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A powerful year for Truth and Treaty

Discover the moments that shaped truth-telling in 2024

Submissions to Yoorrook Justice Commission are now closed

Areas of work

Yoorrook is investigating injustice against First Peoples in Victoria since colonisation. 

In mid-2023 Yoorrook released the Yoorrook for Justice report into the Victorian child protection and criminal justice systems.

Yoorrook is now looking into land, sky and waters, health, housing and education, and economic prosperity. Yoorrook will deliver its final report in 2025.

Stay informed

Land, sky and waters
The big orange cliffs of Gunigalg, Gariwerd (Grampians) surrounded by green trees and blue sky
The Yoorrook Justice Commission has commenced its inquiry into land, sky and waters as the next part of the truth telling process in Victoria.
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Criminal Justice System
Yoorrook Commissioners presenting the Yoorrook for justice report in their hands with the Yoorrook shield behind them
For First Peoples, the criminal justice system has long been a site of systemic injustice.
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Child protection system
The Wright Family. Aunty Donna, Aunty Joanne Farrant and Aunty Tina photo from the shoulders up
The Yoorrook Justice Commission is looking into the child protection system as part of the truth telling process in Victoria.
Learn more
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About Yoorrook

The Yoorrook Justice Commission is the first formal truth-telling process into injustices experienced by First Peoples in Victoria.
About Yoorrook

News and Stories

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18 December 2024

A powerful year for Truth and Treaty

In 2024 the Yoorrook Justice Commission investigated the systemic injustices faced by First Peoples in land, sky and waters, education, health, and housing. From hearing evidence at the site of the first recorded massacre in Victoria to the premier’s historic visit to Coranderrk, it has been a year filled with powerful moments.
First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria and Victorian Government members welcome the opening of Statewide Treaty negotiations as a group, smiling with fists raised in the air.
28 November 2024

Yoorrook welcomes Treaty

Traditional Owners from across the state gathered to mark the opening of Statewide Treaty negotiations with dance, song and ceremony.
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21 November 2024

The Henty legacy and its ongoing impact

In the 1860s, as the new colony of Victoria boomed following the discovery of gold, First Peoples were being moved onto missions and reserves, where their lives were tightly controlled.
Deputy Chair Sue-Anne Hunter at a public hearing of the Yoorrook Justice Commission in Melbourne
18 October 2024

Truth-telling has never been more important

The referendum campaign was bitter and divisive. It was confronting for First Peoples, who had our cultures, our history and even our Aboriginality suddenly being scrutinised under the public spotlight.
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17 September 2024

Descendants hearing shows all Victorians have a part to play

During Yoorrook’s Descendants Day hearing, the Commission heard powerful evidence from three non-Indigenous witnesses, including descendants of early colonial figures. They talked about the theft of Aboriginal land, massacres, and the Aborigines Protection Act of 1886, more commonly known as the ‘Half Caste’ Act.