National Agreement on Closing the Gap Priority Reforms

Closing the Gap Priority Reform One: Formal Partnerships and Shared Decision-Making

Outcome: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are empowered to share decision-making authority with governments to accelerate policy and place-based progress on Closing the Gap through formal partnership arrangements.

Target: There will be formal partnership arrangements to support Closing the Gap in place between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and governments in place in each state and territory enshrining agreed joint decision-making roles and responsibilities and where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have chosen their own representatives.

Overview

The Victorian Government is committed to building and strengthening structures that empower Aboriginal people and communities to share decision-making authority, as outlined in the National Agreement.

Shared decision-making extends beyond individual partnership arrangements and is only a step towards achieving the ultimate goal of First Peoples’ self-determination.

Treaty is the embodiment of First Peoples’ self-determination, and it represents a fundamental reset of the relationship between the State and First Peoples. It provides a pathway to ensure that First Peoples in Victoria have the power and resources to control matters which impact their lives.

Victorian actions

Nginma Ngainga Wara acquits Victoria’s commitment under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap to create an independent accountability mechanism to provide concrete solutions and recommendations to improve outcomes for First Peoples. Nginma Ngainga Wara is a new Outcomes and Justice Commission within the First Peoples’ Assembly. It will evaluate and monitor how effective the Victorian Government is in achieving better outcomes for First Peoples. It will be led by members appointed by the First Peoples’ Assembly.

Victoria is the first jurisdiction in Australia to acquit this commitment under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

The Victorian Aboriginal Governance Forums are well-established strategic and coordinating bodies across various sectors. Aboriginal Governance Forums, which comprise senior Aboriginal community leaders and Victorian Government representatives, are responsible for overseeing the development, implementation and direction of Aboriginal-led policy and service delivery agendas. All Aboriginal Governance Forums are resourced to enable shared decision-making with Aboriginal communities and organisations.

Closing the Gap Priority Reform Two: Building the Aboriginal Community Controlled Sector

Outcome: There is a strong and sustainable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled sector delivering high quality services to meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the country.

Target: Increase the amount of government funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs and services going through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations.

Overview

Aboriginal Community Controlled services and Traditional Owner Corporations achieve better results, are more culturally safe, and employ more Aboriginal people than mainstream services. The Victorian Government is committed to building the Aboriginal Community Controlled sector and organisations in line with the strong sector elements in the National Agreement to deliver Closing the Gap services and programs, in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community control is an act of self-determination, as noted in Clause 44 of the National Agreement. Aboriginal Victorians hold the knowledge and expertise about what is best for themselves, their families and their communities. Local and international evidence shows us that self-determination is the policy approach that best delivers the most effective and sustainable outcomes for Indigenous peoples.

Victorian actions

Key actions contributing to the Priority Reform Two target include:

• DPC is facilitating seven ACCO-led projects delivered through Sector Strengthening funding totalling $3.3 million across the priority sectors of health, housing, disability, children and families, and languages and culture. These include:
  • Aboriginal Housing Victoria’s ‘Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness 5-year Regional Growth Plans’
  • Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative’s ‘Building the capacity of ACCOs to deliver a full range of culturally responsive, financially viable disability services’
  • Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation’s ‘Pathway to Closing the Gap in Social and Emotional Wellbeing for First Peoples living in Victoria (2024-2031)’
  • Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency’s ‘Developing a sector strengthening blueprint for Aboriginal children and families across Metropolitan Melbourne and Victoria’
  • Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative’s ‘Regional Oral Health Feasibility Study for the Western Districts ACCOs’
  • Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages’ ‘Strengthening the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages, towards sector preparedness and strengthening development with focus on the revitalisation of Aboriginal languages in Victoria’
  • Federation of Traditional Owner Corporation’s ‘Development of a state-wide Traditional Owner Corporation Workforce Development Strategy’
• The Ngaweeyan Maar-oo Secretariat is working with members to allocate remaining funds for sector strengthening towards various initiatives in mid-2026.
• DTF and Homes Victoria administrate the Social Housing Growth Fund (SHGF). The SHGF provides funding opportunities for ACCOs to enable the construction and tenancy management of dwellings over a period of 30 years.
• DPC and DEECA worked with Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations (FVTOC) to engage KordaMentha to conduct an external review of how Traditional Owner Corporations are funded.
• DFFH is working alongside ACCOs to support the government’s response to Yoorrook Recommendation 9, which will better inform the proportion of funding in children and families service delivery in government, mainstream Community Service Organisations (CSOs) and ACCOs.
• DJCS is administering approximately $70 million in community grants funding (both Commonwealth and State) to improve Aboriginal justice outcomes – this is more than a three-fold increase from the approximately $20 million in AJA grants administered in 2021-22.

Closing the Gap Priority Reform Three: Transforming Government Organisations

Outcome: Improving mainstream institutions: Governments, their organisations and their institutions are accountable for Closing the Gap and are culturally safe and responsive to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including through the services they fund.

Target: Decrease in the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have experiences of racism.

Overview

Under the VAAF, SDRF, National Agreement and Victoria’s Implementation Plan, Victoria has committed to structural transformation of government organisations and mainstream service providers to respond to the needs of First Peoples. This means doing more to tackle systemic racism and promote cultural safety.

Victoria’s nation-leading work on Treaty and Truth is central to the transformation of government, the transfer of power and resources to communities and the improvement of outcomes.

Victorian action

Key actions contributing to the Priority Reform Three target include:

• DPC continues to support the Anti-Racism Taskforce and implementation of the Victorian Anti-Racism Strategy.
• In June 2025, DE released its policy on Preventing and Addressing Racism in Schools, outlining the requirements for schools to strengthen their culture and practice to prevent and address racism, religious intolerance and racial and religious vilification. DE also delivered an anti-racism e-learning course to 2,790 DE and school staff.
• DFFH continues to deliver Aboriginal Cultural Safety Workshops and Anti-Racism Workshops which are interactive, coaching style 2-hour development opportunities for all staff. 10 per cent of DFFH staff have completed the Aboriginal Cultural Safety Workshop and over 14 per cent of DFFH staff have completed the Anti-Racism Workshop.

Closing the Gap Priority Reform Four: Shared Access to Data and Information at a Regional level

Outcome: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have access to, and the capability to use, locally relevant data and information to set and monitor the implementation of efforts to close the gap, their priorities and drive their own development.

Target: Increase the number of regional data projects to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to make decisions about Closing the Gap and their development.

Overview

Victoria is working towards increasing Aboriginal ownership and control of data. This includes shared access to local and disaggregated data and information for Aboriginal communities and organisations. Indigenous Data Sovereignty is a key enabler of self-determination. By having greater access to and control of data and information, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People can make informed decisions so that they can meet the needs of their communities.

Victorian actions

Key actions contributing to the Priority Reform Four target include:

• In late 2025, the Traditional Owner Corporation Caucus (TOC Caucus) authorised DEECA to partner with FVTOC to co-design a process for a dedicated IDS Policy.
• Homes Victoria provides a deidentified disaggregated quarterly report on the social housing waitlist to the Victorian Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Forum, focussed on the local area in which each Forum is held.
• DJCS facilitates standing updates to the Aboriginal Justice Forum which share data with members that is not otherwise publicly accessible. Youth Justice also provides quarterly regional data dashboards to each Regional Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee (RAJAC), in accordance with the Wirkara Kulpa Performance Measurement Framework.