Appendix 3: Socio-economic target actions

Socio-economic target 1 – Life Expectancy

Outcome: Aboriginal people enjoy long and healthy lives.
Target: Close the Gap in life expectancy within a generation, by 2031.

Objective

To recognise that holistic models of care are a core part of ACCO-delivered health and wellbeing services in Victoria and ensure that policies and practices within government acknowledge, prioritise and support this model.

Action Details

• The strategy will acknowledge established Aboriginal models of care and work to embed the principles necessary to activate and implement an Aboriginal-led holistic model of care in government ways of working.
• The principles should enable ACCOs to deliver their self-determined model or models of care, including by:
  • Embedding initiatives that elevate the integral role that cultural practice (i.e. traditional ways of knowing, being and doing and connection to Country) plays in health and wellbeing
  • Addressing the whole person from pre-birth through to their return to Dreaming, including comorbidities and risk and protective factors
  • Supporting Elders and Traditional Owners to share and implement knowledge about traditional foods, healing, medicine and cultural practices (e.g. through bush gardens)
  • Covering the spectrum from health promotion and prevention through to primary care and tertiary clinical interventions
  • Supporting Aboriginal organisations to design and implement culturally appropriate preventive health and early intervention initiatives and campaigns to address and respond to preventable and avoidable health conditions
  • Identifying and targeting health and wellbeing issues through proactive and localised responses (e.g. in response to maternal child health issues, smoking or gambling)
  • Designing targeted programs to address health issues disproportionately affecting at-risk groups within Aboriginal communities.

Responsible Departments

Lead department: DH.

Supporting department: DGS.

Socio-economic target 2 – Birthweight

Outcome: Aboriginal children are born healthy and strong.
Target: By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal babies with a healthy birthweight to 91 per cent.

Objective

Strengthen and expand Aboriginal-led journey to parenthood services and family wellbeing supports to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.

Action details

• Strengthen cultural safety, support mechanisms and partnerships with ACCHOs in all maternity services to improve engagement and outcomes for Aboriginal families.
• Support the expansion of culturally safe and holistic antenatal and postnatal care through expansion of Koori Maternity Services (KMS), improving continuity of care throughout the journey to motherhood, including pathways between ACCHOs, birthing services and Maternal and Child Health (MCH) services.
• Strengthen KMS across Victoria to respond to community need and improve access to flexible services through the review of program guidelines and minimum dataset approach.
• Review and develop Aboriginal maternity care outcome measures and evaluation through the Supporting Aboriginal Women on their Journey to Motherhood initiative.
• Support the transition of KMS in universal maternity services into ACCHOs.
• Work with universal service providers and stakeholders to identify gaps in service and areas of growth and identify opportunities to support ACCOs to fill these gaps.
• Review ACCO perinatal workforce development requirements and ACCO sector pay parity opportunities.
• Develop and distribute Aboriginal-led health promotion materials and campaigns that address the social, familial and health factors that influence children’s wellbeing, including on smoking and alcohol use during pregnancy.
• Provide supports to strengthen the family unit, including financial counselling, employment supports, housing, social and emotional wellbeing services (including alcohol and other drugs services), and addressing family violence.
• Develop pathways and collaborative relationships between the community KMS and hospital ante-natal services that are responsive to the needs of Aboriginal women and people who are pregnant in custody.
• Custodial health services facilitate in-reach, community-based KMS care to support maternity care before and after release from custody.
• Connect families with relevant services where children are identified as needing specialised care or support, including for developmental delays.
• Ensure that data collection and assessment and measurement tools are culturally led, appropriate, and reflect the holistic wellbeing of children, mothers, parents and families.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DH.

Supporting departments: DGS and DJCS.

Socio-economic target 3 – Early Childhood Education

Outcome: Aboriginal children are engaged in high quality, culturally appropriate early childhood education in their early years.
Target: By 2025, increase the proportion of Aboriginal children enrolled in Year Before Fulltime Schooling (YBFS) early childhood education to 95 per cent.

Objective

Increase the proportion of Aboriginal children receiving culturally appropriate early childhood education.

Action details

Develop an Aboriginal-led sector strengthening plan to support the sector’s establishment. The plan should:

• Define a clear Aboriginal Community-Controlled early years education and development sector.
• Include a targeted Aboriginal workforce strategy that addresses demand, qualifications, training, and staff retention in the early childhood and development sector (i.e. support for Aboriginal people working in the early childhood and development sector).
• Develop a growth and sustainability strategy to grow services, to meet projected demand for Aboriginal Community-Controlled early years education and development services across Victoria. The strategy should support existing Aboriginal early years services (for example, support for capital infrastructure, business operations, professional learning).
• Identify, analyse and facilitate access to clear funding streams and pathways from the Commonwealth, Victorian and local governments.
• Improve and increase access to universal service funding for ACCOs, including advocating for the removal of red tape or other barriers faced by Aboriginal service providers and supporting ACCOs to competitively apply for grants.
• Support ACCOs and Aboriginal-led organisations delivering Aboriginal Community-Controlled early years education and development services by enabling them to competitively apply for grants and receive direct funding.
• Scope increased needs-based funding so that Aboriginal children can reach their full potential, overcome educational and developmental disadvantage, and be ready for school (supported with strong accountability).

Responsible departments

Lead department: DE.

Supporting departments: DFFH, DH.

Objective

Improve cultural safety in early years centres and the cultural capability of the early years workforce.

Action details

• Identify and scope current Aboriginal inclusion and cultural safety/responsiveness frameworks and standards, including in training curriculums.
• Through an Aboriginal-led process, identify current gaps in frameworks and standards and opportunities to strengthen where existing standards are not adequately implemented, governed and reported on.
• Partner with regulatory bodies to discuss recommended changes to existing standards and how they may be applied in early year centres.
• To support implementation, there should be Aboriginal-led professional development learning programs, resources and materials for early years educators to meet Child Safe Standards for Aboriginal inclusion and cultural safety/responsiveness.
• Support Aboriginal inclusion in:
• Aboriginal early years services, through resourcing the Aboriginal community (ACCOs/TOCs/Elders) to design and deliver curriculum.
• Universal service providers.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DE.

Supporting departments: DFFH, DH.

Socio-economic target 4 – Child Development

Outcome: Aboriginal children thrive in their early years.
Target: By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal children assessed as developmentally on track in all five domains of the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) to 55 per cent.

Objective

Enable effective policy and decision-making by ensuring that data metrics used to assess development of Aboriginal children are culturally appropriate and contextually relevant.

Action details

• Ensure Aboriginal-led and self-determined approaches as set out in the Victorian Aboriginal Early Years Framework are socialised and finalised through both Aboriginal and government decision-making processes.
• Participate in budget processes that support the implementation of approaches as set out in the Victorian Aboriginal Early Years Framework.
• Support the use of culturally appropriate assessment tools where preferred and appropriate to the local context
• Support children to meet development goals through increased access to funding and supports such as school-readiness funding.
• The assessment tools should be accompanied by practice guidelines that set out the minimum standards for conducting assessments, processes and use of the tools. This includes:
  • Requiring the assessments to be undertaken by Aboriginal practitioners where possible (unless otherwise requested by the family)
  • Setting out the necessary supports that must be available for families before, during and after assessment
  • Ensuring that information regarding the assessment and informed consent is accessible and understood
  • Environmental/setting requirements for where assessments are conducted
  • How information is stored, reported and used (in accordance with Indigenous Data Sovereignty and relevant legislation).

Responsible departments

Lead department: DH.

Supporting departments: DE, DFFH.

Objective

Support Aboriginal children to thrive through holistic family support models from pre-conception through to early years.

Action details

• Ensure Aboriginal led and self-determined approaches as set out in the Victorian Aboriginal Early Years Framework are socialised and finalised through both Aboriginal and government decision-making processes.
• Participate in budget processes that support the implementation of approaches as set out in the Victorian Aboriginal Early Years Framework.
• Support opportunities for KMS to be integrated with Aboriginal Maternal and Child Health services to ensure seamless continuous care from pregnancy through to a child’s early years.
• Provide wrap-around Aboriginal-led services to children and families focused on prevention and early intervention that are centred on culture and kinship. This may include:
  • Cultural counselling
  • Facilitating identity-building processes to support children to understand and value the role of Aboriginal culture in their lives
  • Facilitating connection to Country, family and culture through the sharing of knowledge, history and experiences
  • Connecting Elders with Aboriginal early years services to support intergenerational relationships within Community
  • Wrap-around support plans that assess the needs of families (e.g. family violence support, financial literacy, emergency housing)
• Strengthen the quality and accessibility of Aboriginal-led supports available to families experiencing or at risk of experiencing hardship, by:
  • Evaluating current supports available, outcomes and return on investment
  • Working with ACCOs, universal service providers and stakeholders to identify gaps in sector and areas of growth
  • Assessing current and future service demands and matching resourcing to demand.
  • Establishing long-term service growth and development plans
• Support Aboriginal families to transition from early years education to primary school, by:
  • Employing more early childhood Aboriginal engagement officers to provide support for children throughout early years and their transition into primary school
  • Supporting continuity of cultural education, identity building and connection to culture, language and Community for children
  • Conducting Cultural safety training for universal service providers which are supporting Aboriginal families to manage their children’s growth and development from prenatal to primary school.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DH.

Supporting departments: DE, DFFH.

Socio-economic target 5 – Year 12 Completion

Outcome: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students achieve their full learning potential.
Target: By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (age 20-24) attaining year 12 or equivalent qualification to 96 per cent.

Objective

Support Aboriginal children and young people to attend and remain engaged in quality education and training.

Action details

• The strategy should support choice and opportunity to go to schools that meet the needs of Aboriginal students, by:
  • Evaluating Aboriginal enrolment and attendance rates, and identifying how to measure student engagement and participation (including school-based extra-curricular activities)
  • Confirming accessibility to schools and tertiary education (including VET in schools), including access via public and private transport and uptake of relevant supports
  • Working with Community to determine factors they consider when choosing schools and training organisations
  • Supporting select-entry schools to identify opportunities to increase their intake and support of Aboriginal students
  • Partnering with the non-government school sector to identify opportunities for collaboration in sharing best practice.
• Proactively address other socio-economic factors that may impact a student’s engagement and participation at school, especially options that support Aboriginal children and young people to live on Country. This includes:
  • Identifying or further developing relevant strategies that address transport needs for children and young people who want to attend school and tertiary education (including VET in schools)
  • Supporting students to access the necessary technology and equipment to participate in training (including Year 12 in TAFE), and appropriate implementation of relevant government policies, especially if undertaking the training remotely
  • Coordinating and promoting financial and other supports to help families meet the costs of education and training (such as uniforms, excursions and books).
• Support students to participate in cultural events, by:
  • Consulting with relevant Community partners to refresh guidelines for supporting students to take cultural leave (including for Sorry Business)
  • Promoting processes for ensuring that students on cultural leave are not disadvantaged or at risk of falling behind.

Responsible departments

Lead departments: DE and DJSIR.

Supporting department: DTP.

Objective

Reduce and respond to racism in schools and support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and students to report instances of racism.

