Traditional Owner Treaties

Who can negotiate a Traditional Owner Treaty?

A Treaty Delegation must be formed to negotiate a Treaty over a specified area of lands and waters

A Traditional Owner Treaty can be negotiated with the State of Victoria by what is known as a ‘Treaty Delegation’. 

A Treaty Delegation must be inclusive of all relevant Traditional Owner Groups. It can be made up of one or more Traditional Owner Groups on the Negotiations Database in relation to one part of Country, including their traditional lands and waters. This means if there is more than one Traditional Owner Group that wishes to negotiate a Treaty over the same Country, they must agree to come together to form a single 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.

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. 

No Traditional Owners will be left behind

The Treaty Authority acknowledges that not all Traditional Owner groups in Victoria have had their rights recognised through State and Commonwealth legislation.

The door is open for all Traditional Owner groups to be part of a Treaty Delegation. This includes groups whose rights are not currently recognised under legislation such as the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 (Vic) or Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 (Vic). 

The State has no role to play in the formation of a Delegation (except in limited circumstances, where a Traditional Owner Group requests the State’s early dialogue on the matters under consideration during formation). The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria also has no role to play in who forms a Treaty Delegation. Traditional Owners decide who will negotiate Treaty over their own Country, including their traditional lands and waters, and can arrive at Treaty negotiations in their own time and on their own terms. 

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.

The Treaty Authority acknowledges First Peoples as sovereign peoples throughout the lands and waters now known as Victoria and across Australia. We pay deep respect to all Traditional Owners, their lands, waters and skies, their Elders and ancestors, languages, family and clan groups, and their Lore, Law, customs, traditions and spiritual connections.

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