Domain 6 - Victorian Government Investment and Action

The Victorian Government is committed to promoting self-determination, Treaty and Truth. Supporting Traditional Owners is a critical element of that.

Renewable Energy Grants program

The Traditional Owner Renewable Energy Program (TOREP) for Traditional Owner Corporations continued in 2024 through the First Peoples’ Adoption of Renewable Energy (FPARE) program. The FPARE program provided $960,000 in funding to build greater capacity and capability in Traditional Owner Corporations and their communities to engage with the renewable energy sector in an empowered and self-determined way.

The program focuses on enabling capacity building and capability uplift in the renewable energy transition. All applicants that applied were successful, with 9 grant projects funded during this reporting period. Traditional Owners Corporations decided to focus on piloting an energy generation agreement with a host business site; supporting the transition to an electric vehicle fleet; developing a renewable energy statement; and providing dedicated staff to lead on renewable energy initiatives.

In addition to providing grants $60,000 (of the $960,000) was allocated to develop guidance material and templates for Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAPs) to accelerate their understanding of and participation in the renewable energy transition.

Streamlined funding

During the June 2022 Statewide Caring for Country Partnership Forum, DEECA made a commitment with the Traditional Owner Corporations Caucus comprising the 11 (now 12) ‘formally recognised’ Traditional Owner Corporations: “To explore future funding models that focus on building base funding to support organisational governance structures and capacity, rather than just FTE funding, and to look at opportunities to influence budget bids and incoming government that supports an improved funding model”.

In March 2023, the then Minister for Environment made a commitment to the Traditional Owner Corporations Caucus to identify an alternate funding model. The new model aims to streamline both funding and governance processes, as well as ease the burden Traditional Owner Corporations experience when administering, delivering, and reporting on funds and grants from the department. Following this, the Executive Board endorsed proposals to reform funding with Victoria’s formally recognised Traditional Owner Corporations. This response addresses the barriers to self-determination in DEECA's current funding model for Traditional Owners.

There were two pathways proposed to achieve this reform. The first would involve simplifying and streamlining funding agreements with Traditional Owner Corporations to reduce duplication and administrative burden on organisations. DEECA has a pilot project with Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC), exploring options for the reform of DEECA’s funding agreements. The pilot will inform best practice guidance to create a replicable streamlined funding agreement process between DEECA and Traditional Owner Corporations.

The second pathway would improve budget bid submission processes. This will build Traditional Owner Corporation organisational governance structures and capacity and their ability to advance self-determination. DEECA worked with Traditional Owner Corporations to identify baseline funding for these organisations to partner with government, and then worked with the Department of Treasury and Finance to develop budget submissions as part of the 2024-25 State Budget process.

Priority Reform One: Formal Partnerships and shared decision-making Victorian actions

The Statewide Caring for Country Partnership Forum (SCfCPF) is DEECA’s primary accountability mechanism to Traditional Owners under Pupangarli Marnmarnepu 'Owning our Future', the department’s Aboriginal Self-Determination Reform Strategy. The SCfCPF is a Traditional Owner-led mechanism to hold DEECA accountable to the implementation of Pupangarli Marnmarnepu, DEECA’s commitments to systemic and structural reform and the Victorian Government Self-Determination reform agenda. The SCfCPF develops strategies that enable the transfer of relevant decision-making powers and resources to Traditional Owners, and enable decision making, leadership and self-governance in statewide matters across DEECA’s portfolios as determined by them, to ultimately progress self-determination. The SCfCPF was established in 2020, with ten forums having been held since then, three of which have been held on-Country and in person.

During the 2023-24 financial year, two Statewide Caring for Country Partnership Forums were held. The first of these, the ninth Statewide Caring for Country Partnership Forum (SCfCPF), was held on 6th and 7th of September 2023. It was hosted by Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC) and co-chaired by Daniel Miller, GLaWAC Chief Executive Officer and DEECA Secretary John Bradley in Lakes Entrance.

The meeting provided an opportunity for GLaWAC to showcase their organisation, Country, and priorities with a particular highlight of this SCfCPF being that it ran parallel to GLaWAC’s Gweraeil Quaranook ‘Great Meeting’ Conference to allow Traditional Owners from across the state to come together and share learnings, projects, cultural exchange and build collective capability and capacity to care for and heal Country.

During the two-day SCfCPF members discussed progressing Traditional Owner priorities, aspirations and assertions and how state government can enhance their support for Aboriginal self-determination in practice, projects and policy.