Action details

• In partnership with relevant stakeholders and ACCOs:
  • Review and identify gaps in guidance, processes and training to comply with Child Safe Standards
  • Design and deliver a professional development learning program that helps educators better understand Child Safe Standards, Aboriginal culture, knowledge, history and social experiences
  • Review and where appropriate, strengthen processes to support all schools and TAFEs to implement Child Safe Standards.
• Strengthen actions taken to increase reporting of racism and improve how schools and training organisations respond to racism, by:
  • Developing age-appropriate communications to encourage reporting of racism and reduce instances of racism. This includes communications for non-Aboriginal students and staff to report incidents they witness
  • Support Aboriginal staff and students to report racism to the relevant bodies
  • Providing social and emotional support to address the effects and impacts that racism has on students and their families that augment and support existing supports and mechanisms
  • Promoting existing policy requirements for schools and training organisations to report and respond to racism.

Responsible departments

Lead departments: DE and DJSIR.

Socio-economic target 6 – Tertiary Education

Outcome: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students reach their full potential through further education pathways.
Target: By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25-34 years who have completed a tertiary qualification (Certificate III and above) to 70 per cent.

Objective

Build a strong Aboriginal-led tertiary sector to deliver accredited training.

Action details

Enable the review of current RTO accreditation requirements, to:

• Support the removal of barriers for ACCOs to become RTOs and increase supports to enable them to deliver education and training for Community and on Country.
• Consult with Aboriginal RTOs to identify problems, barriers and key gaps that arise when operating within the current RTO accreditation category.
• Give ACCOs greater access to public RTO funding streams.
• Partner with ACCOs to develop a separate RTO category for ACCOs that recognises their community basis to reduce the financial and operational burden of private registration and reporting requirements.
• Support the ongoing financial viability and sustainability of ACCO RTOs.
• Look at strategies to reduce operating costs, including those associated with accreditation and auditing to enable long term sustainability, scalability and the opportunity for other ACCOs to become RTOs.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DJSIR.

Supporting department: DE.

Objective

Build a strong Aboriginal-led tertiary sector, with strong partnerships to non-Aboriginal tertiary education and training organisations (including TAFEs, RTOs and universities).

Action details

• Strengthen partnerships between ACCOs and other organisations that support Aboriginal students to participate in training and tertiary education and non-Aboriginal providers (including TAFEs, RTOs and universities).
• Identify key barriers faced by Aboriginal students and what supports are available.
• Develop an approach to increase enrolment in tertiary education and training, including making it easier to navigate across universities and increasing availability of scholarships and other financial supports.
• Expand and build on the principles of the Toorong Marnong partnership to support Aboriginal students to engage in education and progress across qualifications.
• Expand and build on the Wurreker Program in TAFEs which funds the Aboriginal workforce and assists with Koorie student outcomes.
• Continue to support Koorie/Aboriginal units within TAFEs and universities so that they can assist students with services and needs associated with education and training (i.e. transport and accommodation).
• Support ACCO RTOs to develop an equipment loan program and explore opportunities to subsidise or fully fund course-specific materials (i.e. health diagnostic tools, uniforms and textbooks).
• Partner with universities and TAFEs to assess their investment in supporting Aboriginal students.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DJSIR.

Supporting department: DE.

Objective

Support Aboriginal students to access tertiary qualifications and participate in the social student experience offered by tertiary education and training providers, including universities and TAFEs.

Action details

• Bridge the digital divide by ensuring that Aboriginal students have access to the devices and technology that they need to succeed.
  • Scope current Aboriginal student cohort for technological needs
  • Scope ACCO RTOs’ technological requirements to ensure students can complete courses.
• Strengthen technological and physical infrastructure so that Aboriginal students can access educational resources on Country.
  • Identify and assess current educational infrastructural needs, reduce barriers and support enablers experienced by students working in remote and regional areas, such as telecommunication towers, study areas and libraries, transport and accessibility (including access to tutoring, mentoring, regional or community hubs)
  • Where relevant, support local ACCOs to develop the necessary infrastructure to support student needs
  • Develop a technological infrastructure development plan to accompany existing strategic plans for regions.
• The approach should aim to increase the accessibility to events hosted by education and training providers (and any associated clubs) ensuring all students—regardless of location—can fully participate in the social aspects of student life. This includes supporting remote and regional students to engage meaningfully, not just through face-to-face (F2F) opportunities but also via consistent and inclusive online options.
• To achieve this, the Strategy should promote a balanced and equitable approach to online and F2F engagement. Where possible, events and activities should offer duplicate formats (e.g., livestreams, recordings, virtual participation) to ensure all students can access and benefit from the experience. This approach should align with accessibility standards and be applied consistently across institutions and programs.
• The approach should explore options to develop and establish communities of practice across higher education and training organisations to support Aboriginal student inclusion such as access to wrap-around supports and enabling resources.
• A coordinated and culturally safe scholarship framework should be explored to support First Peoples students across higher education pathways such as TAFEs etc. This should include a standardised yet adaptable approach to scholarship criteria and assessment—ensuring consistency across government-funded programs while allowing flexibility to meet individual needs.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DJSIR.

Supporting departments: DE and DTP.

Objective

Build the Aboriginal-led tertiary sector and support Aboriginal-led organisations to develop and deliver Aboriginal designed courses and resources.

Action details

• Scope and assess current courses and accreditations that are being provided by ACCOs (including RTOs).
• Support the development of clear expectations and requirements to ensure Aboriginal courses are universally accredited and meet requirements for recognition of prior learning (especially where there are jurisdictional-specific requirements).
• Partner with the ACCO RTO sector to explore barriers to accreditation and develop streamlined processes and pathways to ensure established courses are recognised.
• Support in seeking funding for ACCO RTOs to write and develop their own resources instead of purchasing off-the-shelf materials that require contextualising to be made culturally safe.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DJSIR.

Supporting department: DE.

Objective

To improve pathways into the Aboriginal sector workforce and increase the tertiary education completion rate for Aboriginal students.

Action details

• Strengthen and promote articulation agreements between Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) and universities (between Certificate and Diploma level courses and bachelor’s degrees) in priority sectors.
• Pilot a recognition of current competency process in a priority sector with an identified ACCO service provider/s.
• Government continues to work with ACCO RTOs to progress opportunities through the National Skills Agreement, including the First Nations VET Policy Partnership.
• Routinely collect data on Aboriginal sector workforce trends and tertiary education completion to inform the development of supports.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DJSIR.

Socio-economic target 7 – Youth

Outcome: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth are engaged in employment or education.
Target: By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth (15-24 years) who are in employment, education or training to 67 per cent.

Objective

Empower Aboriginal young people to reach their full potential by supporting them to choose and follow their interests through education and employment.

Action details

• The approach should be co-designed and led by Aboriginal young people and provide them with the opportunity to be actively involved in its implementation and oversight, to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of young people over time. Organisations including the Koorie Youth Council could support this work.
• The approach should include integrated education, mentorship and employment initiatives and pathways and be supported by partnerships across schools, training and higher education organisations, government, private businesses and Aboriginal organisations.
• These initiatives could include cadetships, traineeships, apprenticeships, graduate programs, micro credentials, those with small businesses and on-the-job training. It also includes support to apply for jobs, including preparing a resume and building a professional network.
• The approach should also incorporate the necessary programs, policies and supports young people need as they transition into adulthood. This includes assistance with obtaining key identification documents (e.g. driver’s license), access to housing, digital and financial literacy programs, sexual health education, and social and emotional wellbeing services.
• Programs should be made available to support young people who are more at risk of disadvantage, including those exiting child protection, young people with a disability and young people who are experiencing hardship.
• It should also include supports to enable young people to work and study on Country (either in person or remotely), while remaining connected to their community and culture. This should also reflect the needs of young people who have moved off Country and may require additional support to maintain cultural and community connections while pursuing education or employment opportunities.
• Support the development of a strategic approach to increasing sustainable employment opportunities, including culturally safe ways of targeted recruitment, retention, and professional development initiatives.
• Assess and enhance employment services by identifying systemic and structural barriers to workforce participation.
• Evaluate mainstream employment support services in regard to the inclusivity and effectiveness in supporting Aboriginal young people to enter the workforce, training and higher education.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DJSIR.

Supporting departments: DFFH, DE and DTP.

Socio-economic target 8 – Employment

Outcome: Strong economic participation and development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.
Target: By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25-64 who are employed to 62 per cent.

Objective

Increase and strengthen Aboriginal economic participation, including Aboriginal economies.

Action details

• Revise the implementation timeline and proposed goals of the Yuma Yirramboi Strategy, including developing a publicly accessible monitoring and accountability plan for the strategy.
• The approach should consider:
  • Focusing on creating long-term, outcomes-based funding models for Aboriginal organisations, ensuring financial stability and workforce development, and enhancing procurement opportunities for Aboriginal businesses.
  • Recognising and valuing the vital role of Elders, senior community members, and knowledge-holders in the custodianship and transmission of culture. Their contributions should be appropriately acknowledged and remunerated as a core element of advancing collective self-determination. This approach should also support ongoing engagement of Elders through mentoring, cultural guidance, and participation in education and training initiatives.
  • Supporting TOC economic development activities through their own prescribed initiatives.
• Address infrastructure gaps that limit economic participation in remote and rural areas by supporting continued transport solutions to improve access to training and employment.
• Support place-based initiatives that promote economic self-determination, including:
  • Supporting existing organisations dedicated to the development of Aboriginal economies and Aboriginal-owned businesses including Aboriginal-led enterprise hubs that provide business support and funding access
  • Supporting the implementation of policy partnerships with such institutions
  • Developing skills development programs tailored to regional economic opportunities
  • Supporting existing funding streams for regional ACCOs and TOCs to drive economic growth and job creation.
• Identify opportunities for increased recognition of Traditional Owner rights, and resourcing to activate economic development opportunities from existing business plans and strategies.
• Support the development of economic strategies, such as eco-tourism or land-based enterprises, ensuring sustainable benefits for Aboriginal communities. This may include:
  • Supporting and enabling existing Aboriginal economic forums and partnerships that identify growth of business opportunities
  • In collaboration with TOCs and relevant stakeholders, supporting the development of a long-term development plan to support Aboriginal cultural enterprise
  • Supporting pre-qualification pathways to provide visibility of Aboriginal businesses in tenders, addressing deficit-based assumptions about capability.
  • Identifying support for businesses to increase their scalability and to become international trade ready.
  • Supporting businesses in First Nation-to-First Nation trade initiatives.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DJSIR.

Supporting departments: DFFH, DTP, DGS.

Objective

Support long-term Aboriginal employment, workforce development and workforce stability.

Action details

• Seek ways to ensure Aboriginal staff in government have stable, well-paid roles that reduce reliance on short-term contracts (i.e. less than 12 months).
• Conduct an assessment to identify ways government can influence the private sector to support Aboriginal employment outcomes.
• Conduct a job stocktake of Victorian ACCOs and TOCs to identify current workforce needs, in-demand roles, and opportunities in emerging sectors. This process should:
  • be led by ACCOs and TOCs to reflect their priorities and community aspirations
  • consider how long-term government investment and funding in key industries can support sustainable workforce development within these organisations
  • aim to address occupation shortages and future-proof workforce planning
  • support activation of rights and delivery of outcomes under Recognition and Settlement Agreements and future treaties
  • align with broader economic and community development goals.
• Assess the feasibility to support on-Country training models that support workforce development.
• Support ACCOs and TOCs to establish culturally appropriate training pathways for priority roles.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DJSIR.

