The First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria is an independent and democratically elected body representing

Traditional Owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

and Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders ( ) are the Indigenous Melanesians, Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal peoples of the res ...

peoples in

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

. The Assembly is responsible for establishing the framework and ground rules to enable Traditional Owners to negotiate Treaties with the

Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...

. Negotiations for the Statewide Treaty are currently underway.

Membership

The Assembly comprises 33 Members chosen by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Victoria. The inaugural election was held in October 2019. Elections are held every four years. The Assembly includes both general seats, filled by Members elected by communities in specific regions, and reserved seats for representatives from particular Traditional Owner groups. Any Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person who has lived in Victoria for at least three of the last five years is eligible to enroll with the Assembly.

Functions

The Assembly's primary function is to represent Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Treaty negotiations with the Victorian Government. The Assembly negotiated the creation of the Yoorrook Justice Commission, an independent and formal truth-telling process into historical and ongoing injustices experienced by First Peoples in Victoria.

References

{{reflist Aboriginal peoples of Victoria (state) Indigenous Australian politics Politics of Australia Political organisations based in Australia