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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

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.

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Animals

Climate

Cultural Landscapes

Fire

Heritage

Plants

Water

Community

Community wellbeing means strong culture, people and place.

The Federation’s work recognises Traditional Owner groups as authoritative decision-makers with rights and power. Our advocacy, programs and services enable Traditional Owners to get on with the business of caring for Country, culture and community.

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Aboriginal Culture and Healing Flood Recovery Grant Program

Country-based planning services

First Principles Review

Nation-building

Rights

Treaty

Economy

Economic development supports community wellbeing and is critical to enabling self-determination.

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Aboriginal economic development

Aboriginal-owned joint ventures

Indigenous Preferential Procurement

Local Government

Native foods and botanicals business grants

Native foods and botanicals strategy

Victorian Traditional Owner Renewable Energy Forum

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 economic development considered as more than just small business grants.

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.

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.

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10 Year Anniversary

Careers

Contact Us

Federation Enterprises

Memberships

Our Partners

Strategic Documents

Welcome to Country

Resources

Discussion papers

Information sheets

Publications

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Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations

1 day ago

Aboriginal community-led flood recovery grants are now open!

We’re thrilled to be delivering round two of the Aboriginal Culture and Healing Flood Recovery Grant Program.

Aboriginal communities know best what we need to heal following disaster, and this responsive grant program makes community-led healing possible.

Six successful applicants from the program’s first round rebuilt damaged nurseries, led cultural knowledge workshops, mapped damaged Country and cultural places, and enrolled in flood recovery TAFE courses to build capacity and resilience.

Learn more and apply now: https://bit.ly/fvtoc-floods

Aboriginal community-led flood recovery grants are now open!

We’re thrilled to be delivering round two of the Aboriginal Culture and Healing Flood Recovery Grant Program.

Aboriginal communities know best what we need to heal following disaster, and this responsive grant program makes community-led healing possible.

Six successful applicants from the program’s first round rebuilt damaged nurseries, led cultural knowledge workshops, mapped damaged Country and cultural places, and enrolled in flood recovery TAFE courses to build capacity and resilience.

Learn more and apply now: ... See MoreSee Less

Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations

2 days ago

We stand with Taungurung Land & Waters Council and agree the cultural landscapes of the Central Highlands forests must be designated Cultural Reserves and managed according to Taungurung cultural knowledge.

All Victorians benefit from thousands of years of steady and deliberate Taungurung care for Country.

Designating the Central Highlands forests as national parks – which is an option open to the panel currently formulating forest protection recommendations – goes against what Taungurung Traditional Owners want, and what thousands of years of experience has shown us: that making decisions according to Traditional Owner knowledge and values bring the best benefits to Country and people.

We stand with Taungurung Land & Waters Council and agree the cultural landscapes of the Central Highlands forests must be designated Cultural Reserves and managed according to Taungurung cultural knowledge.

All Victorians benefit from thousands of years of steady and deliberate Taungurung care for Country.

Designating the Central Highlands forests as national parks – which is an option open to the panel currently formulating forest protection recommendations – goes against what Taungurung Traditional Owners want, and what thousands of years of experience has shown us: that making decisions according to Traditional Owner knowledge and values bring the best benefits to Country and people.The Taungurung Land and Waters Council (TLaWC) believes that the State Government must put Country and people first when deciding on the future of the Central Highlands forests following direct involvement in the Eminent Panel for Community Engagement.

TLaWC’s position is expressed in a report that represents the findings of a Taungurung-led research project, identifying significant cultural landscapes in the Central Highlands.

TLaWC requests that forests within these cultural landscapes be designated as Cultural Reserves rather than National Parks to enable this significant part of Taungurung Country to be managed consistently according to Taungurung cultural knowledge.

Active management for a broad range of values is needed to heal and care for Country, which includes:
• The health and wellbeing of plants and animals
• Cultural values such as stories, connections and physical cultural heritage
• Care for dreaming places and journey pathways
• Restoring conditions for the return of culturally identified species

TLaWC advocates for healthy Country for all people, aware that local communities are deeply connected to these State forests and want to continue accessing these forests for a range of uses and support the protection and management of healthy forests.