Supporting departments: DFFH and DTP.

Objective

To support employees to remain in, or join, the Aboriginal sector by addressing disparities in pay and other employment conditions.

Action details

• Conduct further research to better understand specific issues around pay disparities between Aboriginal sector organisations and other employers such as government and mainstream organisations, including but not limited to the application of the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award, other relevant awards and enterprise agreements, and informal employment practices. Research should also consider approaches to recognise cultural responsibility in role design and remuneration frameworks.
• Implement relevant supports at an organisational level to recognise the work performed by Aboriginal employees associated with a cultural responsibility.
• Explore expansion of Victoria's existing Portable Long Service Benefits Scheme for community services to be accessible by the whole Aboriginal sector workforce.
• Explore other options to support workforce mobility across the Aboriginal sector, including portability of other leave and entitlements, recognition of prior learning and experience, and common role classifications.

Responsible departments

Lead department: All departments. DPC, DTF, DFFH and other relevant departments to conduct research on pay disparities. DPC and DTF to lead research on a broader portable leave scheme, informed by relevant departments.

Socio-economic target 9 – Housing

Outcome: Aboriginal people secure appropriate, affordable housing that is aligned with their priorities and needs.
Target 9A: By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal people living in appropriately sized (not overcrowded) housing to 88 per cent.
Target 9B: By 2031, all Aboriginal households:

• within discrete Aboriginal communities receive essential services that meet or exceed the relevant jurisdictional standard
• in or near to a town receive essential services that meet or exceed the same standard as applies generally within the town.

Objective

Support Aboriginal people to access secure, affordable and appropriate housing and increase the rate of home ownership for Aboriginal people. Ensure that all Aboriginal people living in Victoria have access to a home within a generation.

Action details

The plan will:

• Continue the strong partnership and support to the VAHHF governance forum.
• Continue to explore implementation of an Aboriginal-led rent-to-buy pilot program.
• Delivery of the $20 million First Peoples Home Ownership Program.
  • Victoria is launching a targeted First Peoples Home Ownership Program that will provide grants to support the upfront costs of buying a home and will include a dedicated support service delivered by an ACCO.
• Delivery of more housing for Aboriginal People in Victoria. The Victorian Government is delivering these existing housing programs, including:
  • Big Housing Build – Homes Victoria is delivering 820 new social dwellings for Aboriginal People. The Social Housing Growth Fund (SHGF) will deliver 420 of the dwellings via grant funding with the remaining 400 dwellings through spot purchasing and developments on existing Homes Victoria land
  • Regional Housing Fund – Includes 130 new social dwellings across regional Victoria
  • Social Housing Accelerator Program – Includes 78 spot purchased social dwellings across metropolitan Melbourne.
• Delivery of the Aboriginal Public Housing Management Transfer Pilot to test an approach which transfers management responsibilities to an Aboriginal registered housing provider that will enhance the ability for government to provide culturally safe tenancy to Aboriginal People in Victoria living in Public Housing.
• Delivery of Community Sector Development Fund programs - including Supporting Aboriginal Registration and Breaking Down Barriers to the Big Housing Build.
• Aboriginal Housing Placement Program – transfers newly built or spot purchased, Homes Victoria-owned dwellings currently on interim general leases (i.e. short-term leases) with Aboriginal Housing providers, to long-term leases with Aboriginal Housing Providers.
• Continue to explore the feasibility of reforms to planning, release of government land and social housing funding and procurement to increase Aboriginal social housing supply.
• Delivery of the Framlingham and Lake Tyers Aboriginal Trusts’ masterplan that supports the ongoing implementation of the VAHHF.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DFFH (Homes Victoria).

Supporting departments: DEECA, DJCS, DPC, DTP.

Objective

Create a self-determined, culturally safe, and responsive homelessness system for Aboriginal Victorians.

Action details

• Continue to support the ongoing work of the Blueprint Steering Committee.
• In partnership with the Aboriginal housing and homelessness sector, develop a homelessness target that reflects the homelessness need of Aboriginal people in Victoria.
• Continue to support the Aboriginal Homelessness Target Working Group tasked with developing a headline homelessness target and subsequent measures to reduce Aboriginal homelessness (by 10 per cent each year compounding for 10 years).
• Continue to support the Aboriginal Homelessness Entry Points and Multidisciplinary Teams.
• Develop and document the model for expanding Aboriginal Homelessness Entry Point services across Victoria to ensure all Aboriginal Victorians have culturally safe and responsive support to access the Victorian specialist homelessness system.
• Finalise the transfer of the Aboriginal Tenants at Risk (ATAR) program funding and responsibility from four mainstream homelessness service providers to ACCOs.
• Continue to deliver the Aboriginal Private Rental Assistance Program (APRAP) in 10 sites across Victoria to operate at scale and meet the needs of Aboriginal Victorians to secure and sustain their private rental tenancies.
• Support the co-design and implementation of a model for Stewardship of the Aboriginal homelessness system in Victoria.
• Work toward the target that at least 10 per cent of all homelessness funding in Victoria is going to Aboriginal specialist homelessness service providers.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DFFH (Homes Victoria).

Objective

Ensure continuous improvement of public housing and the community housing and homelessness sectors.

Action details

• Support the implementation of the Social Housing Regulation Review (SHRR) Recommendation 3.9 – implementing culturally safe services.
• Establish a series of workshops and a working group to develop Aboriginal cultural safety standards across public housing and the community housing and homelessness sectors, and explore the feasibility of implementing broader reforms including:
  • a system of accreditation, delivered and monitored by the Aboriginal community
  • accountability and enforcement mechanisms, systems and processes that demonstrate housing and homeless providers meet the Aboriginal cultural safety performance standard.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DFFH (Homes Victoria)

Supporting department: DTF.

Socio-economic target 10 – Justice

Outcome: Aboriginal adults are not overrepresented in the criminal justice system.
Target: By 2031, reduce the rate of Aboriginal adults held in incarceration by at least 15 per cent.

Objective

To reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people and promote greater self-determination in the Victorian justice system.

Action details

• The AJA partnership between government and the Aboriginal community has been a powerful mechanism to address overrepresentation and the disproportionate impact of the justice system on Aboriginal peoples. AJA5 will build on the successes and strengths of previous phases of the AJA and be the State’s key strategy for addressing the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in the justice system and preventing Aboriginal deaths in custody.
• The development and implementation of AJA5 will be undertaken in partnership with the Victorian Government and the Aboriginal Justice Caucus. To further deepen engagement with Aboriginal communities in development of AJA5, and to ensure consistency with the in-principle agreed Statewide Treaty, the First Peoples’ Assembly of Gellung Warl will be invited to work alongside Aboriginal Justice Caucus (AJC) in its partnership with government in this process. AJA5 will align with and support broader recent reforms in Victoria around self-determination, including developments through Victoria’s Treaty process.
• AJA5 will be a comprehensive and contemporary strategy and theory of change that responds to the current Victorian justice environment. The development methodology for AJA5 has been carefully designed to ensure its inputs identify the most effective, efficient and appropriate enablers for breaking the cycle of incarceration experienced by Aboriginal people. AJA5 will build on the legacy of previous AJAs but represents an evolution based on 25 years of learning what works, why barriers remain, and how to address them.
• AJA5 is expected to identify and implement self-determined and evidence-informed actions to reduce Aboriginal people’s risk of contact with the criminal justice system. It will work to ensure Aboriginal people have access to an equitable justice system that protects and upholds their human, civil, legal and cultural rights. AJA5 is currently under development. Key AJA5 milestones to be tracked through the Closing the Gap Implementation Plan are therefore yet to be determined. The AJA5 is expected to include the following actions:
  • Developing and implementing strategies to meaningfully transfer power and resources from government and universal services to Aboriginal organisations. This could include shifting long-term service responsibility, extending current funding arrangements, and building the capability and capacity of Aboriginal-led supports through appropriate and proportionate funding, training and workforce pipelines.
  • Prioritising systemic and legislative reform opportunities to reduce overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system
  • Addressing the high rates of remand and identifying and investing in Aboriginal-led non-custodial alternatives, including diversion, community-based supervision, and bail support programs such as the Prison Support Program (PSP) and specialist women’s services
  • Establishing robust accountability, reporting and evaluation mechanisms to measure progress against SET 10 and ensuring that AJA5 remains progressive and outcomes focused
  • Ensuring Indigenous Data Sovereignty is recognised and operationalised with Aboriginal communities having ownership and control of justice-related data
  • Resources to expand services beyond existing allocations, ensuring resourcing meets demand created by new reforms
  • Considering research to better understand the opportunities for early intervention and community investment within the justice system
  • Exploring additional funding options to strengthen community-based programs at the local level.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DJCS.

Objective

To reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people and promote greater self-determination in the Victorian justice system.

