All Sections [MASTER]
All Sections [MASTER]
Get in touch with the Treaty Authority
Public
Notifications
The Treaty Authority is the independent body that oversees Treaty-making in Victoria.
The Treaty Authority is led by First Peoples and grounded in Aboriginal Lore, Law and Cultural Authority. We are the first body of this kind in Australia. We were created by the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria and the State of Victoria but operate independently from them.
Our doors are open for Treaty-making. Get in touch to find out more.
The Treaty Authority’s role is to facilitate negotiations and help find common ground between parties
The Treaty Authority was created to oversee Treaty negotiations between First Peoples and the State of Victoria.
There are two types of Treaties with the State that the Treaty Authority may facilitate:
Statewide
Treaty
Statewide Treaty will be negotiated with the State of Victoria over all Country that is currently known as Victoria. Treaty will benefit all Victorians, including Victorian Traditional Owners and other First Peoples living in Victoria.
Local Traditional
Owner Treaties
Traditional Owner Treaties can be negotiated by Traditional Owners about their aspirations and priorities over their Country including their traditional lands and waters.
The Treaty Authority’s role is to:
- Make sure parties follow the rules for Treaty-making
- Assist parties to make agreements
- Help resolve any disputes related to Treaty-making and
- Carry out research to support and inform Treaty negotiations.
The Treaty Authority is not a party to any Treaty negotiation. Instead, we oversee Treaty negotiations to support negotiating parties to reach agreement.
The Treaty Authority also manages the Negotiations Database, which includes public information about Treaty negotiations, such as who is negotiating a Treaty, the Country it will cover and the status of negotiations.
The Treaty Authority’s role is different from other key organisations in the Treaty process
The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria is the independent democratically elected body that represents Traditional Owners of Country and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in Victoria. The Assembly intends to negotiate Statewide Treaty with the State of Victoria, if it meets Minimum Standards, and once it is identified as the First Peoples’ Representative Body in accordance with the Treaty Negotiation Framework.
The Self-Determination Fund is the First Peoples’ controlled and managed fund that resources Traditional Owner groups to get ready for and negotiate Treaties. In the long term, it will also empower First Peoples to build capacity, wealth and prosperity.
First Peoples – State Relations (Department of Premier and Cabinet, Victorian Government) is responsible for leading Treaty negotiations on behalf of the State of Victoria and driving whole-of-government engagement with the Treaty process.
The Yoorrook Justice Commission is the first formal truth-telling process into injustices experienced by First Peoples in Victoria. The outcomes of the Commission’s truth-telling process are expected to inform Treaty negotiations in Victoria.
The Treaty Authority’s work is grounded in Aboriginal Lore, Law and Cultural Authority.
The central principle for Treaty, Aboriginal self-determination and empowerment, is at the heart of Treaty-making. The Treaty Authority is committed to upholding First Peoples’ empowerment and creating an equal playing field for Traditional Owners in the Treaty process. The Treaty Authority also observes and upholds Aboriginal Lore, Law and Cultural Authority. We work hard to understand how it applies for different Traditional Owner groups and to respect the diversity of Aboriginal cultures across Victoria.
The Treaty Authority is led by respected First Peoples
The Treaty Authority is led by five respected Aboriginal people who are known as Treaty Authority Members. The Members were selected by an independent panel guided by Elders and appointed by the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria and the State of Victoria.
Treaty-making is about coming together in good faith to reach agreement.
However, along the way, disagreements may arise, for example, in relation to:
- Entering negotiations (such as meeting the Minimum Standards)
- Entry onto the Negotiations Database
- Forming or changing a Treaty Delegation
- Preparing for and participating in Treaty negotiations.
Have your say on Statewide Treaty
Make a comment or dispute by 17 September
If you’re an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person or organisation from Victoria, share your views on the First Peoples’ Assembly’s plans to meet standards and represent you in Statewide Treaty.
You don’t have to be enrolled with the Assembly to have your say.
Statewide Treaty will be negotiated by the parties on behalf all Victorians
Statewide Treaty will be negotiated with the State of Victoria over all Country that is currently known as Victoria. The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria has been entered onto the Negotiations Database as the First Peoples’ Representative Body for the purposes of Statewide Treaty negotiations.
Comment and Dispute Period is open – Have your say
The Treaty Authority now invites First Peoples to make a comment or raise a dispute about the Assembly’s satisfaction of the Minimum Standards for the First Peoples’ Representative Body. The Assembly’s notification includes information about how the Assembly meets the Minimum Standards relating to Land and Waters, Community, Leadership and Inclusivity. The Assembly’s notification is available here.
The Treaty Authority has commenced a two-month Comment and Dispute Period, during which First Peoples may comment on or raise a dispute about Assembly’s satisfaction of the Minimum Standards. This began on 17 July 2024 and closes at 5pm on 17 September 2024. Have your say here.
Statewide Treaty will benefit all people in Victoria
Statewide Treaty will benefit all Victorian First Peoples, including Victorian Traditional Owners and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in Victoria. In the spirit of reconciliation, Statewide Treaty will also benefit all Victorians.
Unlike Traditional Owner Treaties that relate to Traditional Owners’ aspirations for their own local areas, Statewide Treaty will empower the voices and self-determination of all First Peoples living in Victoria.
Statewide Treaty will cover matters that impact all Victorians
Statewide Treaty will cover statewide matters that impact all Victorians (such as improving health, education and justice for First Peoples).
Negotiations for Statewide Treaty may also consider the transfer of power and decision-making from government to First Peoples. This may result in significant changes in Victoria, such as establishing a permanent representative body for First Peoples.
It is expected that the content of Statewide Treaty will be informed by the Yoorrook Justice Commission’s truth-telling process.
To find out more, see Part C of the Treaty Negotiation Framework.
Treaty Delegations are living and may change
A Treaty Delegation is dynamic and can be reconstituted, even once negotiations have commenced. This means changes can be requested by the Treaty Delegation as to how it is formed or who forms part of the Delegation or in some instances, changes can be made by the Treaty Authority.
A reconstitution of a Treaty Delegation may also be triggered when a new Traditional Owner Group is entered onto the Negotiations Database over any part of lands or waters already covered by that Treaty Delegation. If the Treaty Delegation refuses to reconstitute, the Treaty Authority will facilitate finding common ground between the additional Traditional Owner Group and the Treaty Delegation.
A Treaty Delegation must agree collectively on matters such as:
The area of lands and waters over which they will negotiate a Treaty
Matters that may not be discussed in Treaty negotiations
How the Delegation is inclusive of all Traditional Owners of that area of land and waters
Leadership arrangements and decision-making processes and
How it will seek the collective support of its members.
Once this collective agreement is reached among the Delegation’s members and other Framework requirements are met, the Treaty Authority can enter the Treaty Delegation on the Negotiations Database.
Forming a Delegation will take time, as Traditional Owner Groups self-determine who will negotiate Treaty over their traditional lands and waters, and how they will seek collective agreement on Treaty matters. The Treaty Authority’s aim is to bring First Peoples together to promote healing and empower collective decision-making.
A Traditional Owner Group may be a part of more than one Treaty Delegation. This is because the area of land and waters over which they intend to negotiate Treaty may overlap the interests of multiple other Traditional Owner Groups.
For more information on Treaty Delegations, see clause 10 of the Treaty Negotiation Framework.
Parties can invite other groups, organisations or people to negotiations
Parties can agree to invite other groups, organisations or people to join in part or all of their Treaty negotiations. These parties are called ‘additional negotiating parties’.
For example, a Treaty Delegation might choose to invite local government or an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation to join negotiations about housing or employment.