Victoria is moving towards becoming the first Australian state to sign a Treaty with First Peoples. Legislation for the Treaty has now been tabled in parliament, marking a historic milestone in the process. If passed, it will establish new structures for decision-making, truth-telling, and community-led reform. Among the initiatives anticipated is a new Aboriginal-run education institute, recently announced by the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria. The bill also proposes to make the Assembly permanent under a new authority called Gellung Warl.

In this blog, we outline the history of Treaty in Victoria, how the process has developed, and how it could mark the beginning of a new Treaty era.

History of Treaty in Victoria

According to a joint statement from the Victorian Government and the First Peoples’ Assembly, the Victorian Treaty process follows “close to a decade of preparatory work by the parties, including Australia’s first Treaty legislation passed by the Victorian Parliament in 2018, and the Treaty Authority Act which received bipartisan support in the Victorian Parliament in 2022”.

The First Peoples’ Assembly was established to represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on this shared journey. The Assembly notes: “The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria… has been established to represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on the shared journey to Treaty… [It] is an independent and democratic body – it held elections in 2019 and 2023 and… people across Victoria have chosen 33 Traditional Owners to represent their communities.” Assembly members and engagement teams began statewide negotiations in November 2024 and “are constantly holding events and forums in every corner of the state to listen to ideas and aspirations for Treaty”.

The bill now before parliament reflects agreements already reached between the government and the Assembly. It proposes that the Assembly, through Gellung Warl, will have the power to make rules on matters directly affecting First Peoples, with oversight from IBAC and the Ombudsman, the same scrutiny applied to other state institutions.

What treaty means in Victoria

Treaties are formal agreements that set out the terms of relationships between groups. They have historically been used to resolve conflict and create shared frameworks for governance. In Victoria, the Assembly describes treaties as agreements that set “ground-rules” for relationships and have often helped “build peace and prosperity”.

In the Victorian context, Treaty is presented as both recognition and reform: acknowledging the impacts of colonisation, while creating mechanisms that enable Aboriginal communities to decide on matters that affect them. The Assembly states: “Treaty is a pathway to acknowledging the past and making real, practical change to achieve better outcomes for First Peoples in Victoria and close the gap”, and goes on to note that “[s]elf-determination is at the heart of Australia’s first ever Treaty.”

The Victorian Government’s 13 January 2025 joint statement echoes this framing, describing Treaty as “making a better and fairer state for every Victorian.” The Treaty itself also sets out this principle clearly: “First Peoples decide First Peoples’ issues. This doesn’t take anything away from anyone else.” It further notes: “Treaty is not a gift given, but a commitment made – to practical change, to shared progress, and to a future in which dignity and opportunity belong to all.” (ABC)

Two levels of treaty

The Victorian process involves both a Statewide Treaty and local Treaties:

1. The Statewide Treaty will provide an overarching framework and strengthen the Assembly as an ongoing representative body with decision-making powers on issues affecting Aboriginal people.
2. Traditional Owner Treaties will be negotiated with individual groups to reflect the priorities of each Country and community. These local treaties will move at different paces, with the Dja Dja Wurrung becoming the first group to register on the Treaty Negotiations Database in May 2025.

This dual approach recognises both the need for structural reform at the state level and the diversity of local needs across Victoria.

Building the foundations

Several building blocks have been established to make Treaty possible:

• The Treaty Negotiation Framework, which sets out guiding principles and processes.
• The Self-Determination Fund, which provides resources for Traditional Owners to prepare for negotiations.
• The Treaty Authority, an independent body grounded in Aboriginal Lore and Law, oversees talks and resolves disputes.
• The Yoorrook Justice Commission, “Victoria’s and Australia’s first formal truth-telling inquiry”, which completed four years of work in June 2025 documenting the impacts and “ongoing systemic injustices” of colonisation and producing recommendations for reform.

