Recommendation 45
Recommendation 45 relates to the ongoing management of all confidential evidence provided to the Commission. This overlaps with recommendation 2 of the Yoorrook with Purpose report (2022), which called for legislative protections for First Peoples’ evidence provided to the Commission, in line with Indigenous Data Sovereignty principles. The scope of recommendation 45 is broader than recommendation 2 as it applies to all evidence provided to the Commission on a confidential basis, whereas recommendation 2 applies only to evidence provided by First Peoples.
Progress to date and next steps
The Victorian Government is currently progressing legislative reforms that will empower the Commission to make closure orders over records of First Peoples’ evidence provided to the Commission. Records which are subject to closure orders will be protected from public access both in the Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) database and via Freedom of Information requests for 99 years.
In order to implement recommendation 45 in full, as well as recommendation 9 of the Beaumaris Board of Inquiry, the government is also considering broader amendments to the Inquiries Act 2014 relating to statutory protections for confidential public records in general.
Recommendation 45 called for legislative reforms to be enacted by February 2024. However, this timeframe could not be met as a result of the considerable consultation and policy work required to develop a legislative solution. The government is committed to progressing reforms through Parliament by early 2025 to ensure that appropriate record-keeping arrangements for First Peoples’ records are implemented before the Commission’s term concludes on 30 June 2025.
Governance arrangements and stakeholder consultation
DPC has consulted with a variety of stakeholders throughout the development of the legislative reforms, including the Commission, PROV, the First Peoples’ Assembly, the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner and relevant government departments.
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