Terms of reference for Queensland's Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry have been released, as the state begins its truth-telling process on the way to Treaty.

The truth-telling hearings will begin in July, with a ceremony in the first week of the month, and will focus initially on the experience of Elders.

The Path to Treaty Act 2023 provides for the establishment of a Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry (the Inquiry) and will operate along the same lines as a commission of inquiry but with culturally-appropriate differentiates to facilitate the participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

In introducing the terms of reference, Leeanne Enoch, who holds the portfolios for Treaty and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, said: "I have consulted with the members of the Interim Truth and Treaty Body."

"The members of the Interim Truth and Treaty Body have engaged in extensive consultation with Aboriginal communities and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Queensland," Ms Enoch said.

The terms of reference were collaborated on cooperatively by the government and the Interim body after the act was passed with bi-partisan support.

In April, the government announced the make-up of the inquiry as well as the First Nations Treaty Institute, to be chaired by Waanyi/Kalkadoon and barrister, Joshua Creamer, who has worked extensively on Native Title and stolen wages cases in the Queensland.

"I am really looking forward to the rest of the state starting to understand that history," he told National Indigenous Times.

Mr Creamer said the first 12 months of the hearings would focus on the experience of Elders who lived under protection acts and were moved onto missions, noting it was important to hear their stories.

"[The terms] cover critical historical issues, and the impact of those policies on issues today," he said.

"There are things in there…the policing and criminal justice system…education and healthcare, which will go into more contemporary issues, but there is obviously a really strong focus on history as well. I think it's a good balance."

As part of the terms of reference, extensive consultation with First Nations people and communities is required, as well as persons of relevant skill and expertise and other stakeholders, in a sensitive and culturally capable way that is inclusive and supportive of individuals.

It also requires the adoption of a "trauma-informed approach that considers existing research, strategies and policies such as the Queensland Healing Strategy to minimise the risk of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people who engage with the Inquiry suffering further psychological and other trauma".

Furthermore, the inquiry will "inquire into, document, conduct research about, and advise and make recommendations" to the Minister on various matters.

These include displacement, dispossession, settlement and management of lands, seas, and waters; assimilation and protection; missions and reserves; separation of children, or other family members, from their families; and control over personal property and places of residence.

It will examine the role of non-government, faith-based organisations, and others in the colonisation of Queensland, the implementation of laws in colonial Queensland, and the ongoing impact those discriminatory decisions had on First Nations people, including the barriers still faced by members of the Indigenous community in Queensland.

"We need enduring, long-lasting agreements between government and First Nations peoples to tackle these challenges together—something that First Nation Queenslanders have been lobbying for over many decades, something that is at the core of Treaty," Ms Enoch told Parliament.

"That is why we remain committed to a Path to Treaty as legislated and to our commitment to reconciliation and to necessary action to Close the Gap."

However, the truth-telling path may be doomed to fail regardless of the terms of reference, with the opposition Liberal-National Party - widely tipped to win the Queensland election in October - last year withdrawing their support for the previously bi-partisan Treaty and truth-telling process in the wake of the defeated Voice referendum.