Victoria Crime News acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which this report was prepared, and pays respect to Elders past and present. We extend that respect to all First Nations people across Victoria reading this piece.
The Yoorrook Justice Commission handed the Victorian Government a blueprint for structural change in 2023 — 46 recommendations spanning policing, child protection, housing, and the foundations of a treaty process — but the distance between a recommendation on paper and a reformed institution on the ground is, as always in public policy, considerable. VCN has reviewed the Commission’s published progress reports, government response documents, and statements from First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria to produce this tracker.
What Yoorrook Is, and Why It Matters #
Yoorrook — a Wemba Wemba/Wamba Wamba word meaning “truth” — is Australia’s first formal truth-telling process into historic and ongoing injustices against First Nations people. Established under the Yoorrook Justice Commission Act 2021 (Vic), the Commission has the powers of a royal commission: it can compel witnesses, demand documents, and make findings of fact. Its mandate runs alongside, and is intended to feed into, Victoria’s treaty negotiations — making it structurally unlike any previous inquiry in the country.
The Commission’s interim report, tabled in mid-2023, focused on the child protection and criminal justice systems. The 46 recommendations that followed were directed at the Victorian Government, Victoria Police, and a range of statutory bodies. They range from relatively modest administrative changes to sweeping calls for structural reform of policing culture and First Nations self-determination.
The Government’s Formal Response #
The Allan Government formally accepted, or accepted in principle, the majority of the 46 recommendations when it tabled its response in late 2023. Of the 46, the government indicated it accepted 13 in full, accepted 26 in principle — meaning it agreed with the intent but reserved the right to determine implementation method — and noted a further seven as requiring further consideration in the context of the treaty process.
Advocates have been cautious about the “accepted in principle” category. Lidia Thorpe, during her time engaging with the Commission’s work, and more recently the First Peoples’ Assembly, have both publicly noted that accepting a recommendation “in principle” without a binding timeline or legislated obligation carries real risk of indefinite deferral. The government has not, as of the time of publication, legislated a standalone implementation framework that would require it to report publicly on progress against each individual recommendation on a fixed timetable.
Policing Reforms: The Hardest Conversations #
Recommendations directed at Victoria Police drew the most public attention and remain among the most contested in implementation terms. Yoorrook’s findings documented, through extensive First Nations testimony, patterns of over-policing in Aboriginal communities, disproportionate use of move-on powers, strip-search practices, and the over-representation of Aboriginal Victorians in remand and custody.
Key policing recommendations included the development of a standalone First Nations policing strategy, independent oversight of complaints involving First Nations people, mandatory cultural safety training embedded in the Victoria Police Academy curriculum, and a review of the use of move-on powers as they apply to First Nations people in public spaces.
Victoria Police said in a statement released alongside the government’s response that it “welcomes the Commission’s findings as an opportunity for genuine reflection and reform”, and indicated it had begun work on a revised reconciliation action plan. Victoria Police also said it had committed to reviewing its Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer program in line with Yoorrook’s findings.
However, as of the most recent progress report published by Yoorrook in early 2024, the Commission noted that a number of policing reforms remained in early planning stages. The independent oversight mechanism — arguably the most structurally significant policing recommendation — had not been legislated. VCN understands from sources familiar with the Commission’s work that internal government deliberations about the scope of any new oversight body are ongoing, with questions about whether to expand the existing Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) remit or create a dedicated First Nations complaints body still unresolved.
Child Protection: A System Under Scrutiny #
The interim report’s sharpest findings concerned child protection. Yoorrook documented what it described as the continuation of colonial-era family separation through the current child protection system, noting that Aboriginal children are removed from family at rates dramatically disproportionate to their share of the population.
Recommendations in this space included legislating the principle of self-determination into the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic), transferring decision-making authority over Aboriginal children to Community-Controlled Organisations, and establishing a dedicated Aboriginal Children’s Commissioner.
The government has indicated it is working with Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations on a co-design process for reforms to the child protection framework. A standalone Aboriginal Children’s Commissioner role has been flagged but, as of publication, has not been created. The First Peoples’ Assembly has publicly called for faster progress on this recommendation, describing child protection as a matter where delay has direct, measurable harm.
Treaty Negotiations: The Structural Context #
Victoria remains the most advanced jurisdiction in Australia on treaty, and the Yoorrook process is explicitly designed to inform — and be informed by — that negotiation. The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, established under the Advancing the Treaty Process with Aboriginal Victorians Act 2018 (Vic), is the democratically elected body representing Aboriginal Victorians in treaty talks with the state.
A Treaty Negotiation Framework was agreed between the Assembly and the government in 2023, establishing ground rules for how negotiations will proceed. A number of Yoorrook’s recommendations — particularly those touching on land, sovereignty, and self-determination — are expected to form part of the treaty negotiation agenda rather than be implemented unilaterally by the government.
This has created a deliberate, if sometimes opaque, division: some recommendations are being actioned by the government now; others are being held for treaty. Critics argue this allows the government to defer the harder structural reforms indefinitely under the cover of an ongoing negotiation process. Supporters of the approach say it is the correct one — that unilateral government implementation of self-determination measures without First Nations agreement would itself undermine the principle of self-determination.
What the Commission Says About Its Own Progress #
Yoorrook continues to hold hearings and has indicated it will produce further reports — including on land and economic justice — ahead of its scheduled completion. In its most recent published commentary, the Commission expressed measured concern about implementation pace, particularly on recommendations it classified as urgent. It noted that truth-telling processes internationally have shown that the distance between a government accepting a recommendation and that recommendation producing changed lived experience for affected communities can span years or decades, and that accountability mechanisms matter enormously to closing that gap.
The Commission has also continued to call for the Victorian Government to publicly commit to a legislated implementation timeline — a request that has not, as of publication, been met.
What to Watch #
VCN will continue tracking the following pressure points in coming months:
- Whether the government introduces legislation to create an independent First Nations policing oversight body before the end of the current parliamentary term.
- Progress on the proposed Aboriginal Children’s Commissioner role, including whether a co-design process produces a draft terms of reference.
- The pace and content of formal treaty negotiations, particularly whether Yoorrook recommendations flagged for treaty are placed on the active negotiating agenda.
- Whether the government agrees to a legislated implementation framework with fixed public reporting obligations against each recommendation.
- Yoorrook’s next substantive report, expected to address land, economic rights, and cultural heritage.
Truth-telling is not an event. It is, as Yoorrook itself has framed it, a process — and one whose value depends entirely on what governments do with what they hear. The 46 recommendations are a floor, not a ceiling, and the pace at which that floor is built will determine whether this process is remembered as a turning point or a missed one.
If this article has raised issues for you, support is available 24 hours a day: 13YARN (First Nations crisis support) — 13 92 76 | Lifeline — 13 11 14 | Beyond Blue — 1300 22 4636 | Crime Stoppers — 1800 333 000.
