The Victorian Aboriginal and Local Government Strategy is an important resource for Victorian shires and councils. The Federation helped shape the development of the strategy through:

• sitting on its steering committee
• testing the strategy in forums
• arguing for a stronger focus on Traditional Owner groups
• advocating for resourcing to support the strategy’s implementation.

The strategy is a practical guide for councils across Victoria that will help embed the voices and priorities of Aboriginal communities at the local government level. Importantly, it explicitly recognises the role and function of Traditional Owner Corporations as representative collective structures.

Next steps

In some councils there regions are strong and evolving relationships between Traditional Owner groups and local governments, and in others, more work is needed. The Federation is continuing to press for greater systemic accountability to Traditional Owners, increased recognition of the role of Traditional Owner groups, and strengths-based approaches based on the principle of self-determination to achieve the outcomes Traditional Owner groups want for Country and communities.