Action details

• Strengthen cultural safety, responsiveness and understanding of Aboriginal culture and peoples within government and government services, including finalising and considering the Review of Aboriginal Cultural Spaces in Prisons and implementing new minimum standards (endorsed by the Aboriginal Justice Caucus in March 2025) for cultural spaces across the public and private prison system. The standards have been designed to promote consistency in how cultural spaces are used to support Aboriginal people connecting to culture while in prison, including by requiring prisons to establish a regular schedule of access and use of cultural spaces.
• Continue existing supports and consider additional supports for Aboriginal peoples overrepresented as victim survivors of crime, including family violence and intimate partner violence support services, including by implementing the Aboriginal Victims of Crime Strategy to improve supports for Aboriginal victims of crime.
• Facilitate greater transparency and sharing of data and information about Aboriginal peoples in contact with the system, focusing on improving and developing health custodial discharge planning and processes, linking with ACCOs and community supports, including through:
  • Distributing quarterly data dashboards to the Regional Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committees (RAJAC), providing regional updates on key justice and Wirkara Kulpa – Aboriginal Youth Justice Strategy 2022-2032 (Wirkara Kulpa) indicators, including average daily supervision numbers and custody and community trends with gender and age cohort breakdowns, to support data-informed discussions and the ongoing monitoring of local priorities
  • Monitor public prisons health care providers performance against key metrics including Aboriginal Health Checks and Integrated Care Plans for Aboriginal people in custody and share this information as part of the Aboriginal Justice Forum
  • Examining data focusing on remand data disaggregated from sentenced data, and the impacts of remand on housing security and child protection involvement.
• Undertake evaluations, research and reviews of Victorian Government policies, initiatives and programs impacting Aboriginal peoples in contact with justice systems, including:
  • Continue the implementation of the Cultural Review of the Adult Custodial Corrections System’s reform directions in line with Corrections Victoria’s vision of Safer Prisons, Safer People, Safer Communities. Corrections Victoria’s Prison Workforce Strategy (the Prison Workforce Strategy), developed through extensive consultation with staff, sets out the cultural reform agenda over the next decade, with priority actions being reviewed and updated every two years. The strategy identifies five priority areas:
    • Building and retaining a skilled, knowledgeable and capable workforce
    • Attraction, recruitment and merit-based recruitment
    • Promoting the safety and wellbeing of the workforce
    • Enhancing Aboriginal cultural safety
    • Building a continuous improvement culture.
  • Evaluate the Family-Centred Approaches project to assess the effectiveness of community-led, culturally safe responses that strengthen Aboriginal family's engagement with justice supports. The evaluation will examine:
    • The extent to which the Family-Centred Approach model supports early intervention and family healing across the three pilot sites, Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation (Barwon Southwest), Dardi Munwurro (Southern Metro) and Yoowinna Wurnalung Aboriginal Healing Service (East Gippsland)
    • Outcomes for Aboriginal families experiencing or at risk of involvement with family violence or child protection systems
    • Lessons learned to inform the model’s potential adaptation, scale up and integration with other justice and social service programs.
  • Deliver a landmark perpetrator study to explore the latest evidence on the behaviours and motivations of perpetrators, with a view to improve early intervention and perpetrator intervention programs. This will help to ensure Victoria's suite of interventions is contemporary, effective and accessible to perpetrators from a range of backgrounds and experiences. The outcomes should inform commissioning of new perpetrator behaviour change programs and services to address identified gaps
  • Finalise and consider Monash University’s final independent evaluation report on the justice-based impacts of the public intoxication reform. This includes consideration of findings on the reform’s impacts on reducing justice system contact, particularly for Aboriginal people.
• Embed and protect Aboriginal people’s rights, including the right to self-determination, within Victorian Government processes and legislation, including through:
  • Implementing Aboriginal specific reforms in the Youth Justice Act 2024 including a statement of recognition in respect of Aboriginal young people (18 – 25 years), developing an Aboriginal-led Early Diversion Group Conferencing Model, cultural supporting planning and embedding Aboriginal representation on the Youth Parole Board
  • Developing a Cultural Capability Framework in partnership with the Aboriginal Justice Caucus to articulate the key knowledge, skills and capabilities the staff (who work in prisons) need to work in a culturally responsive way, to inform development of cultural capability training that is tailored to the custodial environment.
• In partnership with the Aboriginal Justice Caucus, ACCOs, ACCHOs and primary health service providers, continue to develop and implement ACCO/ACCHO delivered models of culturally safe and strong health and social and emotional wellbeing initiatives within justice systems, including through:
  • Continuing to pilot ACCHO service delivery through working collaboratively with individual ACCHOs and existing service providers to identify, develop, test and refine service delivery models, including strengthening discharge planning
  • Monitoring the expansion of Aboriginal Health Checks for Aboriginal people in private prisons.

Responsible departments

Lead departments: DJCS and Victoria Police.

Objective

To reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people and promote greater self-determination in the Victorian justice system

Action details

• Develop and invest in local and regional-specific Aboriginal-led initiatives and service models focused on early intervention, community investment, legal supports, and broader wellbeing supports to address the drivers of criminal justice system contact, including:
  • Maintaining the RAJAC Implementation Fund in each of the nine RAJAC regions to support local projects that contribute to achieving the outcomes and priorities of each RAJAC
  • Developing the Baroona Healing Redevelopment Project, led by Njernda Aboriginal Corporation, to provide a residential healing place for Aboriginal youth at risk of entering the justice system
  • Continue support for Dardi Munwurro to deliver specialist programs and services including:
• Bramung Jaarn program which seeks to engage and empower young Aboriginal men (aged 10 to 18) to heal and build resilience with the aim of diverting them from the criminal justice system
• Brother to Brother program which includes a crisis phone line operated 24/7 to provide support to Aboriginal men to talk about relationships issues, family violence, parenting, or drug and alcohol issues
• Ngarra Jarranounith Place which provides a residential diversion program for Aboriginal men who use, or are at risk of using, family violence
  • Continue support for Djirra in delivering legal services (including family law, child protection, victims of crime compensation, intervention orders) and the Koori Women's Place, which includes a cultural program providing various supports to Aboriginal women
  • Maintain support for Djirra in delivering early intervention programs including:
    • Sisters Day Out – regular one-day wellbeing workshops delivered in the community
    • Dilly Bag – residential on-country gathering for Aboriginal women
    • Young Luv – regular half-day activity to engage teenage Aboriginal women aged 13 to 18 to discuss healthy relationships
  • Continue to support the three Aboriginal organisations delivering the Family-Centred Approaches program, which supports Aboriginal families experiencing or at risk of contact with the justice system through early intervention and culturally safe, holistic service responses. The program focuses on strengthening family wellbeing, improving system navigation, and preventing escalation into the justice system
  • Continue to support the Kaka Wangity Wangin Mirrie (KWWM) Corrections Victoria Aboriginal Cultural Program Grants
  • Continue the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service – Aboriginal Family Engagement Program, as part of the KWWM grants program.

Responsible departments

Lead departments: DJCS and Victoria Police.

Objective

To reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people and promote greater self-determination in the Victorian justice system.

Action details

• Deliver and strengthen community-based bail supports to reduce remand, particularly for women and those with complex needs, recognising the intersectional and intergenerational impacts of remand on Aboriginal women and children, delivered by ACCOs by:
  • Working with the Aboriginal Justice Caucus on the design of the statutory review in response to the Bail Amendment Act 2025
  • Developing and delivering a $20 million self-determined grants program to support Aboriginal people on bail and remand, in partnership with the Aboriginal Justice Caucus.
• Develop and invest in local and region-specific Aboriginal-led initiatives and service models focused on restorative justice and diversion programs, community supervision, and other alternative justice programs, including continuing:
  • Lotjapadhan and other restorative justice projects, including evaluation of the two existing pilots and undertaking a demand analysis to inform potential program expansion
  • The Koori Women’s/Men’s Diversion Program across three locations (Morwell, Mildura and Northen Metro) to provide intensive case management to Aboriginal men and women to reduce their risk of reoffending
  • The Koori Night Patrol Program in two locations (Shepparton and Mildura), by providing a safe, after-hours travel option for Aboriginal communities to reduce potential contact with the justice system and prevent people becoming victims of crime
  • The Local Justice Worker Program (LJWP), through the provision of funding to Aboriginal Community Organisations to deliver the program in 19 locations across the state. The LJWP will also continue to support Stage 3 of the Yawal Mugadjina Cultural Mentoring Program. Part of the role of Local Justice Workers will include supporting Aboriginal men and women in custody transitioning back to community and to assist Aboriginal people to successfully complete their Community Corrections Orders
  • Community-based Intensive Diversion Programs, through investment in local and regionally specific Aboriginal-led initiatives such as the Massive Murray Paddle Program and the Wathaurong Youth Hub. These programs provide culturally grounded, community-led approaches that support early intervention, diversion from the justice system, and improved wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal people
  • The Aboriginal Healing Unit, delivered by Elizabeth Morgan House at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, which provides culturally safe, trauma-informed supports for Aboriginal women in custody
  • The Aboriginal Wellbeing Officer (AWO) and Aboriginal Engagement Advisor (AEA) roles, to increase cultural and wellbeing support for Aboriginal people in custody. This includes new AWO positions and other dedicated roles to enhance connection to culture, improve outcomes and respond to the growing Aboriginal prison population following bail reform
  • The Restorative Justice Program pilot, through investment in locally led Aboriginal restorative justice initiatives across the Hume and Eastern Metropolitan regions. These pilots aim to build evidence for sustainable, community-based restorative justice models
  • Strengthen and expand the Yawal Mugadjina Cultural Mentoring Program (Yawal Program) across Stages 1 and 2 of the Yawal Program and continuing support for Stage 3. Stage 1 is being enhanced through additional Aboriginal staffing such as Aboriginal Wellbeing Officers to support the development of Cultural Journeys, and Stage 2 through increased support for Elders and Respected Persons to mentor Aboriginal men and women while in custody. Stage 3 continues to be supported through the LJWP, supporting transition from custody to community.
• Research and model the benefits of restorative justice to inform the expansion of service models, ensuring holistic, whole-of-government approaches, including through considering the findings of a report by Centre for Innovative Justice in partnership with Djirra, Dardi Munwurro and Elizabeth Morgan House, titled ‘Ensuring that Aboriginal perspectives inform responses to Aboriginal victims of crime’.
• Develop and extend services and supports for Aboriginal young people (aged 18-35) in the adult system, such as youth and culturally focused programs including strengthening the Wadamba Prison to Work Program to expand services into Western Plains Correctional Centre and Marngoneet Correctional Centre. From 2025-26 onwards, further funding will strengthen Wadamba’s capacity to support an increasing remand population of young Aboriginal men and women through pre-release employment and training pathways.
• Develop and expand adult cautioning initiatives and programs, including those modelled on youth cautioning programs, including through continuing to explore policy enhancements to expand cautioning and diversions Victoria Police Adult Cautioning policy update 2024.

Responsible departments

Lead departments: DJCS and Victoria Police.

Objective

To reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people and promote greater self-determination in the Victorian justice system.

Action details

• Provide Aboriginal-led services for Aboriginal people in contact with the justice system, ensuring that services are tailored to community needs and demand including:
• Continue working with VACCHO to develop and seek funding for an Aboriginal-led Model of Care for Aboriginal people in custody
• Continue to pilot ACCHO service delivery through working collaboratively with individual ACCHOs and existing service providers to identify, develop, test and refine service-delivery models including strengthening discharge planning
• Continue the AEA roles to strengthen cultural safety and support AWOs across Victorian prisons. An evaluation of the program will be undertaken in 2026 to inform a future funding application aimed at securing ongoing support and exploring opportunities for expansion of the program, recognising the vital role AEAs play in supporting Aboriginal people in custody and the AWOs
• Strengthen and expand the Yawal Program through additional funding to enhance cultural mentoring across custody and community across all stages of the program. This includes greater support for Elders, Aboriginal staff, and cultural journey activities that strengthen connection, identity and rehabilitation outcomes
• Continue to subsidise the cost of mobile phone calls for people in custody, to enable connection to family and Community, support wellbeing and rehabilitation, and assist with transitioning back to the wider community
• Continue working with VALS to seek funding for Regional Hubs to meet the growing demand for culturally appropriate legal assistance for Aboriginal people living in regional Victoria
• Strengthen the delivery of the Aboriginal Independent Prison Visitors Scheme by increasing the number of volunteers and undertaking a redesign of the model
• Strengthen Djirra’s PSP to enhance in-prison casework, advocacy and culturally safe support for Aboriginal women
• Strengthen the Statewide Art Program (The Torch) which utilises cultural art as a foundation for rehabilitation and reintegration
• Strengthen VACCA’s Beyond Survival Program to support the program’s trauma-informed narrative group work and post-release supports that help Aboriginal men reconnect with culture, family and Community to reduce reoffending
• Strengthen the Djirra Sisters Day In Program for Aboriginal women in prison (via the KWWM grants program).
• Provide culturally safe and strong transitional support services for Aboriginal people exiting custody with a focus on housing and employment supports, including through:
  • Continuing the Baggarrook Aboriginal Women’s Transitional Housing program in partnership with VALS to provide culturally safe transitional housing, reintegration and wraparound supports for Aboriginal women exiting custody
  • Continuing the Yawal Program to support Aboriginal men and women transitioning from custody to the community and supporting them to complete their Community Corrections Orders
  • Expanding funding for Restart and ReConnect Services, enabling service providers to increase supports for Aboriginal participants with complex needs who are leaving prison in crisis
  • Continuing operation of Wulgunggo Ngalu Learning Place (WNLP), a culturally appropriate residential diversion program for Aboriginal men on Community Corrections Orders. Three evaluations of the program have been undertaken to date, which have found the WNLP had positive outcomes for participants and that cultural strengthening processes reflected best practice
  • Supporting processes to implement the National Access to Justice Partnership 2025 – 2030 (NAJP) to prioritise and support progress towards SET 10. Under the NAJP, Victoria administers Commonwealth funding and supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS) and Family Violence Prevention and Legal Services (FVPLS) to deliver legal assistance services consistent with self-determination to:
    • drive progress on Closing the Gap, including SETs 10 and 11 to reduce incarceration rates for Aboriginal adults and youth
    • empower Aboriginal peoples’ self-determined access to justice, including addressing legal and non-legal wraparound support needs to facilitate legal outcomes
    • improve access to justice outcomes for Aboriginal people.
  • Ensuring that Aboriginal people in contact with the justice system have access to Aboriginal-led, culturally safe, specialist legal and non-legal support services.

