Natalie Hutchins, the Victorian Minister who has spearheaded the state's Treaty process, has announced she will not contest the next election.

Ms Hutchins - the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, Government Services, Prevention of Family Violence, and Women - will step down from Cabinet at the end of the year and has decided not to contest her seat of Sydenham in the 2026 state election. The announcement came as the historic Treaty legislation passed the lower house of Victorian Parliament on Thursday afternoon.

In a statement, Ms Hutchins said she had dedicated her life's work to "improving gender equality and workers' rights and fighting for justice alongside First Peoples".

"I thank the First Peoples of Victoria - in particular the First Peoples' Assembly - for their courage and generosity in allowing me to walk beside them on the path to Treaty," she said.

"From hearing the calls for Treaty when I became Minister in 2014 to negotiating Australia's first Treaty with First Peoples - I'm proud that the Statewide Treaty Bill is currently before the Parliament.

"I have worked to hand back power to First Peoples, including through strengthening Aboriginal cultural heritage protections, handing back significant sites to Aboriginal communities, and removing first mortgages."

Members of the First Peoples' Assembly have spoken openly to National Indigenous Times about their respect and admiration for Ms Hutchins. In a statement, First Peoples' Assembly Co-Chair Ngarra Murray thanked Ms Hutchins on behalf of the Assembly for her "incredible contribution to Treaty over the last decade".

"Minister Hutchins began this Treaty journey with us ten years ago and in the coming months, will have overseen the successful agreement of Australia's first Treaty," she said.

"Thank you Minister Hutchins for your longstanding commitment to First Peoples."

Ms Hutchins has guided the Treaty process through multiple Cabinet portfolios and was visibly emotional in Parliament on Tuesday when introducing the bill.

Premier Jacinta Allan praised Ms Hutchins as a leader who had always put "equality at the heart of everything" she did.

"Born in public housing and having grown up in the western suburbs of Melbourne, she has always been a passionate advocate to create opportunities for others and has been a fierce voice for the diverse and growing communities she now represents," Ms Allan said.

"Recently, Natalie negotiated Australia's first Treaty with First Peoples and introduced the legislation to enact that into Parliament. This work began for her in 2014 when she first became a Minister and conducted a listening tour across Victoria - the message was clear - First Peoples were calling for Treaty.

"Passing legislation to deliver Australia's first Treaty with First Peoples is the perfect way for her to conclude a career focused on fighting for justice alongside First Peoples."

Ms Hutchins told National Indigenous Times last year that Treaty was about "bringing the whole connection to land, and value of culture to the broader Victorian people."

"Because we could keep pouring our focus as a government into... public servant-led programs and services, or we could go down a path of self-determination by committing to a voice and truth-telling, and then of course Treaty as an outcome of that."

The announcement comes as Victoria's historic Treaty legislation - the first of its kind in Australia - is debated in Parliament this week.

On Thursday, the legislation passed the lower house to loud applause from government MPs. The opposition's decision to vote against it was met with shouts of "shame" from Labor benches.

"This is a big moment for our people - legislation for Australia's first Treaty with First Peoples has now passed a house of Parliament. Thank you to the Members of Parliament who used their votes to pass these historic laws through the lower house," Ms Murray said.

"The principle at the heart of Treaty is that Aboriginal people understand our communities best, and when we can use our local knowledge to come up with and deliver practical solutions, we get better outcomes. This is something we think everyone should be able to get behind."

Her fellow Co-Chair, Rueben Berg, noted the Opposition's lack of support, but urged them to change direction and support the legislation in the upper house.

"We have been walking this journey to Treaty for a decade now, and for most of those years, we had the Opposition by our side," Rueben said.

"Aboriginal voices from across the state have been clear that Treaty is the change we need to create a better future for our people. As the Bill moves to the upper house, my message to Liberal and National representatives is it's not too late to again walk with us."