The department is committed to the principles of Aboriginal self-determination and enabling Aboriginal voice, knowledge and cultural leadership drive Aboriginal policy, legislation and system reform. This commitment drives and underpins improved outcomes for all Victorians.

Victoria has signed the Closing the Gap National Agreement which now includes a target to reduce the rate of over-representation of Aboriginal children in care by 45 percent by 2031. Agreed actions in Wungurilwil Gapgapduir provide the foundation for how Victoria intends to achieve this target.

Following the Yoorrook Justice Commission report (Report into Victoria’s child protection and Criminal Justice Systems, 31 August 2023), the Victorian Government is progressing a range of reforms in the child protection system to improve outcomes for Aboriginal Victorians including implementing urgent reforms of accountability, cultural competence, and compliance with human and cultural rights. In particular, recommendation 5 outlined the following:

The Victorian Government must as soon as possible significantly upscale the capability, competence and support in relation to human rights, including Aboriginal cultural rights, of all persons appointed to work or working in:

a) the child protection system

b) the corrections system, including prisons

c) the youth justice system, including youth detention and like facilities and the bail system

d) the adult justice system including the bail system

e) Victoria Police, and

f) the forensic mental health system, to ensure that they have that capability, competence and support necessary for them to carry out their obligations under the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) (the Charter) and other human and cultural rights laws, and in particular for this purpose the government must:

g) review and revise all relevant policies, procedures, protocols, administrative directions, guidelines and like documents

h) review all relevant training courses and programs, and

 i) ensure that Victorian First Peoples businesses or consultants participate on a paid basis in the review and revision of training courses and programs, and the delivery of these, wherever possible.

In line with the recommendation outlined above, the project is to review all current training programs to ensure alignment with Aboriginal cultural and other human rights. The scope of the project includes the review of programs created for the Child Protection workforce, recommendations for improvements and for the development of a review framework. As expressed by the Yoorrook for Justice recommendation1, it is a requirement for the tenderer to be a Victorian Aboriginal business and/or consultant (as per definition from Victoria’s Social Procurement Framework.