Youthlaw is proud to acknowledge the Wurundjeri, Bunurong, Wadawurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung people, Traditional Owners of the lands where we do our work in Naarm (Melbourne) and Ballaarat (Ballarat). We pay deep respect to Aboriginal Elders past and present, and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.
As Victoria’s statewide specialist community legal centre for young people under 25, including over 1 in 10 of our clients who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, we are committed to walking alongside First Peoples in their pursuit for truth, justice and self-determination.
We stand with the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria and pledge our full support for the journey to Treaty. This pledge recognises the fundamental human rights of Aboriginal peoples set out in the Victorian Charter, including rights to self-determination, cultural rights to identity, language, and kinship, and the special relationship and custodianship First Nations people have to lands and waters.
We acknowledge that colonisation, overlapping systemic issues, and the persistent under-servicing of First Nations young people, their families and communities, perpetuates the ongoing overrepresentation of First Nations young people in the criminal legal system.
With deep respect for the sovereignty, culture, and rights of First Peoples, we are proud to walk with the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria on the journey to Treaty. We recognise that First Peoples are the experts in matters affecting their communities, cultures and lands.
We acknowledge the strength, leadership and lived experience of First Peoples as central to this process – and we re-affirm our responsibility to listen, learn and act with respect and accountability.
To help build support for the shared journey to Treaty, we will:
- Collaborate: Partner with Aboriginal legal and youth-led organisations and our pro bono networks to support Treaty, and centre First Nations voices in backing Treaty in Victoria.
- Educate: Provide regular First Nations-led cultural safety and anti-racism training to our staff, and raise awareness of First Peoples’ cultures, histories and the significance of Treaty.
- Advocate: Champion the rights of First Nations young people through our legal, policy and advocacy work, and use our platforms and networks to publicly promote our support for Treaty.
- Activate: Celebrate and reflect First Nations culture and Treaty principles in our workplace, show up for Treaty campaigns, events and calls to action, and track and reflect on how we’re upholding our pledge.
By making this pledge, we honour the strength and self-determination of First Peoples and support a Treaty that delivers truth, justice, and real change for future generations. Youthlaw will continue to advocate for First Nations young people, their families and communities to be heard and respected in the development of services, systems and structures that impact their everyday lives.
Together, we will create a future where the voices of First Nations young people, their families and communities are heard, their rights are respected, and justice is realised for generations to come.