During the multiday event, members discussed:

• State government progress towards self-determination reform and the transfer of power and resources back to Traditional Owners, including progress on Pupangarli Marnmarnepu and Parks Victoria’s Managing Country Together Framework.
• Traditional Owner funding reform to better support and empower Traditional Owners to self-determine their funding needs reflective of their priorities and organisational capacity.
• Climate Action and Biodiversity market opportunities including exploring cultural credits and offsets.
• Mapping of mineral resources across Country.
• Building collective understanding of Traditional Owners to equitably engage and partner in the large volume of renewable energy works underway and upcoming including the partnership and engagement approach with Traditional Owners.
• Traditional Owner Corporation Caucus desire to engage in the Climate Action, Energy, Water-as-life giving and Cultural Fire policy reform agenda.

SCfCPF members also welcomed the then Minister for Environment, Ingrid Stitt who spoke of her commitments towards empowering and supporting Traditional Owner voice and self-determination in the Environment portfolio including through Public Land Act reforms and reforms to end Native Timber Harvesting.

The second day included a tour across Gunaikurnai Country. The tour visited sites of Cultural significance and heritage to Gunaikurnai peoples at Raymond Island and Eagle Point Lookout, with Katherine Mullett, GLaWAC On-Country General Manager, sharing Gunaikurnai history, stories, knowledge, and culture with the group.

Partnership Agreements with Registered Aboriginal Parties

In June 2024, the Department of Transport and Planning entered into the first agreement with the Taungurung Land and Waters Council (TLaWC). The Department of Transport and Planning has also had initial communication with further Registered Aboriginal Parties in preparation for commencing partnership agreement discussions in 2025. This includes with Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation and Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation, Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation and Barengi Gadjin Land Council. In March 2024, funding was provided to Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation to support its participation in partnership agreement discussions.

Local Government

Maggolee local government website

The Maggolee website was developed to support engagement and partnerships between local government and Aboriginal communities. Maggolee was developed by Reconciliation Victoria, with funding from the Department of Government Services. Maggolee in Woi wurrung, the language of the Wurundjeri people, means ‘here in this place’. Maggolee provides information in a centralised resource for local councils to work more closely with Aboriginal communities.

The Maggolee website is a resource that promotes cultural awareness and includes information on policy and programs, protocols, key contacts, relevant local data, news and events. It contains information about each of the 79 Victorian local government areas, and about actions councils can take across key function areas to build closer relationships with Aboriginal communities and to progress reconciliation. Traditional Owners are at the centre of the Maggolee website, with information being provided to councils on how to facilitate and further develop relationships between Aboriginal communities.

Records relating to First Peoples

Koorie Records Unit

Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) has a dedicated Koorie Records Unit (KRU) that promotes awareness of Victorian Government records about Aboriginal Victorians within the PROV collection and aims to improve accessibility of these records to First Peoples in appropriate and culturally respectful ways.

The KRU provides tailored services and support for First Peoples, including Stolen Generations survivors and their families, wishing to access historic Victorian Government records relating to themselves and their families. This includes a Koorie Reference Service delivered in collaboration with the National Archives of Australia’s Victorian office, as Victorian Aboriginal Affairs records are held in both collections.

The KRU provides advice and assistance to support a broad range of requests from individuals, organisations and service providers relating to family and community history research and provides free copies of relevant records to clients and First Nations organisations and groups. The KRU provides information, training and workshops for Stolen Generations service providers and First Nations groups to support access to records. The KRU also hosts community groups visiting the Victorian Archives Centre to view records and undertake research.

As part of PROV’s ongoing commitment to address legacy issues of description and increase the accessibility of records of high interest to First Peoples, several projects were completed including:

• publication of item level descriptions in the PROV online catalogue for all record series relating to the Aboriginal Protectorate and Guardian of Aborigines (1838-1860), which is a significant part of PROV’s collection.
• a project in collaboration with PROV’s volunteer program to transcribe a volume of correspondence relating to Coranderrk (1898–1924).
• digitisation of records relating to the Victorian government’s administration of Aboriginal affairs.
• implementation of a cultural sensitivity pop-up notice for all visitors to the PROV website, and webpages with information about cultural sensitivity and re-use of records relating to First Peoples, as well as Stolen Generations and other support services.

The KRU is also active across the archives sector through the Council for Australasian Archives and Records Authorities First Nations Special Interest Group to respond to recordkeeping recommendations in the Tandanya-Adelaide Declaration and the Healing Foundation Historical Records Taskforce Principles for Nationally consistent approaches to accessing records.

Koorie Index of Names

Much of the PROV collection is open for public access, but records can be difficult to locate due to a lack of description or metadata to enable keyword searches. PROV’s Koorie Index of Names (KIN) is an ongoing project to create a searchable index to locate records relating to First Peoples in the collection, undertaken with support from the PROV Volunteer Program.

