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Welcome to the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations

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

About Us

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

Country

Country is the central pillar of our work and strategy because healthy Country means healthy community. Country first is the guiding principle for our Traditional Owner knowledge holders. Our work to embed culture on Country supports Traditional Owner decision making in policy and respects over 40,000 years of lived experience on Country.

Our work on Country recognises the knowledge, rights and responsibilities of Traditional Owners. We work in the following areas to embed Traditional Owner voices in management of Country.

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Community

Community wellbeing means strong culture and healthy community.

Our community provides the direction and knowledge base that informs our work and guides our policy advice. It is our Traditional Owner community that we support to realise their Nation visions and have real management of Country and culture.

Our community is actively supported by our work in the following areas.

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Economy

Economic development supports community wellbeing and is critical to enabling activation of rights and self-determination of our People.

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Impact

Our work developing policy and advocating for Traditional Owner rights is impactful. Policy is the tool by which we embed self-determination in the colonising structures that govern Country and culture.

Our policy work with Traditional Owners supports them to realise their principles and visions through statutory and legislative change.

In the following areas we have made significant changes through our direct advocacy.

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About Us

We are the Victorian state-wide body that convenes and advocates for the rights and interests of Traditional Owners while progressing wider social, economic, environmental and cultural objectives.

We support the progress of agreement-making and participation in decision-making to enhance the authority of Traditional Owner Corporations on behalf of their communities.

Our governance supports our purpose to facilitate and amplify a strong voice for Traditional Owners and progress our shared interests. We talk about this more in the following sections.

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News

Economic development supports community wellbeing and is critical to enabling activation of rights and self-determination of our People.
Discussion Papers
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Information Sheets
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Publications
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Read more about how we’re supporting self-determination through economic development.

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Want to know what we do? 

Reflecting on 12 months of our work shows just how far we’ve progressed recognition of Traditional Owner rights and responsibilities. 

To really understand the breadth and depth of our work, check out our Annual Report. 

https://fvtoc.com.au/documents/2022-2023-annual-report/

Want to know what we do?

Reflecting on 12 months of our work shows just how far we’ve progressed recognition of Traditional Owner rights and responsibilities.

To really understand the breadth and depth of our work, check out our Annual Report.

https://fvtoc.com.au/documents/…
... See MoreSee Less

The Victorian Government doesn’t fully understand self-determination and fails to recognise the nature and importance of collectively held land rights.

That’s what our CEO Paul Paton told Yoorrook Justice Commission yesterday, in unflinching testimony about the land injustices experienced by Victorian Traditional Owners – in the past, and continuing today.

Paul told the Commission’s land, sky and waters hearing the state continues to dispossess Traditional Owners’ rights, and devalues the economic independence that is central to self-determination: Traditional Owners must have their legal rights to manage land and resources recognised both as a means of rectifying historic injustice, and as a pathway to guarantee long-term prosperity for people and Country. 

Read more: https://bit.ly/4d1IhBR

The Victorian Government doesn’t fully understand self-determination and fails to recognise the nature and importance of collectively held land rights.

That’s what our CEO Paul Paton told Yoorrook Justice Commission yesterday, in unflinching testimony about the land injustices experienced by Victorian Traditional Owners – in the past, and continuing today.

Paul told the Commission’s land, sky and waters hearing the state continues to dispossess Traditional Owners’ rights, and devalues the economic independence that is central to self-determination: Traditional Owners must have their legal rights to manage land and resources recognised both as a means of rectifying historic injustice, and as a pathway to guarantee long-term prosperity for people and Country.

Read more:
... See MoreSee Less

Our CEO Paul Paton is today giving evidence at Yoorrook Justice Commission's land, sky and waters hearing, on the nature and extent of land injustice experienced by Victorian Traditional Owners.

Paul says:

“Self-determination requires access to and participation in decision-making around resources. Having rights over Country provides us the ability to exercise our obligations as Aboriginal people, as Traditional Owners, to manage County, and that is something that needs to be enabled through the activation of proprietary rights to be able to manage Country. Current systems and land tenures don’t enable us to fully apply our obligation to care for Country. We need to move to a new land tenure position to be able to enable that practice of rights… it connects us to our culture, our story.”

You can live-stream his testimony or watch back at Yoorrook’s website and Facebook page.

https://facebook.com/YoorrookJusticeCommission/…
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Do the right thing by Traditional Owners, who have ensured those materials are here for you after 65,000 years. 

Check out our helpful resources here: https://fvtoc.com.au/sections/native-foods-botanicals/

Do the right thing by Traditional Owners, who have ensured those materials are here for you after 65,000 years.

Check out our helpful resources here: https://fvtoc.com.au/sections/…
... See MoreSee Less

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