A Historic First for Australia: What Victoria’s Treaty with First Nation Peoples Looks Like

The Premier of Victoria, Jacinta Allen, announced she is proud to introduce the Treaty, the first of its kind in Australia.

After a year of negotiation, Victoria is set to be the first state to introduce a treaty with its Aboriginal Peoples to parliament. The legislation was tabled on Tuesday and will grant the body overseeing treaty negotiations, the First Peoples’ Assembly, a new authority called Gellung Warl if passed. 

The Treaty process began a decade ago with then-state Premier Daniel Andrews and is a historic first for the country. Australia has been quite significantly behind the times when it comes to developing treaties with its Indigenous peoples, being the glaring counterexample to countries such as New Zealand and Canada, who established treaties as early as the 1840s. 

The Treaty promises to lay down foundational reforms that will allow the state to reckon with the past. It will confront the injustices that Aboriginal communities face, and ensure ongoing accountability for the government. Furthermore, the Gellung Warl body will create leadership opportunities for Aboriginal Victorians in government. 

Most of all, the treaty bill will give Aboriginal Victorians self-determination regarding services and programs that pertain to them. Gellung Warl will oversee consultations with other state-funded bodies regarding both existing and future policies that concern First Nation Peoples. 

“We know already governments are spending huge amounts of money seeking to close the gap … but it’s not working… It puts into the law the changes that will give Aboriginal people a say about how services and programs that are for Aboriginal Victorians are run.” -Allen

The new authority will also continue the truth-telling work started by the Yoorrook Justice Commission, introducing a new history curriculum for primary and secondary students. 

The Yoorook Justice Commission is a four-year-long Indigenous-led inquiry that analysed systemic injustices in Australia. The Commission officially concluded that First Nation Victorians have endured widespread massacres, cultural destruction and other crimes against humanity since the beginning of colonisation in Victoria. It also examined the continued impacts of colonialism and outlined recommendations to address these injustices. 

The curriculum will use these findings to teach students at all pre-VCE levels, from Prep to Year 10, an accurate account of colonisation and its impact on Aboriginal communities in Victoria. 

Co-chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly Ngarra Murray said “today marked a new era, a treaty era.” Her co-chair, Reuben Berg, echoed this statement and said the Treaty would reset the relationship between First Nation Peoples and the state government. 

“We are at a turning point in this nation’s history… Treaty offers us the chance to reshape the story of this country. So today is a historic day.” -Murray

Like any other government or parliamentary body, Gellung Warl will have the same oversight by anti-corruption watchdogs and the ombudsman. It is expected to be fully operational by July 1 of 2026, with elections to be held for the new Assembly beforehand.

Other Parties’ stance on the treaty

As it is waiting to be passed in parliament, other parties have expressed their stance on the Treaty. The Coalition has stated it will not support it, drawing an unfavourable parallel to the Voice referendum, in which a majority of Victorians voted ‘no’. Other parties, however, have thrown themselves behind it. The Greens, the Animal Justice Party and the Legalise Cannabis Party have all shown their support in the upper house. Time will tell if Gellung Warl can achieve its lofty ambitions.

Sources: 

• Albers, G. (11 September 2017). Treaties with Indigenous Peoples in Canada, The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/aboriginal-treaties\
  
  Butler, D., Gooley, D. (9 September 2025). A historic treaty bill will be introduced to Victoria’s parliament today, National Indigenous Television: SBS News https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/historic-treaty-bill-to-enter-victorias-parliament/8t9eigb79
  
  First Peoples Relations. (2025). How government is working to improve outcomes for Aboriginal Victorians, First Peoples Relations. https://www.firstpeoplesrelations.vic.gov.au/how-governments-working-close-gap-aboriginal-affairs-framework
  
  New Zealand History, (17 May 2017) The Treaty in Brief, New Zealand History. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/the-treaty-in-brief
  
  Treaty Victoria, (9 September 2025). Victoria’s Negotiated Statewide treaty: Understanding Treaty, Treaty Victoria. https://www.treatyvictoria.vic.gov.au/victorias-negotiated-statewide-treaty
  
  Willingham, R. (9 September 2025). Victoria to become first Australian state to formally table treaty legislation in parliament, ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-09/victoria-treaty-legislation-parliment-first-peoples/105749692
  
  Woodall, N. (2 July 2025). The Yoorrook Justice Commission has found genocide occurred in Victoria. Here’s what it says needs to happen next, ABC News.
  https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-02/yoorrook-justice-inquiry-key-findings-takeaways/105483168