Recommendation 3 urges the government to ensure accountability and quality of monitoring and evaluation of First Peoples-related programs and policies.
To support the implementation of recommendation 3, the Department of Treasury and Finance’s Resource Management Framework will be updated to incorporate new requirements and guidelines for lapsing program evaluations for First Peoples-related programs. These updates will be introduced for use in the 2026/27 State Budget.
Recommendation 5 calls on the government to upscale the capability, competence and support in relation to human and cultural rights laws, of persons working in the State’s child protection and criminal justice systems.
To address the recommendation, work has been underway across relevant agencies (DFFH, DJCS, DH and Victoria Police) to improve and expand training of frontline operational support and programs and policy staff working in these systems. For example, DFFH has procured the Koorie Heritage Trust to deliver refreshed Aboriginal cultural safety training to all DFFH staff, as described above in relation to recommendation 14. Victoria Police delivers dedicated human rights training for all recruits as a component of Police Foundation Training, and is providing reinforcement of human rights content across promotional and operational programs. DJCS worked with the Aboriginal Justice Caucus to design improved training, including the development of a new e-learn: ‘Introduction to DJCS’ Commitment to Aboriginal Justice and Partnerships.’ The e-learn is the first mandatory, department-wide training relating to Aboriginal justice. It is offered alongside existing in-person cultural awareness training facilitated by Aboriginal service providers and available to all staff, as well as mandatory pre-service training for Corrections and Youth Justice front line workforces.
Recommendation 9 calls for annual reporting on funding for several services within the child protection and family services system, and specifically the amount and proportion of funding allocated to ACCOs. Presently, DFFH contributes to three separate reporting platforms — the Aboriginal Children's Forum, the Report on Government Services (Commonwealth) and the SNAICC Family Matters Report. In line with recommendation 9, DFFH will consider how to streamline and automate this reporting where possible, and report publicly on this data, annually. It is proposed that this work will be progressed through the Aboriginal Children's Forum with the publication of 2024-25 data expected by the end of December 2025.
As they both relate to reforming current practices for pre-birth reports in relation to expectant mums of First Peoples babies, recommendations 11 and 12 are being considered together. Policy scoping is underway on a consent-based child protection notification scheme for pre-birth reports. This work is being done in partnership with relevant ACCOs (including Aboriginal legal services, ACCOs delivering children and family services, and the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation), DJCS and DH.
The proposed timeline for delivery is dependent on agreement with key stakeholders on the scheme design and further implementation considerations.
Recommendations 18 and 19 call for Children’s Court of Victoria judicial officers — rather than non-specialist magistrates — to determine child protection matters, and for the statewide expansion of Marram-Ngala Ganbu (Koori Family Hearing Day). In 2023, the government opened the Dandenong Children's Court to offer a specialist approach to children's matters in the family and youth justice divisions. The government also recently expanded the coverage of the Specialist Children's Court in metropolitan Melbourne, by directing all Youth Justice matters to be dealt with at Melbourne Children's Court.
Recommendation 23 urges the government to ensure that the Framework to Reduce Criminalisation of Young People in Residential Care is applied in all cases and to put in place reporting mechanisms and funding to ensure that authorities apply the Framework. In line with recommendation 23(a), the Victorian Government, along with Victoria Police and residential care providers, are working actively to implement the Framework through the existing 18-month action plan, and to monitor its implementation through local partnerships and regular reporting. An evaluation of this work is planned for completion in mid-2025. In line with recommendation 23(d), Victoria Police and residential care staff will have access to training in relation to trauma-informed care, police responses to non-crisis incidents and cultural awareness. Recommendation 23(b) and 23(c) will be considered in late 2025 following the implementation and evaluation of the existing 18-month action plan.
Recommendation 33 is to develop and publicly report on a First Peoples-led cultural change action plan for bail decision-makers to ensure remand is used only as a last resort. The Bail Amendment Act 2023 includes reforms which are fundamentally aligned with the intent of this recommendation, in that they seek to reduce unnecessary remand of those accused of low-level, non-violent offences — with Aboriginal people disproportionately remanded when accused of such offending. DJCS has provided guidance to bail decision-makers following the passing of these amendments, including a comprehensive guide on the expanded Aboriginal-specific considerations.
Recommendation 42 calls for government to ensure people in prison and youth justice centres, including Aboriginal people, can make telephone calls for free or at no greater cost than the general community. In response to this recommendation, government will subsidise phone calls in the short term for people in prison so they can better connect with their loved ones. Longer-term solutions are also being explored through negotiations with commercial providers of prison telephone services. A free call allowance is already available in Youth Justice centres.
Recommendation 43 calls for government to reform the Victorian prison system based on the recommendations of the Cultural Review of the Adult Custodial Corrections System (Cultural Review). The Victorian Government has delivered some reforms to address the critical issues and themes identified in the Cultural Review, and further reforms are underway. These reforms work to better support the custodial correctional workforce, improve outcomes for people in custody, provide more support for the Aboriginal workforce and greater cultural safety across the system, and keep Victorians safe. The Commission placed specific emphasis on implementing the Cultural Review’s recommendations aimed at enhancing the human and cultural rights of Aboriginal people in custody. Consistent with the Victorian Government response, implementation has begun on a number of these recommendations, including by establishing a Deputy Commissioner for Workforce and Aboriginal Outcomes position, reviewing cultural spaces in all prisons, ensuring access to regular Aboriginal health checks, developing an Aboriginal Workforce Plan, and launching an Aboriginal Wellbeing Officer Recruitment and Retention Strategy. DJCS is also continuing to work closely with Aboriginal stakeholders, including the Aboriginal Justice Caucus and its Cultural Review Implementation Subgroup to develop an approach to several other Cultural Review recommendations referenced in recommendation 43.
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