Responsible departments

Lead departments: DJCS and Victoria Police.

Socio-economic target 11 – Youth Justice

Outcome: Aboriginal young people are not overrepresented in the criminal justice systems.
Target: By 2031, reduce the rate of Aboriginal young people (10-17 years) in detention by at least 30 per cent.

Objective

To reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children and young people and promote greater self-determination in the Victorian justice system.

Action details

• The AJA partnership between government and the Aboriginal community has been a powerful mechanism to address overrepresentation and the disproportionate impact of the justice system on Aboriginal peoples. AJA5 will build on the successes and strengths of previous phases of the AJA and be the State’s key strategy for addressing the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in the justice system and preventing Aboriginal deaths in custody.
• The development and implementation of AJA5 will be undertaken in partnership with the Victorian Government and the Aboriginal Justice Caucus. To further deepen engagement with Aboriginal communities in development of AJA5, and to ensure consistency with the in-principle agreed Statewide Treaty, the First Peoples’ Assembly of Gellung Warl will be invited to work alongside AJC in its partnership with government in this process. AJA5 will align with and support broader recent reforms in Victoria around self-determination, including developments through Victoria’s Treaty process.
• AJA5 will be a comprehensive and contemporary strategy and theory of change that responds to the current Victorian justice environment. The development methodology for AJA5 has been carefully designed to ensure its inputs identify the most effective, efficient and appropriate enablers for breaking the cycle of incarceration experienced by Aboriginal people. AJA5 will build on the legacy of previous AJAs but represents an evolution based on 25 years of learning what works, why barriers remain, and how to address them.
• AJA5 is expected to identify and implement self-determined and evidence-informed actions to reduce Aboriginal people’s risk of contact with the criminal justice system. It will work to ensure Aboriginal people have access to an equitable justice system that protects and upholds their human, civil, legal and cultural rights.
• AJA5 is currently under development. Key AJA5 milestones to be tracked through the Closing the Gap Implementation Plan are therefore yet to be determined. The AJA5 is expected to include the following actions:
  • Developing and implementing strategies to meaningfully transfer power and resources from government and universal services to Aboriginal organisations. This could include shifting long-term service responsibility, extending current funding arrangements, and building the capability and capacity of Aboriginal-led supports through appropriate and proportionate funding, training, and workforce pipelines
  • Prioritising systemic and legislative reform opportunities to reduce overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system
  • Addressing the high rates of remand, and identifying and investing in Aboriginal-led non-custodial alternatives, including diversion, community-based supervision, and bail support programs such as the PSP and specialist women’s services
  • Establishing robust accountability, reporting and evaluation mechanisms to measure progress against SET 11 and ensuring that AJA5 remains progressive and outcomes focused
  • Ensuring Indigenous Data Sovereignty is recognised and operationalised with Aboriginal communities having ownership and control of justice-related data
  • Resources to expand services beyond existing allocations, ensuring resourcing meets demand created by new reforms
  • Consider research to better understand the opportunities for early intervention and community investment within the justice system
  • Explore additional funding options to strengthen community-based programs at the local level.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DJCS.

Objective

To reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children and young people and promote greater self-determination in the Victorian justice system.

Action details

• Wirkara Kulpa’s vision is that no Aboriginal child or young person is in the youth justice system. Implementation of actions contained in Wirkara Kulpa will be completed in four tranches, with all 75 actions commenced by 2027-28. Evaluation of Wirkara Kulpa will commence from 2030-31.
• Under Wirkara Kulpa and the Youth Justice Act 2024, implementation of a range of Aboriginal-specific reforms will work towards supporting an Aboriginal-led youth justice system guided by the voices of Aboriginal children and young people.
• Implementation of Wirkara Kulpa is progressing through Aboriginal leadership and partnership with Aboriginal community, driving reforms that aim to achieve better outcomes for Aboriginal children and young people. While still in its early stages, implementation has established a strong foundation for progress, with continued effort now needed to build momentum and deliver on commitments to Closing the Gap. The government remains committed to the full implementation of Wirkara Kulpa, noting that further investment is required to support delivery of outstanding actions.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DJCS.

Objective

To reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children and young people and promote greater self-determination in the Victorian justice system.

Action details

Aboriginal children and young people are deeply affected by systemic racism, which influences their interactions both inside and outside of the justice system. The persistent overrepresentation of Aboriginal children and young people in youth justice reflects the continuing impacts of colonisation, dispossession, and discrimination.

Under Wirkara Kulpa, Youth Justice Victoria is committed to identifying and responding to system biases to address overrepresentation and ensure a fair and equitable justice system. Addressing racism and discrimination, unconscious bias, and cultural ignorance is critical to achieving this goal. The following actions outline how government will drive systemic reform and strengthen culturally safe, self-determined outcomes for Aboriginal children and young people:

• Improve Aboriginal young people’s participation in youth justice processes, including in policy, practice and program design and implementation, through funding the Koorie Youth Council to develop a model for Aboriginal young people’s voice and participation in youth justice.
• Develop linkages with ACCOs to provide culturally safe support to young Aboriginal victims of crime through the Child Witness Service and Intermediary Program.
• Implement the Youth Justice Act 2024, ensuring full delivery of its strengthened Aboriginal-specific principles, duties and reform mechanisms across Youth Justice. This includes giving effect to:
  • the Act’s Aboriginal guiding principles, sentencing principles, custodial principles and rights
  • the requirement for the Minister or Secretary to consult with representatives of the Aboriginal community on specified justice-related matters
  • the positive duty to develop strategic partnerships with Aboriginal communities
  • the establishment of Aboriginal representation on the Youth Parole Board, including an Aboriginal Division
  • the requirement to offer every Aboriginal child or young person a Cultural Support Plan
  • the development and roll-out of Early Diversion Group Conferences (EDGCs), including an Aboriginal-led EDGC model
  • the Act’s framework for the progressive transfer of Youth Justice functions to ACCOs through the creation and recognition of Aboriginal Youth Justice Agencies.
• Integrate cultural support planning processes in case management.
• Facilitate greater transparency and sharing of data and information about Aboriginal peoples in contact with the system, linking with ACCOs and community supports, including through:
• distribution of quarterly data dashboards to RAJAC, providing regional updates on key Youth Justice and Wirkara Kulpa indicators, including:
• average daily supervision numbers and custody and community trends with gender and age cohort breakdowns, to support data-informed discussions and the ongoing monitoring of local priorities
• provision of data and reporting to key partnership governance forums, including the AJF and Youth Collaborative Working Group (Youth CWG), on system trends and performance relating to Aboriginal children and young people in Youth Justice
• implementation of the Wirkara Kulpa Performance Measurement Framework, finalised and endorsed by both the Youth CWG and the AJC in late 2024, completing the development phase of the strategy’s monitoring approach:
  • the framework provides a structured, phased approach for tracking delivery of all 75 actions and progress against the 22 outcomes of Wirkara Kulpa
  • it aligns with Indigenous Data Sovereignty principles and draws on existing data sources such as the AJA4 monitoring indicators, Youth CWG Data Pack, and AJF Youth Justice Report, while introducing new reporting mechanisms including an annual Wirkara Kulpa Action and Outcome Progress Report.
• Deliver the Aboriginal Youth Social and Emotional Wellbeing Strategy that aims to achieve the goal of Aboriginal young people are no longer involved in the justice system and are strong in their identity, resilient and thriving, connected to family and Community, and living healthy, safe and culturally rich lives.
• Embed a dedicated course unit in the Certificate IV in Youth Justice to deliver a culturally safe and responsive Youth Justice Custodial Service. Strengthen induction and refresher training for community-based youth justice staff on how to deliver a culturally safe and responsive service.
• Ensure all Aboriginal young people in custody have access to an Aboriginal Liaison Officer.
• Increase police referrals to Aboriginal services, such as the Aboriginal Youth Support Service, when Aboriginal young people come into contact with the police.
• Provide cultural and unconscious bias awareness workforce training and programs and services that are inclusive.
• Design EDGCs with DFFH, DE and other agencies, and in partnership with the Aboriginal Community, progress the pre-charge family group conferencing recommendation as part of the Youth Justice Act 2024 reforms.
• Endeavour to work with DFFH to explore opportunities to address the intersection between child protection and youth justice involvement, particularly for Aboriginal children and young people.

• Responsible departments

• Lead departments: DJCS and Victoria Police.

Objective

To reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children and young people and promote greater self-determination in the Victorian justice system.

Action details

• Support the wellbeing of Aboriginal children and young people and strengthen their connections with family, Community and culture. Ensure they have the knowledge, skills and supports to thrive, take responsibility in culturally appropriate ways, and are empowered through early intervention and prevention measures that keep them out of the youth justice system. The following actions outline specific initiatives to achieve these outcomes:
  • Develop and invest in local and regional-specific Aboriginal-led initiatives and service models, including for prevention, early intervention and diversionary programs, legal support, wellbeing support, community supervision support, and other alternative justice programs. Encompassing but not limited to:
    • Increasing wrap-around supports that build Aboriginal cultural identity, strengthen connection and responsibility to family, Community and Country
    • Embedding initiatives that elevate the integral role that cultural practice (traditional ways of knowing, being and doing and connection to Country) plays in supporting positive engagements with Community.
• Expand the Community-Based Aboriginal Justice Worker program to keep Aboriginal children and young people out of the youth justice system by working on their strengths:
  • The suite of programs provides preventative, early-intervention and case managements services for Aboriginal children and young people at risk of youth justice involvement, or subject to a Youth Justice Order or Children's Court Youth Diversion Order (CCYD)
  • The program suite includes the Community Based Aboriginal Youth Justice Program, Aboriginal Early School Leavers Program and the Aboriginal Youth Support Service.
• Deliver early intervention family service and specialist family practitioners to support Aboriginal children aged 10-13 to stay in school and at home and be actively engaged in their communities.
• Implement the new scheme under the Youth Justice Act 2024, which includes a provision for a caution to be given by persons other than a police officer. If a youth caution is to be given to an Aboriginal child, a cautioning police officer must ask the child whether the child agrees to an Elder of the child's Aboriginal community giving the youth caution and (if the child agrees) request the Elder to give the youth caution to that child.
• Support delivery of the government’s new Crime Prevention Strategy to intervene early to help young people avoid offending and prevent contact with police, the courts and Youth Justice.

