In response to these emerging trends and ongoing vulnerabilities to trafficking in persons in Southeast Asia, Australia continues over 20 years of support to ASEAN and its Member States to strengthen responses to trafficking in persons, while advancing the rights and protection of victims.

The ASEAN-Australia Counter Trafficking program is a 10-year initiative (2018-2028) funded by the Australian Government and implemented by DT Global. The program supports ASEAN and ASEAN Member States to implement and report on its obligations under the ASEAN Convention against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (ACTIP). The program works with and through ASEAN sectoral bodies and in five target countries – Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Working with and through ASEAN, recent achievements include:

• Supporting ASEAN to develop new polices on: (1) the protection of migrant workers and family members in crisis situations, (2) the placement and protection of migrant fishers, (3) combating trafficking in persons caused by the abuse of technology (2023).
• Training and resources for frontliner responders in handling trafficking cases developed with a focus on gender-sensitive and victim-centred approaches, through support to the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) (2023).
• ASEAN Multi-Sectoral Work Plan Against Trafficking in Persons 2023 – 2028 (Bohol TIP Work Plan 2.0) with a monitoring and evaluation framework was developed through the program’s support to the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime - SOMTC (2024).
• Council of ASEAN Chief Justices first knowledge-exchange between Indonesian and Philippines judges on victim-centred approaches to countering trafficking (2024).

The program has 4 key projects to respond to common challenges in countering trafficking in persons. Recent achievements by project include:

1. Enhancing collaboration within and across sectors:

• Supported Thailand to convene annual modern slavery conferences bringing together government, businesses, and non-government to discuss the vulnerabilities of workers to modern slavery and how these can be addressed through multi-stakeholder partnerships (2024 and 2025).
• Supported multi-stakeholder consultations to inform the review of Vietnam’s anti-trafficking in persons law, which now contains stronger protection and enhanced support for victims, including the importance of applying the non-punishment principle to victims of trafficking (2024).
• Conducted research in partnership with La Trobe University on the intersection of disability and trafficking, which was launched at an international conference (2024).
• Partnering with Organisations of Persons with Disabilities in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand to progress disability inclusion in counter trafficking (2025).

2. Institutionalising knowledge and professional development

• Supported Thailand to establish its first professional development facility in the region - ‘Counter Trafficking in Persons Centre of Excellence’ - with a dedicated focus on countering trafficking and related crimes using victim-centred and gender-sensitive approaches (2024).
• Supported the Philippines Supreme Court to launch a multi-sectoral guideline to better protect and support victims of serious crimes throughout the justice process (2024).
• The People’s Supreme Court of Laos developed and issued a new Victim Sensitive Court guideline, which is now being incorporate into judicial training for all judges in Laos. (2023-continuing)

3. Improving transparency and accountability

• Supported the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) to develop a monitoring and evaluation system to strengthen gender-sensitive and victim-centred approaches in countering-trafficking. This system is now being piloted in Thailand and the Philippines.
• Conducted a study on the nexus between trafficking in persons and corruption in partnership with UNODC (2024).
• Facilitated a roundtable discussion with Thai government officials to discuss the findings of a legal review on trafficking and corruption conducted in partnership with UNODC (2025).

4. Cultivating leadership and coordination

• Designed and currently delivering the first professional development course for senior government leaders with a role in countering trafficking. The first cohort commenced in 2025 with 20 senior government leaders across Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam (2025).