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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 on Country. The Federation works in the following areas to embed Traditional Owner voices in management of Country.

View our work for Country

Community

Community wellbeing means strong culture, people and place.

The Federation’s work recognises Traditional Owner Corporations as authoritative and representative decision-makers with rights and power. Our advocacy and services support Traditional Owners to get on with the business of caring 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, 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 advocacy body, helping to enhance their authority on behalf of their communities.

Our strategy

Resources

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Information sheets
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Photos from Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations's post ... See MoreSee Less

We’re successfully in Collins Street! And working hard.

Here’s what some of our team are up to this week.

🔥 Kurt’s continuing the semi-structured interviews that make up a rich-and-flexible part of the Nation Building Resource Pool final reporting, and finishing that cultural fire funding opportunities paper…

🎨 Which our comms person Sophie’s waiting eagerly for, for some branding and proof-reading before next week’s Cultural Fire Leadership Group meeting.

💎 Daniel’s learning more about how agreement-making in critical minerals mining is actually happening between Traditional Owners and project proponents – and feeding Traditional Owners’ views into the agenda for our forthcoming Treaty Forum.

✅ Gabby and Steph are progressing TOC Caucus actions and policy deliverables.

🤝🏽 Kaley’s meeting with advisors to the minister for Treaty and First People, Ros Spence, and keeping the CHMP Systems Reform workshop outcomes on track.

🏢 Ben’s coordinating minutes and actions following last week’s meeting of our Board, and helping Ken with the office move (which he described as “pretty painless” so far!).

☕ And were on the hunt for lunch and coffee recommendations near our new office at 525 Collins Street, Melbourne – send us a message if youve got a favourite spot.

We’re successfully in Collins Street! And working hard.

Here’s what some of our team are up to this week.

🔥 Kurt’s continuing the semi-structured interviews that make up a rich-and-flexible part of the Nation Building Resource Pool final reporting, and finishing that cultural fire funding opportunities paper…

🎨 Which our comms person Sophie’s waiting eagerly for, for some branding and proof-reading before next week’s Cultural Fire Leadership Group meeting.

💎 Daniel’s learning more about how agreement-making in critical minerals mining is actually happening between Traditional Owners and project proponents – and feeding Traditional Owners’ views into the agenda for our forthcoming Treaty Forum.

✅ Gabby and Steph are progressing TOC Caucus actions and policy deliverables.

🤝🏽 Kaley’s meeting with advisors to the minister for Treaty and First People, Ros Spence, and keeping the CHMP Systems Reform workshop outcomes on track.

🏢 Ben’s coordinating minutes and actions following last week’s meeting of our Board, and helping Ken with the office move (which he described as “pretty painless” so far!).

☕ And we're on the hunt for lunch and coffee recommendations near our new office at 525 Collins Street, Melbourne – send us a message if you've got a favourite spot.
... See MoreSee Less

Last week, we joined an exert symposium on an important foundation for First Nations rights in mining: the Resources Industry Standards Schemes. 

Hosted by the Mabo Centre, the two-day symposium aimed to develop a collective Traditional Owner view on standards governing how mining companies operate properly with Traditional Owner communities – in terms of agreement-making, respecting rights, and seeking informed consent.

Our senior advisor in natural resources management, Steph, knows a bit about this: her PhD thesis was on negotiated agreements between the mining industry and First Nations groups, and shes just completed a certification on environmental, social and governance standards. 

She told us she enjoyed learning about the initiative to develop consolidated mining standards, and concomitant projects to foreground First Nations rights and interests within these standards – particularly through strengthening implementation of free, prior, and informed consent – for resource development activities on Country.

Last week, we joined an exert symposium on an important foundation for First Nations' rights in mining: the Resources Industry Standards Schemes.

Hosted by the Mabo Centre, the two-day symposium aimed to develop a collective Traditional Owner view on standards governing how mining companies operate properly with Traditional Owner communities – in terms of agreement-making, respecting rights, and seeking informed consent.

Our senior advisor in natural resources management, Steph, knows a bit about this: her PhD thesis was on negotiated agreements between the mining industry and First Nations groups, and she's just completed a certification on environmental, social and governance standards.

She told us she enjoyed learning about "the initiative to develop consolidated mining standards, and concomitant projects to foreground First Nations' rights and interests within these standards – particularly through strengthening implementation of free, prior, and informed consent – for resource development activities on Country."
... See MoreSee Less

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