Victoria is making history with Treaty

Victoria is making history. For the first time in Australia, First Peoples and a state government have negotiated a Treaty. This is a powerful step toward truth-telling, justice and a more respectful future.

Treaty says that First Peoples have always been the original owners, carers and leaders of this land. It creates a system where:

  • First Peoples can make decisions about their own lives and communities
  • First Peoples and government work together to make important choices
  • Everyone works together to look after the land and nature, led by First Peoples

This is a chance for all Victorians to acknowledge our past, heal and move forward together. 

After nearly a decade walking the path to Treaty with our communities, and generations of resistance and activism from First Peoples, Australia’s first Treaty is here. 

In September 2025 Victoria will introduce a treaty to Parliament. The treaty promises to “reckon with the past” and empower Victoria’s First Peoples.

In the words of Ngarra Murray, the co-chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria:

Now we stand at the beginning of a new era, the treaty era. We are at a turning point in this nation’s history. Treaty offers us the chance to reshape the story of this country.

Treaty recognises that Aboriginal people are the experts on our own lives and communities, cultures, and our countries and it’s an opportunity to make sure we can use our local knowledge to come up with and deliver practical solutions at a community level.

Caption: Budj Bim Cultural Landscape (Ian F/Flickr)

What Treaty means, why it matters, and how we can all play a part

Treaty is a chance for all Victorians to recognise what happened in our past, heal from it, and move forward together.

The Treaty bill would make the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria a permanent organisation.

The Treaty bill would give the Assembly new responsibilities to:

  • Make decisions about issues that directly affect First Nations people
  • Create an independent system to make sure governments keep their promises to Close the Gap
  • Be consulted when governments make laws or policies that affect First Nations people
  • Support ongoing truth-telling and healing in Victorian towns and regions, collect stories and creating records to help educate the public
  • Fill specific First Nations positions that are set aside by law, like appointments to the Heritage Council of Victoria
  • Run programmes like the Aboriginal Community Infrastructure Fund, Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll and NAIDOC Week
  • Create a First Peoples’ Institute to develop leadership skills in the community.

The Assembly is made up of Indigenous representatives elected by their communities. Members are elected by their communities to speak up for their rights, ideas and priorities on the journey to Treaty.

The Victorian National Parks Association and Treaty

VNPA is proud to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of all the lands where we do our nature conservation and community engagement work across Victoria. With profound respect for the sovereignty, culture, and rights of First Peoples, we are pleased to support a Treaty. 

We recognise that First Nations cultural and natural heritage are indivisible, with Traditional Owners’ cultural practices and environmental stewardship forming an integrated knowledge system.

Historical and ongoing destruction of nature across Victoria and Australia has an unacceptable impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders’ connection to Country.

To create a liveable, equitable world, there must be a structural change to how government and communities approach policies that effect nature and First Nations connection to Country. Treaty is a core part of this change.

Our vision is a Victoria with a natural web of life that is protected, respected and enjoyed by all. To fulfil this vision, we need improved and respectful systems for listening to and understanding First Nation communities and their connection to Country.

Together, we can create a future where First Peoples’ voices are heard, rights are respected, and justice is realised for generations past and those to come.   

Why is Treaty so important for nature protection?

Victoria has cleared and settled on more of its original forests, grasslands and wetlands than any other Australian state. It’s hard to comprehend and yet it could not be more important to try.

The process of colonisation forever altered Victoria’s landscapes. Depending on whose Country you stand, in some places, only 10 per cent of the original remains. Today nature is still under extreme pressure.

Dense rainforests and woodlands undone by axe and tractor. Vast wildflower grasslands crushed under hoof and factory. Rivers redirected and lakes polluted, swamps and alpine bogs drained and dried. Native birds, animals and plants pushed into tinier, isolated patches. And it’s our decisions that are causing the trouble. From climate disruption, fire patterns, invasive species and illegal removal or destruction of wildlife and their homes.

Victoria’s native grasslands once covered a third of the state and were cared for by Traditional Custodians. They were essential food bowls for First Nations communities. Wallaby grass seeds made excellent bread, leaves and stems were used for fishing and hunting nets. Strategic fire encouraged edible ground-level plants that attracted grass-eating animals like kangaroos – an important protein source. It only took 200 years to destroy what was cared for by Victoria’s First People’s for over millennia. Today one per cent of our wildflower meadows survive.

First Nations people have never surrendered their rights to Country. Treaty will strengthen Victoria by:

  • Recognising First Peoples’ rights and long-standing connection to Country
  • Sharing decision-making, for example when it comes to caring for land and water
  • Creating a more inclusive future, where everyone’s history and culture is valued

It’s a chance for healing, of people, communities and Country. When First Peoples have the power to speak for and care for their lands, everyone benefits.

Caption: Gunditjmara Country | Peter/Flickr

Who’s involved in Treaty for Victoria?

Treaty is made by talking and agreeing. In Victoria, the State Government and the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria work together to make Treaty.

Both groups are equal partners. They decide together what each side will do, what rights people have, and how to make decisions.

  • Victorian Government: Senior people from the Department of Premier and Cabinet speak for the government.
  • First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria: they speak for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who live in Victoria and the Traditional Owners of the land.
  • Treaty Authority: a separate group that helps both sides work together in a respectful way. They follow special rules for how to talk about Treaty.
  • Traditional Owner groups – Each group can make their own Treaties for their own Country. This means each community can focus on what matters most to them and their land.

What can I do to support Treaty

For non-Aboriginal people, Treaty is about acknowledging the past, listening deeply, and helping build a more honest and fair relationship with the First Peoples of this land.

The journey to Treaty must be led by First Peoples – but it’s a journey we can walk together. There are many ways to show your support.

Get involved

Learn more