This Agreement acknowledges that real and sustained impacts are made through advancing First Peoples’ self-determination. This Agreement focuses on advancing First Peoples’ self-determination through empowering Aboriginal community-controlled sector partners, promoting accountability of Victorian Government departments and mainstream service providers, and breaking down systemic barriers faced by First Peoples.
Through Victoria’s Implementation Plan, the partnership will drive progress on the National Agreement’s four Priority Reforms with a view to achieving and exceeding the National Agreement’s socioeconomic targets and outcomes. The Victorian Government will continue to transform the way it works with the ACCO sector to ensure First Peoples are respected to make decisions about their own lives.
The Agreement also represents a commitment to shared decision-making. The Victorian Government is committed to systems transformation and meaningful actions that address systemic inequality, racism and disadvantage by genuinely improving accountability and responding to the needs and aspirations of First Peoples. The Victorian Government is committed to continuously listening to the voices of First Peoples communities to focus on what they identify as priorities.
The Priority Reforms set out foundational enablers for changing the way government works, which includes embedding First Peoples-led approaches that are underpinned by self-determination and partnership. The Victorian Government recognises that improved outcomes can only be achieved through policy initiatives that are informed and guided by First Peoples communities. As the funder and provider of many of the services accessed by First Peoples, the Victorian Government must also transform its systems and structures to support self-determination and improve outcomes for First Peoples.
The National Agreement also commits the Victorian Government to sharing access to location specific data and information to support First Peoples achieve the National Agreement’s aims. It is important that the collection of data is done in a culturally appropriate way which empowers the ACCO sector to utilise their own data to make their own decisions. This requires leveraging technical and community expertise to conduct research, whilst ensuring adequate resourcing and capacity for ACCOs to partake in data collection and reporting against Closing the Gap targets.
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