Aboriginal self-determination is a human right. It encompasses a spectrum of rights that are necessary for Aboriginal people to achieve economic, social and cultural equity, based on their own cultural values and way of life. Enabling Aboriginal self-determination requires long-term commitment and sustained effort from all areas of government to transform our structures and systems. In 2018, the Victorian Government worked with Victorian Aboriginal communities and organisations to develop a new Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework 2018-2023 (VAAF) that would set an ambitious and forward-looking agenda for First Peoples affairs.
The VAAF represents a new way of working for government. The VAAF acknowledges that positive change requires not only a fundamental shift in the way that governments work with Aboriginal people, but that it also requires significant government effort to eliminate the structural and systemic barriers experienced by Aboriginal Victorians, including ensuring services and programs are culturally safe and community-led.
The Self-Determination Reform Framework (SDRF) is the Victorian Government’s commitment to embed self-determination across all areas of government, focusing on internal government processes, practices, and policies. It is designed to guide public service action to enable self-determination in line with government’s commitments in the VAAF. The SDRF also commits all Victorian Government departments to report against our efforts and reforms to advance self-determination.
This Report, alongside all departmental annual reports, will form the whole of Victorian Government Self-Determination Reform Report which will be embedded within the Victorian Government Aboriginal Affairs Report (VGAAR) 2021, to hold government accountable for embedding self-determination across all areas of government.
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