The City of Melbourne has announced their draft proposal for the upcoming City budget, which will recognise and celebrate the city's rich Indigenous history.
Almost $2.5 million will be invested by the City across events, community education, grant programs and the continuation of its First Nations Committee.
This includes over $1.2 million honouring and celebrating First Nations culture and history through events and activation programs such as National Reconciliation Week, NAIDOC Week, and the recent YIRRAMBOI Festival, which saw more than 400 Aboriginal artists and 180 performances across 40 venues.
Funding to the tune of $95,000 will be allocated for the Aboriginal Arts Grants - now in its 25th year - which supports Aboriginal artists and creative organisations to share their stories and works through a number of mediums, including art, dance, film and theatre.
Grants of up to $20,000 are available with applications opening on Friday, 1 August 2025.
The $100,000 Aboriginal Community Grants and Sponsorships program will also offer funding of up to $10,000 for community-led projects that help promote community connection, cultural and social inclusion, access and participation for Indigenous people.
The City of Melbourne's Aboriginal Melbourne portfolio head, Councillor Dr Olivia Ball, said the draft budget works on the City's work to "strengthen relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, promote truth-telling and move towards self-determination".
"We're proud to celebrate First Nations heritage, culture and entrepreneurship and to support First Nations communities in telling their own stories," Dr Ball said.
"Through initiatives like the Stolen Generations Marker, Aboriginal Arts Grants, and the Mapping Aboriginal Melbourne project, we're partnering with the community to promote healing, flourishing and understanding."
Announced last year on the 16th anniversary of the apology to the Stolen Generation, the marker will be erected on Peppercorn Lawn in Alexandra Gardens on Wurundjeri Country.
The City of Melbourne worked closely with its Stolen Generation Working Group, which advised on the location as a reminder of the practices that saw Aboriginal children removed from their families through government policies, officially up until the 1970s.
Renowned artist and Yorta Yorta, Wamba Wamba, Mutti Mutti and Boonwurrung woman, Maree Clarke, has been appointed to commission, design and deliver the works for Stolen Generations Marker alongside the Yarra River/Birrarung.
The City of Melbourne said the Council will continue to build on its commitment to govern with sovereign First Peoples to enable true self-determination, with $20,000 to continue regular meetings of the First Nations Committee. Furthermore, $280,000 will be spent on Traditional Owner engagement through the development of partnerships with Wurundjeri and Bunurong.
Additionally, $80,000 will be allocated to support community education, including through the continued development of the Mapping Aboriginal Melbourne project. The interactive, digital map, created with Traditional Owners, highlights places of Indigenous historical and cultural significance across the City.
The City of Melbourne works closely with the First Nations Committee, who act as an insightful resource for decision-makers within the City and is a direct channel between the First Nations community and elected councillors.
"At a local level, governing with First Nations peoples will guide the development of policies and initiatives that most impact the Aboriginal community," the City of Melbourne's website says.
"This is good for the city and our shared future. Deliberative engagement – where it is proactive, responsive and consistent – is a step toward true self-determination."
