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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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Blue skies in Naarm and our teams working hard. Heres what were up to this week.

🔵 No rest for our cultural fire policy team: we’ve got two more policy papers in the pipeline – one on training pathways, and another investigating options for a Cultural Fire Entity – and both a closed and full Cultural Fire Leadership Group meeting tomorrow!

🔵 Ken and Sophie are data-gathering for this year’s annual report: Ken’s in Excel tracking the size of our sector, Sophie’s writing the narrative section, and our financial audit’s nicely on-track.

🔵 Our new project is a review of the implementation of the Traditional Owner Game Management Strategy, and we’re carefully scoping out our plans for engaging with Traditional Owner Corporations to hear their views and feedback.

🔵 Gabby’s hosting a workshop for Traditional Owner Corporation staff members on priority actions for implementation of the Workforce Development Framework – if you work in staffing for a Traditional Owner Corporation and don’t yet have the invitation, give us a message to receive the link!

🔵 Daniel’s awaiting feedback on a funding proposal – we’ve put in for a project to implement elements of the Traditional Owner Economic Development Roadmap, and expecting tweaks to be needed.

🔵 Ben’s focused on our ongoing good governance: we’ve got actions from meetings of our Board’s finance and governance committees, and upcoming information sessions for staff on new, Board-approved policies.

🔵 And Steph and Lisa spent time last week with Traditional Owners at a DEECA-hosted forum on the Victorian Government’s Water is Life policy – a Bendigo trip that starts an exciting few weeks of Country visits for our team.

Blue skies in Naarm and our team's working hard. Here's what we're up to this week.

🔵 No rest for our cultural fire policy team: we’ve got two more policy papers in the pipeline – one on training pathways, and another investigating options for a Cultural Fire Entity – and both a closed and full Cultural Fire Leadership Group meeting tomorrow!

🔵 Ken and Sophie are data-gathering for this year’s annual report: Ken’s in Excel tracking the size of our sector, Sophie’s writing the narrative section, and our financial audit’s nicely on-track.

🔵 Our new project is a review of the implementation of the Traditional Owner Game Management Strategy, and we’re carefully scoping out our plans for engaging with Traditional Owner Corporations to hear their views and feedback.

🔵 Gabby’s hosting a workshop for Traditional Owner Corporation staff members on priority actions for implementation of the Workforce Development Framework – if you work in staffing for a Traditional Owner Corporation and don’t yet have the invitation, give us a message to receive the link!

🔵 Daniel’s awaiting feedback on a funding proposal – we’ve put in for a project to implement elements of the Traditional Owner Economic Development Roadmap, and expecting tweaks to be needed.

🔵 Ben’s focused on our ongoing good governance: we’ve got actions from meetings of our Board’s finance and governance committees, and upcoming information sessions for staff on new, Board-approved policies.

🔵 And Steph and Lisa spent time last week with Traditional Owners at a DEECA-hosted forum on the Victorian Government’s Water is Life policy – a Bendigo trip that starts an exciting few weeks of Country visits for our team.
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90 years ago, the last known Tasmanian tiger died in captivity.

30 years ago, National Threatened Species Day began.

Today, fewer than 100 sacred dingoes remain in the Big Desert, facing the real threat of extinction.

In three years time, the Commonwealth Government will make a decision about whether to protect these dingos – a culturally significant species whose immediate protection Traditional Owners are calling for.

It might be too late.

This National Threatened Species Day, were calling for Traditional Owner decision-making for culturally significant species – for everyones benefit, but to everyones harm if sidelined.

Sacred dingo cant go the way of the Tasmanian tiger.

This must be the last time Traditional Owners are left out.

90 years ago, the last known Tasmanian tiger died in captivity.

30 years ago, National Threatened Species Day began.

Today, fewer than 100 sacred dingoes remain in the Big Desert, facing the real threat of extinction.

In three years' time, the Commonwealth Government will make a decision about whether to protect these dingos – a culturally significant species whose immediate protection Traditional Owners are calling for.

It might be too late.

This National Threatened Species Day, we're calling for Traditional Owner decision-making for culturally significant species – for everyone's benefit, but to everyone's harm if sidelined.

Sacred dingo can't go the way of the Tasmanian tiger.

This must be the last time Traditional Owners are left out.
... See MoreSee Less

Does the Federation’s membership model best suit our sector’s needs? We’re looking for a governance consultant to find out.

The successful consultant will lead an independent review of the Federations membership model, Board composition, and modes of engagement with Traditional Owner Corporations. Itll include consultation with all 12 formally recognised Traditional Owner Corporations, with no questions off the table.

🗓️ September 2026 to February 2027
✍🏽 options paper, draft governance model, recommendations
⌛ proposals due 18 September
🔗 full request for tender at bit.ly/4gzQMYZ

Does the Federation’s membership model best suit our sector’s needs? We’re looking for a governance consultant to find out.

The successful consultant will lead an independent review of the Federation's membership model, Board composition, and modes of engagement with Traditional Owner Corporations. It'll include consultation with all 12 formally recognised Traditional Owner Corporations, with no questions off the table.

🗓️ September 2026 to February 2027
✍🏽 options paper, draft governance model, recommendations
⌛ proposals due 18 September
🔗 full request for tender at bit.ly/4gzQMYZ
... See MoreSee Less

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