Responsible departments

Lead departments: DJCS and Victoria Police.

Objective

To reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children and young people and promote greater self-determination in the Victorian justice system.

Action details

• Strengthen community-based bail supports to reduce remand, particularly for those with complex needs, delivered by ACCOs by:
  • Working with the AJC on the design of the statutory review in response to the Bail Amendment Act 2025
  • Developing and delivering a $20 million self-determined grants program to support Aboriginal people on bail and remand, in partnership with the AJC.
• Work with Aboriginal community representatives to develop an Aboriginal EDGC model, as required under the Youth Justice Act 2024. The model will embed Aboriginal culture, knowledge and expertise, recognising that strong connections to family, kin, Community, culture, Country and Elders are essential for Aboriginal children to thrive.
• Invest in alternative models to be designed and delivered by the AJC, ACCOs and TOCs, with a focus on building Aboriginal cultural identity, strengthening connection to Community and Country and building up Aboriginal children and young people to see their potential, including through establishment of Aboriginal Youth Justice Hubs that are culturally based, holistic supports for Aboriginal children and young people who are in contact with, or at risk of entering the youth justice system.
• Supporting the overall wellbeing of children and young people involved in youth justice, including their health, mental health, disability needs and social and emotional wellbeing. As work to address these needs progresses, consideration of the evolving influence of the online environment is recognised as a part of this work.
• Increase participation by Aboriginal children and young people in the Children’s Court Youth Diversion Service.
• Deliver an effective cultural support plan that can be shared by all agencies working with Aboriginal children, with the child’s consent, and ensure effective quality assurance and monitoring mechanisms are in place.
• Research and model the benefits of restorative justice and diversionary services to inform the expansion of service models, ensuring holistic, whole-of-government approaches.
• Expand the Community-Based Aboriginal Justice Worker program to keep Aboriginal children and young people out of the youth justice system by working on their strengths:
  • The suite of programs provides preventative, early intervention and case managements services for Aboriginal children and young people at risk of youth justice involvement, or subject to a Youth Justice Order or CCYD
  • The program suite includes the Community Based Aboriginal Youth Justice Program, Aboriginal Early School Leavers Program and the Aboriginal Youth Support Service.

Responsible departments

Lead departments: DJCS and Victoria Police.

Objective

To reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children and young people and promote greater self-determination in the Victorian justice system.

Action details

• Strengthen a culturally responsive system that is accessible to Aboriginal children and young people, ensuring that all programs, services and staff operate with cultural competence and uphold cultural authority. This will include the following specific initiatives:
  • Implementing the Youth Justice Act 2024, which includes the following measures:
    • Establishing a new framework for the progressive transfer of functions and powers from the DJCS Secretary to registered Aboriginal organisations
    • Introducing a positive duty on the DJCS Secretary to develop strategic partnerships with Aboriginal communities
    • Requiring the DJCS Secretary to develop an Aboriginal-led EDGC model in collaboration with representatives of the Aboriginal community on justice-related issues. This model must be tailored to the particular needs of Aboriginal children by incorporating Aboriginal culture, knowledge and expertise
    • Embedding Aboriginal representation on the Youth Parole Board and establishing an Aboriginal division of the Board to consider parole matters for Aboriginal children and young people requiring the DJCS Secretary to publish prescribed information relating to accountability measures that have been developed to improve outcomes for Aboriginal children and young persons each year.
  • Strengthen Aboriginal-led and culturally safe services for Aboriginal people in contact with the justice system
  • Increase and retain Aboriginal staff in justice systems, with a focus on wellbeing and reducing cultural load
  • Strengthen culturally safe and strong transitional support services for Aboriginal people exiting custody with a focus on housing, health and employment supports
  • Engage Aboriginal leaders, organisations and young people to design fit-for-purpose training programs to ensure youth justice custodial and community staff develop skills that are culturally appropriate and culturally competent
  • Continue Aboriginal young people’s participation in youth justice processes, including in policy, practice and program design and implementation
  • Continue educational opportunities and focus on engaging Aboriginal children and young people in education jointly with DE. It helps the young person to re-engage with school education, enrol at a new educational setting and/or gain employment once they exit from custody
  • Support Aboriginal young people to remain connected to education and training through the Education Justice Initiative
  • Ensure all Aboriginal young people who are under youth justice custodial supervision have access to an Aboriginal Liaison Officer to respond to their cultural needs and proactively support family visits and communication support
  • Continue delivery of the Trauma-Informed Practice training program in both the Youth Justice community and custodial Aboriginal Cultural Awareness Training
  • Support Aboriginal children and young people with a disability by employing an Aboriginal specific disability advisor role
  • Deliver the Aboriginal Youth Social and Emotional Wellbeing Strategy that addresses the specific needs of Aboriginal young men, young women, young people with a disability, and LGBTIQA+ children and young people
  • Facilitate greater transparency and sharing of data and information about Aboriginal peoples in contact with the system, linking with ACCOs and community supports, including through:
    • distribution of quarterly data dashboards to RAJACs, providing regional updates on key youth justice and Wirkara Kulpa indicators, including average daily supervision numbers and custody and community trends with gender and age cohort breakdowns, to support data-informed discussions and the ongoing monitoring of local priorities
    • Provision of data and reporting to key partnership governance forums, including the AJF and Youth Collaborative Working Group, on system trends and performance relating to Aboriginal children and young people in youth justice
    • Implementation of the Wirkara Kulpa Performance Measurement Framework.
  • Support processes to implement the NAJP to prioritise and support progress towards SET 11. Under the NAJP, Victoria administers Commonwealth funding and supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS) and Family Violence Prevention and Legal Services (FVPLS) to deliver legal assistance services consistent with self-determination to:
    • drive progress on Closing the Gap, including SETs 10 and 11 to reduce incarceration rates for Aboriginal adults and youth
    • empower Aboriginal peoples’ self-determined access to justice, including addressing legal and non-legal wraparound support needs to facilitate legal outcomes
    • improve access to justice outcomes for Aboriginal people.

Responsible departments

Lead departments: DJCS and Victoria Police.

Socio-economic target 12 – Child Protection

Outcome: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are not overrepresented in the child protection system.
Target: By 2031, reduce the rate of over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care by 45 per cent.

Objective

To embed self-determination in the child protection system and significantly reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in care through Aboriginal-led, evidence-based approaches that target the underlying social determinants that lead to statutory care engagement.

Action details

• In partnership with the Aboriginal Children’s Forum and ACCOs, develop an agreed pathway with clear metrics to strengthen cross-portfolio collaboration across child protection, health and education, to reduce statutory intervention and support the delivery of Aboriginal-led earlier intervention and prevention services. This includes:
  • Improving information and data sharing by providing an early intervention interface and accountability to address initial protective concerns with ACCOs and determine appropriate non-statutory responses, including referral pathways and how they are monitored
  • Continuing to implement cross-portfolio initiatives and programs to support Aboriginal children in care, such as the ACCO-led Pathways to Good Health pilots, and actively identify opportunities to evaluate and expand successful pilots with ACCOs who provide wrap-around child and family services, and health and wellbeing services.
• Aboriginal-led evidence and research informs self-determined approaches to policy design, program models, service delivery and ways of working for Aboriginal children and families involved in the child protection system. Consistent with the principles of Indigenous Data Sovereignty, this is achieved by prioritising ACCO-led approaches to data collection, analysis and use that will inform:
  • evaluations of the impact of early and tailored support models, including economic benefits for children, families and the service system
  • development of longer-term, sustainable funding models that ensure the availability of culturally responsive, comprehensive, therapeutic and Aboriginal-led supports, including pilot programs that have been found to be successful through evaluations (as recommended by the Yoorrook Justice Commission).
• Continue to prioritise and expand the transfer of decision-making through section 18 of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 regarding Aboriginal children and families within the child protection system to ACCOs at all phases of child protection involvement, including investigations through Community Protecting Boorais.
• Increase and leverage existing mechanisms to embed the voice of specialist child and family ACCOs in policy and program design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and accountability as required by the Recognition Principles set out in section 7E of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005.
• Deliver the Supporting Stable and Strong Families scheme, which establishes responsibilities for all Ministers and Departments to improve outcomes for at-risk children, young people, care leavers and families. As articulated in the Children, Youth and Families Amendment (Supporting Stable and Strong Families) Act 2025, the scheme includes a legislated focus on Aboriginal self-determination outcomes and measures. The scheme will commence in September 2026. Work in 2026 is focussing on developing an initial set of the Supporting Stable and Strong Families outcomes and measures. From September 2026, plans for each portfolio area will be developed with Ministers ahead of tabling in Parliament by September 2027.
• Continue to build government and universal community service organisations’ capacity and capability to work more effectively with, and support the growth of ACCOs, including through addressing structural bias and systemic racism, and increasing cultural safety and humility across the service system.
• Improve services and supports for people pregnant with Aboriginal children and subject to an unborn report in partnership with ACCOs, including Aboriginal legal services, by:
  • Prioritising and developing streamlined pathways to engage with ACCO-led legal and non-legal supports
  • Improving the unborn reporting process, including through the establishment of a new, targeted referral pathway that strengthens access to holistic wrap-around support services and legal supports for mothers pregnant with Aboriginal children through local ACCOs
  • Assessing and prioritising approaches that ensure regional and smaller ACCOs have the capacity and capability to deliver support for women subject to unborn reports.
• Develop a demonstrated understanding of the needs of Aboriginal young people transitioning out of care to ensure adequate support is provided to young people through improved and revised policy, program and service design focusing on:
  • Recognising the aspirations of Aboriginal young people leaving care and ensuring adequate support is provided to achieve and continue stability, welfare and independence when leaving care
  • Strengthening the delivery of ACCO-led supports before, during and after Aboriginal young people leave care which includes transition programs that support the young person early, before they are eligible to leave care
  • Increasing access to stable housing, job readiness training, financial literacy supports, as well as better linkages and continuity of health care
  • Over the first five years of an Aboriginal young person leaving care, achieving a reduction in homeless and transgenerational involvement with child protection as well as an increase in sustained employment.
• This action will be guided and aligned to SET Action 12.2 and continued work underway to progress Wungurilwil Gapgapduir: Aboriginal Children and Families Agreement and its associated four-year Strategic Action Plans, findings of the Yoorrook Justice Commission and other national and state-wide strategies and frameworks.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DFFH.

Supporting departments: DH, DE, DPC and DTF.

Objective

To increase the capacity and capability of Aboriginal-led services across the child and family services continuum through greater long-term, sustainable investment in ACCO-led service delivery models, with an initial focus on early intervention and prevention services that divert Aboriginal children away from the statutory child protection system.

