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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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Australia has set the terms of AI investors social license to operate in Australia – and its silent on the role of Traditional Owners, whose Countrys resources support these billion-dollar enterprises.

Its not good enough. 

Our media statement calls on the Federal Government to legislate mandatory agreement-making between AI giants and Traditional Owners.

Its common in industries where billionaire investors use Countrys resources for profit, but not happening here.

Wed like giants like Anthropic to partner with Traditional Owners because its the right thing to do – but were realists, and we know industry often needs a mandate to come to the table with us.

Mandatory agreement-making is the minimum standard, and its the prime ministers job to make it happen.

Australia has "set the terms" of AI investors' social license to operate in Australia – and it's silent on the role of Traditional Owners, whose Country's resources support these billion-dollar enterprises.

It's not good enough.

Our media statement calls on the Federal Government to legislate mandatory agreement-making between AI giants and Traditional Owners.

It's common in industries where billionaire investors use Country's resources for profit, but not happening here.

We'd like giants like Anthropic to partner with Traditional Owners because it's the right thing to do – but we're realists, and we know industry often needs a mandate to come to the table with us.

Mandatory agreement-making is the minimum standard, and it's the prime minister's job to make it happen.
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Water policy, workforce development, and risk and finance management – here’s what some of our team’s up to this week.

🟡 Steph’s deep in water policy: she’s drafting a submission to the review of the Commonwealth Water Act, and reviewing documents on the Closing the Gap inland water target.

🟡 Gabby jokes that she’s “lost and bereft” after finishing her sections of our Cultural Fire Leadership Group paper on the policy and legislative barriers interrupting cultural fire – but it’s freed her up to progress the proposal for ongoing funding for Nation-building, and presenting to the TOC human resources community of practice on the Workforce Development Framework.

🟡 Sophie’s sending two Nation-building Resource Pool publications to design and drafting the prototype of a new quarterly communique outlining the Federation’s activities to members.

🟡 Dan’s developing a funding proposal to progress the implementation of components the Traditional Owner Economic Development Roadmap –which are building blocks for economically independent, self-determining Traditional Owner Nations. 

🟡 Ben and Ken met with our accountant last week, and our audit’s progressing smoothly! Ben’s refining a couple of our policies after the auditors’ feedback and preparing for a meeting of our Board’s finance and audit risk management committee.

🟡 And Kaley, Ben and Madi are taking the first steps towards our governance review, which is our nothing-off-the-table assessment to make sure the way we run is fit-for-purpose and of greatest use to Traditional Owners – our Board’s governance alliance sub-committee is getting the meeting invitation soon.

Water policy, workforce development, and risk and finance management – here’s what some of our team’s up to this week.

🟡 Steph’s deep in water policy: she’s drafting a submission to the review of the Commonwealth Water Act, and reviewing documents on the Closing the Gap inland water target.

🟡 Gabby jokes that she’s “lost and bereft” after finishing her sections of our Cultural Fire Leadership Group paper on the policy and legislative barriers interrupting cultural fire – but it’s freed her up to progress the proposal for ongoing funding for Nation-building, and presenting to the TOC human resources community of practice on the Workforce Development Framework.

🟡 Sophie’s sending two Nation-building Resource Pool publications to design and drafting the prototype of a new quarterly communique outlining the Federation’s activities to members.

🟡 Dan’s developing a funding proposal to progress the implementation of components the Traditional Owner Economic Development Roadmap –which are building blocks for economically independent, self-determining Traditional Owner Nations.

🟡 Ben and Ken met with our accountant last week, and our audit’s progressing smoothly! Ben’s refining a couple of our policies after the auditors’ feedback and preparing for a meeting of our Board’s finance and audit risk management committee.

🟡 And Kaley, Ben and Madi are taking the first steps towards our governance review, which is our nothing-off-the-table assessment to make sure the way we run is fit-for-purpose and of greatest use to Traditional Owners – our Board’s governance alliance sub-committee is getting the meeting invitation soon.
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Wamba Wemba Aboriginal Corporation is hiring a CEO!

Closing 31 July.

Wamba Wemba Aboriginal Corporation is hiring a CEO!

Closing 31 July.
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The woman behind the Workforce Development Framework – get to know our Gabby.

The woman behind the Workforce Development Framework – get to know our Gabby. ... See MoreSee Less

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