Victorian Treaty Becomes Law
In November 2025, the Victorian government made history by passing the Statewide Treaty Act. This act introduces a number of changes to how indigenous issues are dealt with in Victoria, including establishing a first people’s assembly, and committing to a formal apology in the state parliament. This page outlines the changes that the Statewide Treaty Act 2025 will bring.
First people’s assembly
Perhaps most significantly, the Treaty Act establishes a new permanent representative body known as Gellung Warl. This First Nations assembly will be made up of general members and reserved members. General members will be elected, and reserve members will be appointed by Traditional Owner groups.
To be a candidate a person will need to be a Victorian Traditional Owner.
The assembly will be able to:
- make representations to the government
- question ministers
- provide advice to the government
Ministers and state government departments will also be required to consult the assembly on laws and policies affecting first Nations people. However, the assembly will not have a veto power over parliament.
Gellung Warl will also take on a number of other responsibilities. These include confirming aboriginality, administering the Victorian aboriginal honour roll, running important indigenous events such as NAIDOC week and establishing an educational institute that will provide training to aboriginal people. It will also assume responsibility for the government aboriginal community infrastructure program.
Truth telling
One of the commitments made under the Statewide Treaty Act is to redesign the Victorian school curriculum to include truth telling in classes from prep to year 10, ensuring that school students learn about the history of colonisation and the experiences of first Nations people.
New teaching resources will be developed through consultation between the First Nations assembly and the state’s curriculum authority. Truth telling will aim to acknowledge how the past shapes the present and to work towards justice and healing for all Victorians.
The truth telling curriculum will be based on the findings of the Yoorook Justice Commission.
The Yoorook Justice Commission was Australia’s first indigenous-led truth telling commission. It was conducted over four years and handed down its findings in July 2025.
The commission found that genocide occurred in Victoria, with First Nations people being devastated by a coordinated plan ‘aimed at the destruction of the essential foundations of life of national groups.’ It found that colonisation in Victoria involved widespread massacres, forced child removals, economic exclusion and cultural destruction.
It further found that Aboriginal Victorians continued to be disadvantaged by the legacy of colonisation and their prevention from participating in economic life under colonial systems. It recommended major reforms to redress these ongoing systemic injustices including overhauling education systems to include First Nations perspectives in the curriculum.
A formal apology
The treaty commits the Victorian government to delivering a formal apology to Victorian First Nations people in state parliament. This is expected to happen in the coming weeks.
Traditional names
The treaty agreement also involves a commitment to the increased use of traditional names, including for national parks and parks and for new schools and campuses. The use of traditional names will represent a recognition that names have significance because they tell a story of the land and its traditional owners.
Other jurisdictions
Victoria is the first Australian jurisdiction to enact a treaty.
South Australia legislated an aboriginal voice to parliament in 2023 and has committed to a treaty process; however, it has yet to commit to a timeline for doing so.
In New South Wales, three independent commissioners are leading consultations into whether Aboriginal people want to pursue a formal treaty or some other formal agreement.
Both Queensland and the Northern Territory have committed to a treaty process in the past, only to have legislation repealed following a change of government.
Victorian premier Jacinta Allen commented that Australia was an outlier globally, as the only country not to have a treaty with its indigenous people.
Responses
The passage of the treaty has been met with mixed responses. While many people have celebrated it as an achievement, the Liberal opposition has vowed to repeal the legislation if it takes power.
Many Indigenous groups have welcomed the treaty, saying that it is an opportunity for self-determination, truth, and healing. Others have been more cautious in their support, pointing out that it is a limited instrument that does not have the power of veto. Some indigenous groups have also claimed that they weren’t properly consulted in relation to the usage of traditional names.
Conservative voices have strongly opposed the treaty, and particularly the first nations assembly. The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) said that it ‘creates a separate, parallel system of government’ for First Peoples, undermining the principle of equality before the law.
There has been misinformation circulated since the Act passed, including claims that the Assembly is going to cost taxpayers billions of dollars, and that it is going to have the power of veto over the state government.
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Fernanda Dahlstrom is a writer, editor and lawyer. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Latrobe University), a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (College of Law), a Bachelor of Arts (The University of Melbourne) and a Master of Arts (Deakin University). Fernanda practised law for eight years, working in criminal law, child protection and domestic violence law in the Northern Territory, and in family law in Queensland.