Negotiations for new Indigenous treaty has cost $382m since 2016
The Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan governments have splashed $382 million on negotiating a statewide Indigenous treaty, new analysis has revealed.
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The state government has splashed out at least $382 million on negotiating a statewide Indigenous treaty, new analysis has revealed.
Victorian government figures have revealed just how much setting up a treaty has cost taxpayers so far, with the final deal still yet to be inked.
Dating back to 2016, at least $382 million has been put towards the Australian-first agreement, sparking concerns about the amount of taxpayer funds being spent.
Some of that funding has gone towards setting up the Treaty Authority, described as an “independent umpire” overseeing negotiations.
In 2023, the Herald Sun revealed that members of the Treaty Authority panel selected to negotiate with Elders and the Indigenous Community were pocketing salaries of up to $380,000 per year plus expenses if they worked full time.
Funds have also been splashed on helping Aboriginal groups prepare for negotiations, events to inform Indigenous Australians of the process as well as round table meetings to discuss the Treaty negotiation process.
It comes as new legislation on a statewide Treaty is expected to be introduced parliament within the coming months.
It’s understood the bill will enshrine the expansion of the First Peoples’ Assembly which will essentially create a state-based version of the Voice that was rejected in a national referendum in 2023.
However, the state is also negotiating separate Treaties with local Indigenous groups.
It’s not yet clear what deals these will include or how much they will cost.
According to analysis of Treaty annual reports and budget papers, $382.4 million has been allocated to pioneering the “self determination” process over the last 10 years.
A government spokesman refused to confirm the $382.4 million figure, but said $308 million had been invested in Treaty since the 2020-2021 budget.
New budget paper analysis from right wing think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs, provided to the Sunday Herald Sun, suggests the current spending estimates were likely conservative.
It found that between July 2016 and June 2025, the government held 727 meetings in relation to Treaty development.
According to the figures, if the trend continued, the number of meetings would reach 968 by June 2026, equating to almost 100 meetings every year since July 2016, or one meeting every two to three business days.
The think tank’s analysis of the state government’s budget papers found spending on Treaty, “self-determination” initiatives and Indigenous community programs over the past decade came to $776 million.
But the budget does not provide a cease breakdown of where the funds were spent.
Institute of Public Affairs Research Fellow Margaret Chambers called on the state government to come clean on what the Treaty would involve.
“The Victorian government is not being honest and upfront with Victorians about its plan to divide the community on racial grounds,” Ms Chambers said.
“With a Treaty scheduled to be finalised inside the next 12 months, and despite the volume of secret meetings over the past decade, very little is known about what this treaty will entail.
“Any Treaty will fundamentally change Victoria’s legal structure and will likely require already financially stretched Victorian taxpayers to pay billions of dollars to activists aligned to the Allan government.”
A state government spokesman said the data was “cherrypicked analysis from a Liberal Party-aligned think tank”.
“If you listen to the people directly affected by policies, you get better outcomes – that’s common sense,” she said.
“Treaty is about making a better and fairer state for all Victorians – negotiations are underway and we look forward to bringing Treaty to the parliament.”
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