Treaty of Victoria unveiled: What the historic agreement means for the state
Victoria’s Treaty agreement has been released, with measures including embedding Indigenous “truth-telling” into schools, renaming geographical features and establishing a council with far-reaching powers over government departments and agencies.
Victorian schools will roll out an Indigenous history curriculum, geographical features across the state could be renamed, and the public sector will undergo retraining to become “culturally capable” under the Labor government’s Treaty deal.
The “historic” Treaty agreement, reached between the Allan government and the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, was unveiled to taxpayers on Tuesday, revealing for the first time the depth of commitments agreed to by the state.
As previously revealed by the Herald Sun, the headline promise is to create a new Victorian Indigenous council – similar to the federal government’s failed Voice to parliament – called Gellung Warl.
It will replace and expand the First Peoples’ Assembly and be made up of 33 representatives elected by Indigenous Victorians and be given more than $70 million a year by taxpayers.
Its role will be to advise the government, departments and agencies on all Indigenous policy and programs – but the state will have the final say on whether to back these.
For the first time new detail has also been provided on a range of other initiatives, including changes that will impact the wider Victorian community.
The 34-page report revealed a plan to embed Indigenous “truth-telling” education in the Victorian curriculum for students from prep to Year 10 in both government and non-government schools.
This will be co-developed in collaboration with Gellung Warl and use evidence from the now disbanded Yoorrook Justice Commission, which investigated the impact of colonisation on Aboriginal Victorians uncovering systemic racism and horrific massacres.
Gellung Warl will also oversee the creation of training programs and workplace guidelines to build a “culturally capable” workforce in the public sector.
This involves designing training programs and setting key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess executives on their cultural competency.
The new body will also be made the “naming authority” for geographical features in Victoria, which means it could put forward proposals to see locations across the state in national and state parks, waterways, waterfalls, and places of significance on state-controlled land renamed.
Additionally it will run a newly established First Peoples’ Infrastructure Fund, continue to oversee the state’s Self Determination Fund which contains hundreds of millions of dollars, and will plan the annual Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll during NAIDOC Week.
A watchdog-style committee, Nginma Ngainga Wara, will operate as an arm of Gellung Warl to monitor departments’ and agencies’ spending on Indigenous initiatives and track progress in improving the welfare of Indigenous Victorians.
Data on Indigenous programs will be handed over so Gellung Wurl can ensure compliance, and the agreement also proposes the creation of a “dedicated, named room” within the parliament of Victoria to host functions and to allow the Indigenous representatives unvetted access to the building.
The agreement also revealed how far-reaching the new entity’s reach will be, with its consultative and oversight powers spanning across a swath of departments including justice and health, and agencies such as the Country Fire Authority, Victoria Police, the Game Authority and even the state’s Arts Centre Melbourne.
While the body will not have the authority to appoint specific members to government boards, it will be given the right to veto candidates who lack the appropriate cultural heritage experience.
One of the more controversial aspects of the agreement is the provision granting Gellung Warl the power to facilitate individual treaties with Victorian Indigenous groups and the state government.
This paves the way for potentially dozens more individual treaties, which many believe could include reparations.
In a joint statement on Tuesday, Premier Jacinta Allan, Minister for Treaty and First Peoples Natalie Hutchins, and First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria co-chairs Ngarra Murray and Rueben Berg described the agreement as a huge step forward.
“A major milestone in Victoria’s decade-long Treaty process has been achieved with the Victorian government and First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria reaching in-principle agreement on Australia’s first Treaty,” the statement said.
“The first negotiated Statewide Treaty Agreement brings together First Peoples, through the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, and the Victorian government, to build a new relationship based on respect, trust and integrity. It acknowledges our past and is a chance for all Victorians to move forward together.”
However, the agreement will only be formalised once the Allan government’s new Treaty Bill is passed in parliament.
The bill, which will provide even further details about the body’s level of powers, has not yet been seen by the Liberals, the crossbench, or taxpayers but is expected to be introduced on Tuesday afternoon.
If the bill passes, the Treaty has set out a provision that the state government issue a formal apology to parliament “acknowledging the responsibility of predecessors for laws, policies, and practices that contributed to systemic injustices against Victorian First Peoples”.
While the historic agreement has been applauded as a step forward by some, secrecy and cost have been raised as major concerns among others.
So far, the Treaty process has cost Victorians $380m, with the new body set to receive an annual budget exceeding $70m.
Last week, it was revealed that it was projected to cost taxpayers $206m over the next four years.
The bill allocated $170 million to cover its establishment and operating costs over four years, including $3m this financial year, $23.8m in 2026–2027, $71m in 2027–2028, and $72.2m in 2028–2029.
This will mean the total cost of negotiating a Treaty and establishing and running the new body will have surpassed $586m by 2029.
The Coalition has previously pledge to oppose Treaty legislation concerned that the agreement would not be put to the Victorian people.
“The Allan Labor government’s rush to push Treaty through the parliament without proper scrutiny or transparency disrespects the parliament, erodes confidence in the process, and removes important steps to achieve reconciliation,” it said in a statement last week.
The statewide agreement does, however, boost oversight powers of the new body.
It will be subject to appropriate oversight by state integrity agencies such as IBAC and the Ombudsman.
The body will also have to submit annual reports and financials for scrutiny in its annual report.