Action details

• Increase cultural competence and humility in procurement requirements and processes, including through the development of an Aboriginal procurement strategy and utilisation of the Early Intervention Investment Framework (EIIF) Cultural Safety Framework. This includes applying a localised, needs-based approach to service delivery funding that is culturally strengthening.
• Develop:
  • Policy guidelines to support current and future transfers of proportionate funding from government and CSOs, aligned with commitments through Wungurilwil Gapgapduir
  • An agreed pathway to enable proportionate transfer of funding at scale supported by service mapping and pricing models, which reflects the need to ensure transferred programs are sustainable and complements longer-term system re-design and funding transformation work in line with Truth and Treaty
  • Alignment with work to strengthen cross-portfolio collaboration across child protection, health and education to streamline funding processes to ACCOs and ensure outcomes for each individual child.
• Strengthen the approach to and use of current investment, including by:
  • Prioritising Aboriginal-led and self-determined approaches to funding and resourcing to support the delivery of Aboriginal-led services across the child and family services continuum
  • Reprioritising current investment and where appropriate transferring reprioritised funding
  • Undertaking demand modelling to understand current and projected demand for ACCO-led child and family services, including early intervention and support services, to ensure funding allocations are responsive to the needs of the local community, including smaller and regional ACCOs. This includes assessing protective factors and services for parents leaving situations where family violence is present, such as legal and non-legal advocacy and support, and understanding social determinants of child protection involvement such as poverty, alcohol and other drug use and housing instability
  • Evaluating the long-term savings of investing in Aboriginal-led alternative models and preventative and early intervention services, informed through evaluations of current initiatives, such as the Aboriginal Children in Care, Community Protecting Boorais programs, Aboriginal-led Case Conferencing and Bringing Up Aboriginal Babies at Home programs
  • Collaborating with specialist child and family ACCOs to enable continuous improvement of the child protection system and enhancing the impact of Aboriginal-led services in supporting Aboriginal children and families. This may include identifying gaps and barriers across the continuum of a child's life (from pre-birth to transitioning into adulthood) and identifying areas for the transfer or reprioritisation of funding.
• Co-design metrics with ACCOs to define and measure the approach to SET Action 12.2 to establish a demonstrated pathway to progress Aboriginal-led funding reform and strengthen ACCO-led monitoring and oversight of cross-governmental and cross-sector accountability for SET 12 outcomes.
• This action will be guided and aligned to SET Action 12.1 and continued work underway to progress Wungurilwil Gapgapduir: Aboriginal Children and Families Agreement and its associated four-year Strategic Action Plans, findings of the Yoorrook Justice Commission and other national and state-wide strategies and frameworks.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DFFH.

Supporting departments: DH, DE, DPC and DTF.

Socio-economic target 13 – Family Violence

Outcome: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and households are safe.
Target: By 2031, the rate of all forms of family violence and abuse against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children is reduced at least by 50%, as progress towards zero.

Objective

Strengthen and build on existing efforts to reduce family, domestic and sexual violence across Victoria and to ensure any Aboriginal woman or child experiencing violence receives culturally appropriate specialist family violence services, including legal services.

Action details

• Work across government to monitor existing strategic plans and development of aligned plans and frameworks to ensure a coordinated, cross-sectoral approach that extends beyond social and health services to address family, domestic and sexual violence impacting Aboriginal communities. This ongoing work across government should identify opportunities for change, including:
  • Improved access to culturally safe therapeutic specialist family violence services (including case management, counselling, accommodation responses, flexible funding and legal services) for Aboriginal women and children experiencing family and sexual violence, with a focus on referrals to Aboriginal-led holistic specialist organisations
  • Improved access to health and disability services, including for women and children in custody (both on remand and sentenced)
  • Reviewing and reforming approaches to address the financial harms of family, domestic and sexual violence, including transport, financial counselling, employment and education support. Local options should be made available to enable ongoing connection to support in communities and on Country where possible.
• Continue to engage with ACCOs and people with lived experience to address systemic barriers and gaps in support for those experiencing or at risk of experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence, ensuring women’s, children’s and Community voice are at the centre of all policy, service design and delivery and sector reform.
• Strengthen and embed principles that ensure all implementation is culturally led (not just culturally informed), self-determined, and informed by transparent and accurate data and evidence across:
  • Specialist family violence services including legal services for Aboriginal women and children experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence
  • Responses and supports for Aboriginal people experiencing Elder abuse
  • Responses to people using violence, including non-Aboriginal men using violence against Aboriginal women and children
  • Responses for young people using violence in the home.
• Improve the collection, analysis, transparency and reporting of data in relation to family, domestic and sexual violence perpetrated against Aboriginal people, to adhere to Indigenous Data Sovereignty principles, by:
  • Supporting ACCOs to increase data collection, monitoring and evaluation capabilities and to progress Indigenous Data Sovereignty
  • Working towards ensuring that data collected and reported by government is disaggregated to reflect the experiences of Aboriginal women and children.
• Support accurate identification of the predominant aggressor and address misidentification, by:
  • Strengthening system-wide oversight and accountability mechanisms to prevent, identify and correct misidentification across police, courts and child protection
  • Building capability across systems and workforces to accurately identify the predominant aggressor
  • Working across departments and agencies to streamline timely rectification of predominant aggressor misidentification, including through strengthened information sharing practices
  • Improving access to tailored support for women who have been misidentified as the predominant aggressor at all levels of the justice and family violence system
  • Identifying and addressing data gaps relating to the misidentification of Aboriginal women, ensuring data collection and analysis reflect the high rate of misidentification.
• Improving access to early legal advice to prevent escalation of family violence and child removal, including by continuing to:
  • Improve access to legal advice and specialist family violence case management and therapeutic supports for Aboriginal women and children experiencing or at risk of experiencing further violence, to ensure an appropriate response to the violence and to secure their short- and long-term safety
  • Support work to ensure that referral pathways for all Aboriginal women and children involved in family violence incidents attended by Victoria Police facilitate access to specialist legal advice and support, regardless of whether they are identified as the predominant aggressor or victim
  • Support work to ensure that all Aboriginal women and children involved in family violence incidents who attend hospital or other crisis support services are able to access specialist family violence support (including specialist legal advice), regardless of whether they are identified as the predominant aggressor or victim.

Responsible departments

Lead departments: DFFH, DJCS and Victoria Police.

Supporting department: DTP

Objective

Provide localised support options to enable local access to family, domestic and sexual violence legal and non-legal service provision, including support on Country where possible.

Action details

• Work towards accessibility and the regional expansion of culturally safe specialist family violence services including legal services to ensure Aboriginal women and children affected by family violence can access local support.
• Support place-based partnership initiatives to provide coordinated holistic, wraparound supports and services to Aboriginal people and families, by:
  • Working towards culturally tailored, place-based services for Aboriginal people and families, including Aboriginal women’s centres as Aboriginal-led, women- and children-only safe spaces
  • Modelling demand to strategically identify locations with high or increasing demand to proactively meet local needs and reduce wait times for services
  • Ensuring accountable practical partnerships with other jurisdictions to better coordinate support in border communities.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DFFH.

Objective

Support and expand Aboriginal-led prevention programs and initiatives, including through longer-term funding.

Action details

• Embed Aboriginal-led culturally appropriate content on the specific drivers on violence against Aboriginal women and children in mainstream primary prevention initiatives. This includes consideration of the use of campaigns to change societal perceptions of Aboriginal women and to call out gendered discriminatory violence.
• Identify opportunities to expand Aboriginal-led prevention programs, including:
  • Developing and implementing initiatives that educate and support men and boys to maintain respectful relationships with women, rather than stigmatise or discourage them
  • Promoting programs that support family and cultural strengthening, where safe to do so, noting Aboriginal women and children’s safety is the top priority
  • Programs that support Aboriginal people, particularly Aboriginal women and children, to respond to and heal from grief and trauma
  • Programs for children and young people to identify healthy and safe relationships and strengthen culture and healing
  • Promoting prevention approaches that are holistic, strengths-based, and grounded in family, Community and culture
  • Working in intersectional ways and acknowledging the diverse experiences and identities of all Aboriginal people, which are critical to prevention efforts
  • Supporting monitoring and evaluation to build the evidence base for effective Aboriginal-led efforts to prevent family, domestic and sexual violence against Aboriginal women and children.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DFFH.

Socio-economic target 14 – Suicide Prevention

Outcome: Aboriginal people enjoy high levels of social and emotional wellbeing.
Target: Significant and sustained reduction in suicide of Aboriginal people towards zero.

Objective

Provide early intervention and prevention support to reduce harm and support Aboriginal people to enjoy high levels of SEWB.

Action details

• The Department of Health, together with VACCHO and local ACCHOs, to continue to implement specific recommendations from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health system (the Royal Commission) to improve Aboriginal SEWB.
• VACCHO’s Balit Durn Durn Centre of Excellence in Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing (the Balit Durn Durn Centre), established in 2022, will continue to provide sector leadership and support excellence in Aboriginal social and emotional wellbeing practice. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • VACCHO completing a SEWB sector strengthening project - Pathway to Closing the Gap in Social and Emotional Wellbeing for First People living in Victoria
  • VACCHO undertaking extensive Aboriginal-led co-design processes - building on best-practice co-design models such as those used to design the service model for the establishment of two Aboriginal Healing Centres (Royal Commission final report recommendation 33.1) and the Nest (Royal Commission final report recommendation 33.4) - an intensive mental health and SEWB service for children aged 0 -11 and their families. Note: The establishment timing of the Aboriginal Healing Centres and the Nest is subject to future government decision making.
• Review and assess current SEWB frameworks, including the National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Mental Health and Social and Emotional Wellbeing Framework 2017-2023.
• Undertake an evaluation of the Balit Murrup framework.
• Pending the findings and recommendations of the evaluation of the Balit Murrup framework, consider developing an updated SEWB framework that:
  • Guides the development of programs policies, programs and delivery of services to improve SEWB outcomes across the lifespan and for people and groups at risk of or experiencing disadvantage
  • Includes focused actions for children, young people, families and Elders
  • Promotes best-practice models of Aboriginal-led SEWB services and programs, currently being delivered by Aboriginal SEWB teams across Victoria
  • Includes cultural and clinical measures that focuses on early intervention and prevention
  • Supports and expand Healing on Country initiatives and programs.
  • Develops minimum standards and practice guidelines to embed culturally led, trauma-informed care in service delivery, both within ACCOs and in universal services, including acute mental health services
  • Focuses on building a skilled and supported workforce to undertake the unique requirements of cultural and clinical care and support for Aboriginal people
  • Identifies where infrastructure and development are required to deliver critical services (e.g. live-in settings, clinical settings, facilities on Country, online infrastructure)
  • Recognises the challenges facing Aboriginal people, including intergenerational trauma, colonisation, racism and systemic disadvantage and dispossession
  • Builds on research that details the factors that influence the day-to-day social and emotional well-being of Aboriginal people based on factors such as age, location and socio-economic status
  • Addresses the impact of harmful behaviours such as alcohol and other drugs, and gambling.
• Scale and tailor preferred alternative service models to Community needs to:
  • Provide support across Victoria
  • Include prevention, early intervention, clinical and cultural supports
  • Identify and address barriers to accessibility and safety, including actions and accountability for embedding culturally safe practice within acute mental health services.
• Under, the Victorian Alcohol and Other Drugs Strategy 2025-2035, partner with Aboriginal communities to deliver an Aboriginal alcohol and other drugs implementation action plan. Together with Aboriginal communities and the Aboriginal community- controlled sector, promote models that embed Elders, cultural practice, dance, art, language and traditional healing.
• Establish formal partnerships between government and Aboriginal-led organisations to support the implementation and monitoring of an updated SEWB Framework, including:
  • Engaging relevant ACCOs and TOCs to scope opportunities and current demand for programs, including Healing on Country initiatives
  • Establishing and resourcing partnerships across all levels of government to provide Commonwealth, state and localised supports to Community.
• Explore opportunities to develop and implement innovative place-based strategies that support social and emotional wellbeing, including by providing brokerage for communities to fund place-based initiatives that support their community's SEWB (e.g. improving transport options for young people living in regional areas so that they can connect with friends, family and Community).
• Some action details outlined in this action are subject to investment in budget cycles.
• Balit Murrup-led evaluation of Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System recommendations for improving Aboriginal SEWB will be undertaken in 2025-26 and 2026-27 (2026-27 to be confirmed).