The organisation seeks to enact the responsibilities and obligations to Taungurung Country that are guided by Taungurung cultural lore, and the future of the Central Highlands forests we’ve proposed connects deeply with this approach.

“Cultural Reserves allow Country to be managed in a way that is consistent with our knowledge and values as Taungurung people," said Matthew Shanks, proud Taungurung man and the Executive Manager of Biocultural Landscapes at TLaWC.

“This is the way Country has always been for the Taungurung – people belong to Country.

“In contrast, National Parks reflect a twentieth century model of conservation that believes the best way to conserve the natural values is through the exclusion of people.

“Taungurung biik (Country) is a human-made landscape that has been developed over tens of thousands of years through intimate relationship between Country and Taungurung people.

“This relationship was disrupted with colonisation, and the ‘locking away’ of Country from people has resulted in the ongoing decline of the health of Country.

“Country needs people, and it needs right-way relationships with people.”

If you would like to get in touch regarding this story, please contact us via [email protected] or comment below. ... See MoreSee Less

Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations

5 days ago

The rains receded months ago, but the damage remains.

That’s why supporting Aboriginal-led flood recovery and cultural healing is so important – and why we’re thrilled to announce a second round of the Aboriginal Culture and Healing Flood Recovery Grant Program, in partnership with Emergency Recovery Victoria.

Grants of up to $160,000 are available for Aboriginal community organisations, social enterprises, and Traditional Owner groups to lead flood recovery and cultural healing in the 64 Victorian areas affected by the October 2022 floods.

Applications open today and close 19 August 2024.

Learn more and apply now: https://bit.ly/fvtoc-floods

The rains receded months ago, but the damage remains.

That’s why supporting Aboriginal-led flood recovery and cultural healing is so important – and why we’re thrilled to announce a second round of the Aboriginal Culture and Healing Flood Recovery Grant Program, in partnership with Emergency Recovery Victoria.

Grants of up to $160,000 are available for Aboriginal community organisations, social enterprises, and Traditional Owner groups to lead flood recovery and cultural healing in the 64 Victorian areas affected by the October 2022 floods.

Applications open today and close 19 August 2024.

Learn more and apply now: ... See MoreSee Less

Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations

5 days ago

What’s best practice for working with Aboriginal people if you’re growing and selling native plants?

Traditional Owners have spelled out the answer for you, in what we’ve termed a cultural protocol.

You may have heard of the Victorian Traditional Owner Native Foods and Botanicals Strategy: a landmark document prepared by Traditional Owners that outlines the reforms needed to ensure the cultural, social and economic benefits of producing native plants flows to the Traditional Owner groups that have cared for them all along.

The protocol accompanies the strategy – setting out best practices for engagement, understanding and agreement-making between the Victorian native food and botanicals industry and Victoria’s Traditional Owners.

Four principles ground the protocol – culture, Country, community and commerce – and the document includes reflective questions for organising your approach.

If you’re grinding wattleseed or powdering Illawarra plums, this protocol is your tool for working with Traditional Owners in a way that is culturally safe and respectful.

LEARN MORE | bit.ly/45thRpz

What’s best practice for working with Aboriginal people if you’re growing and selling native plants?

Traditional Owners have spelled out the answer for you, in what we’ve termed a cultural protocol.

You may have heard of the Victorian Traditional Owner Native Foods and Botanicals Strategy: a landmark document prepared by Traditional Owners that outlines the reforms needed to ensure the cultural, social and economic benefits of producing native plants flows to the Traditional Owner groups that have cared for them all along.

The protocol accompanies the strategy – setting out best practices for engagement, understanding and agreement-making between the Victorian native food and botanicals industry and Victoria’s Traditional Owners.

Four principles ground the protocol – culture, Country, community and commerce – and the document includes reflective questions for organising your approach.

If you’re grinding wattleseed or powdering Illawarra plums, this protocol is your tool for working with Traditional Owners in a way that is culturally safe and respectful.

LEARN MORE | bit.ly/45thRpz ... See MoreSee Less

© 2024 Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations