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Welcome to the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations

We’re the state-wide body fighting for the rights and interests of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations while progressing wider social, economic, environmental and cultural objectives.

About

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land we work on as the First Peoples of this Country.

Country

Healthy Country means healthy communities. Our work recognises Traditional Owners’ rights and responsibilities to care and make decisions for Country.

Traditional Owner groups have knowledge, rights and responsibilities, stemming from 65,000 years of experience with Country. The Federation’s policy, advocacy and government relations work helps restore Traditional Owners’ authority in frameworks for managing of Country.

View our work for Country

Community

Community wellbeing means strong culture.

The Federation’s work recognises Traditional Owner Corporations as authoritative and representative decision-makers with rights, power, and responsibilities. Our advocacy and services support Traditional Owners to care for Country, culture and community.

View our work for community

Economy

Strong and independent economies sustain Traditional Owner communities and enable self-determination.

The Federation’s research, grant administration, knowledge-sharing and advocacy promote rights-based economic development for Traditional Owner Corporations.

View our work for economy

Impact

The Federation’s advocacy shapes the landscape in which Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations do their important work.

We have put cultural fire and cultural water on the agenda for government, sought greater protections for Indigenous cultural and intellectual property rights, fought for a fair place in the expanding native foods and botanicals industry, championed Treaty and self-determination, supported a drastic reconsideration of how our cultural heritage is approached at both state and national levels, and worked to have Traditional Owners’ economic development considered as more than just small business grants.

See our impact

About

The Federation is the Victorian state-wide body that convenes and advocates for the rights and interests of Traditional Owner groups while progressing wider social, economic, environmental and cultural objectives.

Founded in 2013 by Traditional Owner Corporations who recognised they could be stronger together, we are by and for Traditional Owners: their policy and advocacy body, helping to enhance their authority on behalf of their communities.

Our strategy

Resources

Discussion papers
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Information sheets
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Publications
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Cultural fire, media statements, free legal workshop-planning – here’s what our team’s up to this week.

🔴 Lisa, Kurt and Gabby are sending the freshly drafted cultural fire legislative barriers policy papers out for Traditional Owners’ review.

🔴 Sophie’s preparing letters and media releases for when parliament resumes next week (in short: we’re not happy with the Victorian Government!), and planning a conference presentation with Emergency Management Victoria on the grant program we delivered together.

🔴 Gabby’s progressing our proposal for an independent fund for Traditional Owner Corporations’ ongoing Nation-building work.

🔴 Lisa’s preparing a milestone report for our Cultural Fire Leadership Group secretariat role, and closing off actions from the last CEO Forum, before turning to the agenda for the next one!

🔴 Dan’s prepared a submission to the federal critical minerals social license inquiry, and a funding proposal to the Victorian Government to deliver support for growing Traditional Owner Corporations’ business and investment initiatives.

🔴 Stephs attending a consultation session for the Commonwealth Water Act review run by the federal environment department, and preparing feedback on draft materials from the Victorian environment department’s water and catchments team, as they prepare to engage Traditional Owners on the Inland Waters Target work under Closing the Gap.

🔴 She’s also sent out a survey of preferred dates for the Environmental Justice Australia workshop proposed for the last week of August – if you haven’t completed that and need the link re-sent, send us a message!

🔴 And Ben’s outlining the next year’s budget for our finance and risk management committee, progressing our audit, and circling around some ideas on economic policy.

Cultural fire, media statements, free legal workshop-planning – here’s what our team’s up to this week.

🔴 Lisa, Kurt and Gabby are sending the freshly drafted cultural fire legislative barriers policy papers out for Traditional Owners’ review.

🔴 Sophie’s preparing letters and media releases for when parliament resumes next week (in short: we’re not happy with the Victorian Government!), and planning a conference presentation with Emergency Management Victoria on the grant program we delivered together.

🔴 Gabby’s progressing our proposal for an independent fund for Traditional Owner Corporations’ ongoing Nation-building work.

🔴 Lisa’s preparing a milestone report for our Cultural Fire Leadership Group secretariat role, and closing off actions from the last CEO Forum, before turning to the agenda for the next one!

🔴 Dan’s prepared a submission to the federal critical minerals social license inquiry, and a funding proposal to the Victorian Government to deliver support for growing Traditional Owner Corporations’ business and investment initiatives.

🔴 Steph's attending a consultation session for the Commonwealth Water Act review run by the federal environment department, and preparing feedback on draft materials from the Victorian environment department’s water and catchments team, as they prepare to engage Traditional Owners on the Inland Waters Target work under Closing the Gap.

🔴 She’s also sent out a survey of preferred dates for the Environmental Justice Australia workshop proposed for the last week of August – if you haven’t completed that and need the link re-sent, send us a message!

🔴 And Ben’s outlining the next year’s budget for our finance and risk management committee, progressing our audit, and circling around some ideas on economic policy.
... See MoreSee Less

If Traditional Owners in Victoria waited for national legislation to make things right, thered be trouble.

If Traditional Owners in Victoria waited for national legislation to make things right, there'd be trouble. ... See MoreSee Less

Awarded – but under threat.

Victoria’s Treaty is “historic”, “powerful”, and “one of the most defining moments in Australia’s history since invasion” – and its negotiators just won the 2026 Voltaire Human Rights Award.

But it could all be destroyed within weeks.

The opposition has promised to rip up Statewide Treaty and dismantle its surrounding Aboriginal governance in Gellung Warl if it wins the November state election.

The Victorian Government is lagging in the polls – and too afraid of the fearmongering media and outrage-baiting One Nation to back its own historic and proud act in making Australia’s first legitimate Treaty with First Peoples.

We want the opposition to see that Treaty is what Aboriginal communities want, and it’s what will make the greatest difference to Aboriginal lives.

And we want the Victorian Government to come out, loudly and courageously, in support of our Treaty – and our community.

Awarded – but under threat.

Victoria’s Treaty is “historic”, “powerful”, and “one of the most defining moments in Australia’s history since invasion” – and its negotiators just won the 2026 Voltaire Human Rights Award.

But it could all be destroyed within weeks.

The opposition has promised to rip up Statewide Treaty and dismantle its surrounding Aboriginal governance in Gellung Warl if it wins the November state election.

The Victorian Government is lagging in the polls – and too afraid of the fearmongering media and outrage-baiting One Nation to back its own historic and proud act in making Australia’s first legitimate Treaty with First Peoples.

We want the opposition to see that Treaty is what Aboriginal communities want, and it’s what will make the greatest difference to Aboriginal lives.

And we want the Victorian Government to come out, loudly and courageously, in support of our Treaty – and our community.
... See MoreSee Less

A self-described policy nerd who moved from our Board to the CEOs role this time last year – get to know our Kaley!

A self-described "policy nerd" who moved from our Board to the CEO's role this time last year – get to know our Kaley! ... See MoreSee Less

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