We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands and waters on which we live, work and play. We acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the state. We pay respect to and recognise the contributions of their Elders past and present, and other First peoples, who have fought tirelessly for the rights of their communities. The sovereignty of First Peoples has never been ceded. Their strength and resilience as the world’s oldest living culture is enduring.
Commitment to self-determination
We recognise that Aboriginal peoples continue to live with the intergenerational effects of dispossession, child removal and other discriminatory government policies. We acknowledge that the impacts of colonisation continue to influence the department’s systems and structures.
We are deeply committed to addressing these impacts by embedding cultural safety and self-determination principles in all we do. We support Victoria’s Treaty process. Aboriginal self-determination means different things to different people. But we know that the right for First Peoples to freely determine their political status, and to pursue social, cultural and economic development based on their values and ways of life, is enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
We must listen to Aboriginal Victorians across the state when they tell us what they need for themselves, their families and their communities to thrive. We will hold ourselves accountable to their decisions on matters that affect their lives and communities. This includes through Victoria’s contributions to the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
We acknowledge that Victoria’s Treaty process will have wide-ranging impacts for our work with Aboriginal peoples. Treaty will provide a framework for transferring decision-making power and resources to Traditional Owners. It will recognise the sovereignty of the First Peoples who have been practising their own law, lore and cultural authority since before the State of Victoria was formed. We commit to working proactively to support the aspirations of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria.
In this plan, the term ‘Aboriginal’ is used to refer to both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.