Two years on from the Voice Referendum, Australia continues to reflect on what it means to walk together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. While the outcome of the referendum was a moment of sadness for many, it reinforced the ongoing need for meaningful action toward recognition, justice, and self-determination.
Victoria took a historic step forward in this journey last month as the first state in Australia to enshrine Treaty in law. The Statewide Treaty Bill 2025 passed the Victorian Parliament on 30 October 2025. The Treaty process began in 2016, and the Bill was developed in partnership with the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, capping a decade of work advancing truth and justice.
For the first time in Australia’s history, a government has legislated a pathway to Treaty – embedding justice, truth, and self-determination into Victoria’s democracy and setting an example for the nation. Victoria has now implemented all three pillars of reform called for in the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart – Voice, Treaty, and Truth – marking a major step toward improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians in housing, health, education, and beyond.
(Image: Courtesy of our partners at Children’s Ground)
In that spirit, Alberts | The Tony Foundation was proud to stand alongside 32 philanthropic peers in supporting the Reichstein Foundation’s open letter to the Victorian Government, commending its work with the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria towards Australia’s first Treaty.
As the letter stated:
“We welcome the Victorian Government’s commitment to uncovering the truth of colonisation through the Yoorrook Justice Commission, and its work with the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria to deliver Australia’s first Treaty with First Nations Peoples…
The philanthropic sector has long supported First Nations organisations and initiatives. We have seen first-hand that stronger, fairer and more durable outcomes are achieved when First Peoples are in the driver’s seat, making the decisions that affect their communities, culture and Country.”
The rejection of the Voice to Parliament referendum in October 2023 was a moment of reflection and sadness. As Marie Claire reported, in its wake the Albanese government scaled back on its commitments to progress on Indigenous issues, and Closing the Gap data indicates key targets – including rates of suicide, imprisonment, and children in out-of-home care – continue to worsen. The referendum’s outcome highlighted that meaningful change requires sustained attention, continued advocacy, and the active involvement of all Australians.
(Image: Courtesy of our partners at Children’s Ground).
In response, a renewed push for recognition and justice is underway. A collective of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, young and old, meets weekly to reflect on what went wrong with the Voice, engage communities, listen to concerns, and to reignite the national conversation around representation. Crucially, 6.2 million Australians voted Yes to the establishment of a First Peoples Voice enshrined in the Constitution, including an overwhelming majority of Aboriginal Australians.
As Aunty Pat Anderson AO, an Alyawarre woman and human rights advocate, told Marie Claire, “The referendum was about us, but it was for the nation. It’s not about blackfellas – it’s about who we are as Australians in the 21st century. What kind of people are we? What are our values?”
At Alberts, our support for Victoria’s Treaty builds on our longstanding commitment to championing equality and self-determination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Through The Tony Foundation, we publicly supported the Uluru Statement from the Heart and joined the 2019 Philanthropy ‘Yes’ Alliance to help fund a national education campaign led by Uluru Dialogue.
We celebrate Victoria’s historic step towards Treaty and the leadership it represents for the rest of the country.
(Feature image: Courtesy of Childrens Ground)