Gellung Warl will carry this work forward through two permanent bodies: one to continue truth-telling beyond the Yoorrook Justice Commission, and another “to hold the government to account”. A new school curriculum, covering prep to year 10, will also be developed using Yoorrook’s findings, ensuring that all Victorian primary and secondary students learn more about the history and cultures of Victoria’s First Peoples. (ABC)

Expanding the Assembly’s role

The First Peoples’ Assembly, elected in 2019 and 2023, is central to the process. Negotiations are focused on evolving it into a statutory body with a permanent role in governance. The proposed responsibilities include:

• Asking questions of ministers and requiring consultation on laws and policies affecting First Peoples.
• Making statutory appointments to designated Aboriginal seats on government boards.
• Monitoring progress under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap through a new accountability mechanism.
• Decision-making on matters such as confirmation of Aboriginality.
• Leading truth-telling, cultural recognition, reconciliation, and community leadership programs.

As Assembly co-chair Rueben Berg recently explained to the ABC, “Through treaty, we are developing First Peoples’-led organisations to be able to make decisions on First Peoples’ matters, hold government accountable and continue ongoing truth-telling and healing.”

The First Peoples’ Institute

Among the first Treaty-backed initiatives is the proposed First Peoples’ Institute, a specialised training provider designed and governed by Aboriginal people. The institute will not operate as a traditional school or university but instead provide targeted skills and leadership programs, complementing existing Aboriginal training organisations and universities. Berg described it as a long-term investment: “The educational institute… will help address higher education gaps in the Aboriginal community and boost the existing Aboriginal workforce to meet the needs of the new treaty era”. (ABC)

Historical and community perspectives

Aboriginal-led education has a strong history in Victoria. In the 1980s, the Koori Kollij trained Aboriginal health workers through the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service. Uncle Alan Brown, a Gunditjmara Elder involved in that initiative, is now part of the Assembly’s Elders Voice advisory committee. He said of the new institute: “The strength of our own First Peoples Institute is that the courses will be designed about what we need to build our future… that will be driven by Victorian Aboriginal people”. (ABC)

He emphasised that such initiatives are not unusual: “It shouldn’t be feared. It should be embraced.”

Addressing inequality

The Yoorrook Justice Commission found that Aboriginal students remain under-represented in higher education, face racism in universities, and have lower completion rates than their peers.

Associate Professor Aleryk Fricker of Deakin University described the proposed institute as a stepping stone towards broader reform: “This proposal is a long way away from any kind of Indigenous tertiary institution, however it will potentially set a really important precedent for us to have some serious conversations around this reform”. (ABC)

Looking ahead

Legislation for the Statewide Treaty has now been tabled in parliament. If passed, it will usher in what the Assembly has described as a “new Treaty era”.

The bill sets out that Gellung Warl will be fully operational by 1 July 2026, with fresh elections to be held for the new Assembly before then. It also establishes secure funding through a special appropriation act, guaranteeing tens of millions of dollars annually once the new authority is fully in place. (ABC)

Conclusion

Victoria is on track to become the first Australian jurisdiction to sign a Treaty with First Peoples. This will set a national precedent, highlighting both the opportunities and complexities of formalising agreements between governments and First Peoples. Alongside truth-telling and new governance structures, the proposed First Peoples’ Institute stands as one of the earliest outcomes of this process.

Says the Treaty: “The injustices that began with colonisation – dispossession, racism, and discrimination – continue to shape the lives of First Peoples today.

“Treaty is the next step through that door. It is not about dwelling in the past, nor laying blame. It is about acknowledging that the past still shapes the present and choosing to do better from here.”

Resources

• Advancing the Treaty Process with Aboriginal Victorians Act 2018 (Victorian Government)
• Treaty Explainer (First Peoples’ Assembly)
• Treaty negotiation updates (First Peoples’ relations, Victorian Government)
• Treaty Authority and Other Treaty Elements Act 2022 (Victorian Government)
• Victoria’s First Peoples’ Assembly reveals proposed treaty-backed powers to create a new education facility (ABC)
• Victoria to become first Australian state to formally table treaty legislation in parliament (ABC)

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CourtHeath acknowledges the Traditional Aboriginal Owners of Country throughout Victoria and pays respect to Elders past and present, and to the ongoing living culture of Aboriginal people.

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IMAGE from Victoria's Treaty Information Pack

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