Slavery in Australia has existed in various forms from colonisation in 1788 to the present day. European settlement relied heavily on convicts, sent to Australia as punishment for crimes and forced into labour and often sold to free settlers. Many Indigenous Australians were also forced into various forms of slavery and unfree labour from colonisation. Some Indigenous Australians performed unpaid labour until the 1970s. Labourers were also imported from the Pacific Islands, India and China, and employed in various degrees of unfree labour.