The Turnbull government is set to crack down on schools and universities that send their students to volunteer in overseas orphanages, amid fears that they may be contributing to a new form of modern slavery.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham says he is appalled that well-meaning students could be unwittingly caught up in child exploitation through orphanage tourism and shonky volunteer programs.

Australian students could unwittingly be getting caught up in child exploitation through shonky volunteer programs.

Global demand for so-called "voluntourism" experiences is fuelling the targeted recruitment of children who are unnecessarily separated from their families to solicit profit from Western visitors.

Experts warn that it is not uncommon for recruiters to be sent into villages to convince families to give up their children for money or the promise of a better life.