One year on from the historic apology by the Commissioner of Police to First Nations people for racist over-policing in Victoria, a shield has been unveiled in the foyer of Victorian Police Headquarters.

The shield, designed by Taungurung man Uncle Mick Harding, was given to Commissioner of Police, Shane Patton, last year when he appeared before the Yoorrook Justice Commission.

It was officially unveiled on Wednesday, where it will sit in the entrance to the police headquarters on Spencer Street in Naarm.

The historic moment last year heard Commissioner Patton unreservedly apologise for the past and present actions of the Victorian Police Force that inflicted trauma on First Nations people throughout the state.

He told the truth-telling hearings that he accepted the uniform - worn with pride by officers - represents a symbol of fear for some Indigenous Victorians, and acknowledged systemic racism and discriminatory action in the force went "undetected, unchecked and unpunished".

"It should not have happened," he said.

There has been no charges against police officers in any of the 34 Indigenous deaths in custody in Victoria - including 24 deaths in correction facilities - since the 1991 royal commission into the issue.

In unveiling the shield, Mr Harding explained the importance of the Pelican and the Red-tailed black Cockatoo for the mobs of present Yoorrook Commissioners, Wergaia/Wamba Wamba Elder Eleanor Bourke, and Kerrupmara Gunditjmara Traditional Owner Travis Lovett, as well as the role of spirit and relationship with ancestors that he tries to convey in his work.

He said the artwork on the shield featured the cultural icons that "are important to us, when we go to Country".

"What role they play in our relationship with our Country; with our people; and with our spiritual beings," Mr Harding said.

Commissioner Lovett said the placement of the shield in the entrance to the facility "must mark a turning point in the relationship between Victoria Police and First Peoples in this State".

"If taken seriously and honoured properly, this shield and the apology that accompanied it, will help to create a greater understanding among all police officers of the historical and ongoing injustices faced by First Peoples, and of the importance of defending our human rights," Commissioner Lovett said.

"This shield symbolises our expectation of the transformation that you will lead – to transform policing in Victoria from a system that First Peoples have historically feared, to one that serves First Peoples and the entire community."

He explained to the crowd - which featured members of the Victorian Police, First Peoples' Assembly and Police Minister Anthony Carbines - that police in Victoria were "active agents of colonisation" during the earliest days of colonisation — "criminalising First Peoples' resistance to the illegal theft of our land and waters and the destruction of our culture and way of life".

"Police were involved in genocidal activities by enforcing assimilationist child removal policies, taking Aboriginal kids from their families and communities," Commissioner Lovett said, arguing they played a "key role" in the destruction of language, culture, and lore of First Peoples in Victoria.

Speaking on Wednesday, Commissioner Patton said his appearance and apology a year ago was an "uncomfortable day," but the journey he went on to get there was "amazing."

"The depth of starting - and beginning - to understand the suffering of our First Nations peoples, it really was a sobering experience and one that I was privileged to undertake," he told reporters.

"But the evidence I gave on that day… is much more than just words.

"We are continually told about the failure to act about words; how people say they're going to do things. I can assure you that Victoria Police is committed to taking action myself and my executive command team are taking action".

Of his appearance before Yoorrook, Commissioner Patton said: "I gave you the undertaking then we would take action; that undertaking is real, and we're tangibly taking those actions".

"I'm confident in the capabilities and the professionalism of our organisation, to continue to do that, to act appropriately, and to do what we should be doing and what should have been done many years ago," Commissioner Patton said.

He identified 79 actions that Victorian Police say will deliver change to the organisation, with six having already been delivered and be fully implemented by the end of 2025.

These include the establishment of a committee to oversight implementation of the actions - to be made up of senior Victoria Police employees and co-chaired by Chris Harrison, co-chair of the Aboriginal Justice Caucus; the creation of an Aboriginal Complaints Support Officer position at Professional Standards Command; and continuing to report to the Aboriginal Justice Forum on complaint and discipline numbers, categories, and outcomes.

These aim to reduce the over-representation of First Nations people in the criminal justice system; to provide greater transparency of policing outcomes; and to build a greater cultural competency of all Victorian Police employees.

In a statement given to National Indigenous Times on Wednesday afternoon after Yoorrook had been sent all the 79 actions, Commissioner Patton said the commitment was a roadmap to ensure Victorian Police "continue to deliver change by partnering and building trust with Aboriginal community members and organisations".