During 2023-24, the Koorie Reference Service received 185 requests for Aboriginal family history research assistance, resulting in 1,359 names searched and 2,961 name results located in PROV records using the KIN database. A total of 4,946 copies of records were provided, free of charge, to Koorie Reference Service clients.

In 2023-24 PROV commenced a project to redesign the KIN platform, which is no longer fit for purpose, to support increased accessibility, improve functionality and implement improvements to service delivery.

Support for the Yoorrook Justice Commission

PROV is working with the Yoorrook Justice Commission and the Department of Premier and Cabinet to determine how to continue to uphold Indigenous Data Sovereignty in respect to evidence provided by First Peoples, once the permanent value records are transferred to PROV custody.

The reforms enacted in the Inquiries Amendment (Yoorrook Justice Commission Records and Other Matters) Act 2025 amend the Inquiries Act 2014 and Public Records Act 1973 to empower the Commission to make closure or restriction orders over records of First Peoples’ evidence provided to the Commission. Records which are subject to these orders will be protected from public access both in the PROV database and via Freedom of Information requests for 99 years.

PROV has provided instructions and held workshops with agencies to assist them to identify the historical records they need from the State Archival Collection to respond to Notices to Produce and other requests.

PROV has hosted Yoorrook Justice Commissioners and staff at the Victorian Archives Centre on several occasions, as well as responding to questions directly from the Commission.

Rights in Records Action Plan

The State Archival Collection held by PROV contains historical evidence of the controls and injustices experienced by First Peoples due to government policy and practices. There is a growing demand by First Peoples for greater control of the records created about them and their communities by government. Indigenous Data Governance (IDG) and Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDS) are key to these demands.

To begin to address this, PROV has developed a Rights in Records Action Plan in consultation with a range of stakeholder organisations. The aim of the Action Plan is to increase accessibility of relevant records, improve researcher experience and consider how to increase people’s rights in public records, within the confines of the Public Records Act 1973.

Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property

The Victorian Government Library Service has initiated a program of work to ensure Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) is appropriately classified within the library collection. This includes building transparent processes to uphold the rights of Australia’s First Nations’ communities regarding ICIP and responding retrospectively to instances where library collections have not been acquired or managed with informed consent; defining and classifying ICIP material in the collection; providing access to ICIP classified materials only where certain conditions are met (i.e. permission is sought by holders of ICIP materials, or where consultation may be required with First Nations communities to access the materials); and, ensuring researchers and Victorian Public Sector are made aware of obligations under ICIP to acknowledge the relevant materials and the respective rights holders of the ICIP materials, if known.

First Peoples Culture

NAIDOC and Reconciliation Week Events

A series of events were held across the Transport and Planning Portfolio celebrating First Peoples culture and fostering ongoing cultural learning throughout the year. The Department of Transport and Planning hosted an event for Reconciliation Week in June 2024, which aligned with the national Reconciliation Week theme of ‘Now More Than Ever’. The event included a keynote address from the Secretary and a Q&A panel featuring senior leaders from the Department of Transport and Planning, V/Line and Development Victoria.

In August 2024, the Department of Transport and Planning coordinated a hybrid NAIDOC Week event themed ‘Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud.’ Highlights from the event included the presentation of Yani Bangal Scholarships, a keynote speech from Reuben Berg – Co-Chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria and a panel discussion with Yani Bangal Tertiary Scholarship recipients. This event was held in August, rather than during NAIDOC Week itself, to provide the Department of Transport and Planning employees a better opportunity to engage in Community organised activities.

Incorporating First Peoples culture into transport infrastructure

The Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority is incorporating Aboriginal art and design into project infrastructure. As part of the Metro Tunnel Creative Program, the Metro Tunnel Project engaged nine First Peoples artists in 2024:

• Yirramboi (Akin) - six artists collaborated on this piece, featuring a series of photographs shown on the Federation Square screens. For more details. 
• Vandal (budyabudya and budyaan) artwork at Scott Alley. For more details.
• Aunty Kim and Kent Morris for the South Yarra Siding Reserve artist talk. For more details.

Protecting Aboriginal cultural heritage and values

In 2023-24, the Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) piloted new approaches to understanding and protecting Aboriginal cultural heritage and values on several Housing Statement projects. For example, VPA tested the use of planning tools for the protection of heritage in the Officer South Employment Precinct Structure Plan and also engaged the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation to deliver Cultural Values Assessments to inform strategic planning.

The VPA also focused on implementation of Wurrek-al and strengthening relationships with Registered Aboriginal Parties. This included attending community events and sharing knowledge about the planning system, holding workshops for staff to reflect on how self-determination can be embedded in its work and inviting guest speakers.