Responsible departments

Lead department: DH.

Objective

Progress work to establish Aboriginal service responses to Aboriginal people experiencing mental health crisis, contributing to improvements to SEWB for Aboriginal people and the cultural safety of service responses, and reduce unnecessary contact with emergency services.

Action details

• The Royal Commission’s guidance and the Yoorrook Justice Commission social justice hearings highlighted the importance of embedding cultural safety in future mental health crisis service models. The department is committed to ensuring Aboriginal peoples’ input underpins new and redesigned models to create better access to culturally sensitive care for Aboriginal people.
• The Royal Commission made a series of recommendations to establish a comprehensive network-system of crisis supports and to shift towards a health-led response to mental health crises. Design work has been undertaken to understand what Aboriginal responses can be embedded across these recommendations to deliver enhanced Aboriginal mental health crisis responses to:
  • Enhance crisis telephone and outreach support so more people can access the care they need in Community, delivered by Area Mental Health and Wellbeing Services (recommendation 8.1 and 8.2)
  • Offer Safe Spaces as an alternative to emergency departments, which are tailored to the local Community (recommendation 9.1)
  • Establish enhanced practical supports and resources for first responders, including both in-person and virtual models to reduce unnecessary transportation to emergency departments (recommendation 10)
  • Divert people away from an unnecessary emergency response where safe and clinically appropriate.
• The timing for implementing the changes described in recommendations 8, 9 and 10 will depend on system readiness — so that the government can be confident that changes are being made in a way that is safe, effective and sustainable. It will also depend on future government funding decisions.
• Implementation and evaluation of any Aboriginal-specific mental health crisis initiatives will be undertaken in collaboration with VACCHO and its members.
• Initiatives outlined in this action are subject to future government decisions. Until funding is confirmed, evaluation process is not identified.
• Reporting on data related to Aboriginal mental health crisis responses is included in the Department’s Monitoring, Reporting and Decision-Making Framework and Baseline Report with data agreement in place between DH, DJCS, Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria and Triple Zero Victoria.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DH.

Socio-economic target 15 – Land and Waters

Outcome: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people maintain a distinctive cultural, spiritual, physical and economic relationship with their land and waters.
Target 15A: By 2030, a 15 per cent increase in Australia’s landmass subject to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s legal rights or interests.
Target 15B: By 2030, a 15 per cent increase in areas covered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s legal rights or interests in the sea.

Objective

Increase Aboriginal people’s access to and legal rights over inland waters in accordance with the National Agreement target.

Action details

• Establish a clear target for jurisdictional inland waters aligned with national agreements.
• Work with Aboriginal stakeholders to co-design the target and strategies to achieve the target, including capacity-building and resource allocation.
• Investigate options to issue new and existing water entitlements to Traditional Owner groups as a priority.
• Work with Traditional Owner groups on a case-by-case basis to provide policy guidance on decisions that support unallocated water and water returns from water infrastructure projects, and on developing future opportunities as part of infrastructure projects and regional management plans.
• Establish clear monitoring and reporting requirements for the target to ensure accountability.
• Implement strategies endorsed by Traditional Owners including Water is Life.
• Progress legislative options to amend the Water Act 1989 to support Traditional Owner outcomes as outlined in Water is Life.
• Support Traditional Owner water returns as detailed in Sustainable Water Strategies.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DEECA.

Supporting departments: DPC, DTP.

Objective

Increase Aboriginal people’s access to and legal rights over land in accordance with the National Agreement target.

Action details

• Develop a strategic plan to meet the target of increasing Aboriginal people’s legal rights or interests in land by 2030.
• Engage formally and non-formally recognised Traditional Owner groups in identifying their priorities based on cultural, environmental and community needs.
• Commit to the implementation of existing and the development of new Traditional Owner natural resources management strategies including:
  • Cultural Landscapes Strategy
  • Cultural Fire Strategy
  • Traditional Owner Game Management Strategy
  • Native Food and Botanicals Strategy
  • Water is Life: Traditional Owner Access to Water Roadmap
  • First Peoples Renewable Energy Strategic Plan.
• Support implementation of Traditional Owner climate action activities under the Traditional Owner Climate Action Grant Program.
• Co-design monitoring indicators and reporting mechanisms with TOCs to support transparency and alignment with community priorities, within the limits of existing resourcing.

Responsible departments

Lead departments: DEECA and DPC

Supporting department: DTP.

Objective

Increase Aboriginal people’s access to and legal rights and interests in the sea in accordance with the National Agreement target.

Action details

• Develop a strategic plan to meet the target of increasing Aboriginal people’s legal rights or interests in the sea by 2030.
• Engage formally and non-formally recognised Traditional Owner groups in identifying priorities based on cultural, environmental and Community needs.
• Continue to support the Sea Country partnership and Saltwater Council to support engagement and coordination on Sea Country issues, including providing advice, developing Sea Country Plans and managing the growing demands of both offshore energy developments and the decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure.
• Scope areas of strategic policy development and reform to better support Traditional Owners to increase their access to Sea Country, including through management and economic and commercial practices and rights (such as commercial aquaculture and commercial fishing).
• Finalise and implement the First Peoples Renewable Energy Strategic Plan.
• Support implementation of Traditional Owner climate action activities under the Traditional Owner Climate Action Grant Program.
• Co-design monitoring indicators and reporting mechanisms with TOCs to support transparency and alignment with community priorities, within the limits of existing resourcing.

Responsible departments

Lead departments: DEECA and DPC

Supporting department: DTP.

Socio-economic target 16 – Languages

Outcome: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and languages are strong, supported and flourishing.
Target: By 2031, there is a sustained increase in number and strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages being spoken.

Objective

Support Aboriginal-led and community-centred Language revitalisation initiatives and programs to support strong, supported and flourishing Aboriginal languages.

Action details

• The strategy will establish a long-term, sustainable roadmap for Language revitalisation
• The strategy must consider:
  • VACL’s Closing the Gap sector strengthening project and the national Closing the Gap Languages Sector Strengthening Plan
  • Facilities and hubs that support local community-led and community-based Language revitalisation programs and support TOCs and Community groups to lead local Language development and revitalisation processes and programs outside of the education system
  • Programs that enable Elders to share knowledge with younger people
  • Undertaking Aboriginal-led research to address gaps in existing research and contribute to an evidence base on Aboriginal languages within Victoria
  • Community-controlled infrastructure that enables communities to collect and hold information about their languages
  • Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property
  • Digital and data records integrity for language storage, access and retrieval.
  • Developing a best-practice guide for the use of Language in government.

Responsible departments

Lead departments: DPC and DE.

Supporting department: DTP.

Socio-economic target 17 – Digital Inclusion

Outcome: Aboriginal people have access to information and services enabling participation in informed decision-making regarding their own lives.
Target: By 2026, Aboriginal people have equal levels of digital inclusion.

Objective

Aboriginal people have equal access to digital information and online services to make informed decisions about their own lives. This includes recognition of rights of Aboriginal people and communities to strengthen their data collection and controls and manage their own data and systems to do their work effectively and efficiently.

Action details

• Support the establishment of a robust data management framework focusing on digital skills and inclusion for Aboriginal people and communities, by:
  • Supporting Aboriginal researchers and data experts to determine how to measure levels of digital inclusion in Victoria
  • Undertaking an environmental scan of existing data sets available that provide metrics on digital inclusion
  • Scoping a survey to further identify data gaps and opportunities to address digital inclusion
  • Identifying mechanisms to strengthen Aboriginal-led data collection, storage and controls.
• Refresh the Victorian Government Digital Strategy 2021-2026 so it covers levels of digital access, affordability, ability and safety of Aboriginal people and communities.
• Work with TOCs to identify current digital and data capabilities and limitations, and build digital and data capacity that enables the exercise of self-determination, including digital and data capability that supports caring for Country, revitalisation of culture and Language, and effective governing of TOC’s communities, including through the administration of future Treaty agreements.
• Explore opportunities to access relevant Aboriginal-related government archives and data to enhance ACCO’s and TOC’s access to data across Land, Language and health.
• Participate in and support national work to address Aboriginal digital inclusion, which may include:
  • Advocating for implementation of recommendations from the Regional Telecommunications Review 2024 and First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group, including addressing data gaps on digital skills and inclusion
  • Supporting a states and territories connectivity literacy reference group to better understand the current connectivity literacy challenges, identify existing jurisdictional activities and consider opportunities to complement future Commonwealth activities that target broader national-based connectivity literacy
  • Continue implementation of the Connecting Victoria program to deliver mobile, broadband and Wi-Fi connectivity enhancements
  • Improving access to affordable devices through the national device bank.
• Identify steps to increase safe and equitable access to online services, including:
  • Building competency in the skills needed to safely navigate the online world, including developing tools and resources in partnership with Aboriginal organisations to address and prevent experiences of cyberbullying
  • Support culturally safe access to digital information and services to support consumer rights and to increase awareness and prevention of scams, including through Consumer Affairs Victoria’s Yarrka Barring program and through Aboriginal Community-Controlled Learn Locals.
• Supporting Aboriginal organisations to effectively engage with Aboriginal communities digitally to communicate information about current events, sharing alerts and other information to address community isolation.
• Increase opportunities for Aboriginal people to access the online training that they need through existing initiatives like the Digital Skills Places stream of the Adult, Community and Further Education pre-accredited training programs, funded until 2029. This may also include exploring access to digital technology to increase engagement in online learning, ensuring better access to technology and technology that is fit for purpose.
• Scoping existing digital programs that could be better marketed to Aboriginal people and explore how funding arrangements can be long term to mitigate risks of project cessation.
• Creating a central directory of libraries and archives available to Aboriginal people, ensuring privacy and protection is sustained, including Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property rights.

Responsible departments

Lead department: DGS.

Supporting departments: DJSIR and DTP.