Friday 11 October
The Treaty Authority today wrote to Natalie Hutchins MP, Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, to invite the State of Victoria to commence negotiations for Statewide Treaty with the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria.
For Treaty negotiations to start, the State must accept the invitation and demonstrate its readiness to commence Treaty negotiations. Under the Treaty Negotiation Framework, the State must meet the agreed Minimum Standards and undertake Additional Preparations in order to enter into Treaty negotiations.
If the Treaty Authority is satisfied that the State has complied with the Minimum Standards and sufficiently progressed its fulfilment of the Additional Preparations, the State must be entered onto the Treaty Negotiations Database, signaling the readiness of both parties to begin negotiations.
The Treaty Authority is the independent body responsible for facilitating and overseeing Treaty negotiations between First Peoples and the State of Victoria. It ensures that the parties follow the process for negotiating and signing Treaties under the Treaty Negotiation Framework. Led by respected Aboriginal people and grounded in Aboriginal Lore, Law and Cultural Authority as well as Western law, the Treaty Authority is the first body of its kind in Australia and is independent from the State of Victoria, the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria and other First Peoples’ groups.